The Outer Banks (OBX): North Carolina

We love traveling, but the hardest part has always been leaving our two dogs behind. When we’re not on vacation, we are 100% with our dogs Chloè and Coco Chanel.  For our big vacation this year, we wanted to do something we’ve never done before – take a vacation the whole family will enjoy with our dogs! 

Every morning, we hit the beaches of Corolla before the crowds, and we walked at least two miles up and down the beach before we settled into our spot in the sand.  During our walks, Chloè and Coco would dip in and out of the water chasing each other, their balls, and even fish.  This was a great way to get our girls some light exercise early in the day, and then we would all relax together in the sun the rest of the morning.  While we enjoy the warm sunshine and a few cold beers on the sand, Chloè and Coco Chanel relaxed in the shade under our beach umbrella.

Most days, we kept our beach time with the dogs under four hours.  We never spent a full day at the beach with our pups.  This allowed us to all have some time together on the beach each morning, and then Jared and I would explore the Outer Banks together in the afternoon either by bicycle, on foot, or in our truck. Even in October, the afternoon sun can be too much for our old girls.  In addition, there were a lot of stairs to climb when making the trip back home and our girls don’t do stairs very well, so we never wanted them to be too tired to make the trip home.  

Our girls love lounging in the bed of our pickup truck after a good swim on the 4×4 beaches of Carova.  It allowed us to keep them safe from the beach traffic, and their sandy paws off of our beach blankets and chairs.  Meanwhile, we lounged in the sand watching as powered paragliders passed over us from high above.

If you visit Carova, here are a few tips:

• Pets are permitted, but must be leashed at all times.
• The beaches from Corolla south are strictly pedestrian beaches.  No vehicles are allowed on these beach. Carova 4×4 beach is the only beach that allows visitors to drive on the sand.
• Lifeguards are on duty on the beaches of Corolla and south from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm from Memorial Day to Labor Day. There are no lifeguards on duty on the 4×4 beaches of Carova.
• Please help keep the beach beautiful by taking all trash and waste with you when you leave.
• Provide your dog with shade to stay cool throughout your time at the beach.  Be careful not to let your pets overheat in the sun.
• Keep your dog hydrated.  Bring along a dog bowl and a few bottles of water for your dog to drink.  Don’t pour all of the water in the bowl at once otherwise it will get hot or sand may blow into it.  We brought one gallon of water along each day and kept it in the cooler.  We’d pour small amounts of the water into their bowl for them to drink and we filled it up as needed. 
• Know your dogs limits and recognize any changes in behavior that may be due to the sun, heat, or something else.  
• Do not let them drink the ocean water.  Our girls were very interested in drinking the ocean water as the waves splashed in their faces at first.  However, we had to train them not to do this as the American Kennel Club advises that drinking large amounts of salt water can be deadly to our pets.  When our dogs consume salt, water drains from the blood and into their intestines causing vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration (source: https://bit.ly/34IU4Ea)
• We had a hard time keeping Chloè out of the oceanwater because she loves to swim so much.  She is the type of dog who will swim until her body cannot swim anymore, but she’ll still keep trying.  Chloè doesn’t understand that swimming in the ocean is much harder on her body (causing her to tire more easily) and as a result, more dangerous than swimming at home in our pool.  Our girls were always tethered/leashed to us, wore life vests, never too far out of reach, and only swam in small doses with large breaks in the shade in-between.

There are a number of dog-friendly restaurants that can be found from Corolla, Southern Shores, and Duck, to Nag’s Head, Kitty Hawk, and beyond. Many of these dog-friendly restaurants offer special menus just for your pups.  As a special treat, they also keep dog bowls on hand to keep everyone hydrated.

• Brindley Beach Vacations & Sales – Over 500 homes throughout Corolla, Duck, Kill Devil Hills and others
• Twiddy – Over 1,000 homes throughout the Outer Banks

Physically located at 797 Mercury Rd Corolla, NC 27927 in the private community of Buck Island, Tangerine Dream is a beautiful vacation home located just steps from the ocean.  This pet-friendly beach house has five bedrooms, four full bathrooms, one half bathroom, an inground swimming pool, and an incredible amount of outdoor deck space throughout the home.   Jared and I really enjoyed evenings under the stars in our home’s elevated hot tub just steps from the ocean.  Meanwhile, our girls loved lounging on the many multi-level wrap around decks the home had to offer.  

The third floor master bedroom and bath were very nice.  The bed was large, the closet was also large.  We really liked all of the outdoor living spaces – the multiple patios and decks.  It was nice to sit outside and enjoy the area day and night.

We loved cooking a full breakfast each morning in our fully stocked kitchen complete with pots and pans, cooking utensils, dinnerware and flatware, and then enjoying our delicious meal on our rooftop ocean-view patio.  The home’s high ceilings and oversize windows allowed for ample natural light, and the fireplace in the Main Living room was a nice feature in the evenings.

We really fell in love with the community of Buck Island.  The community seemed very quiet and peaceful.  We’re not sure if this was just because it was the offseason or if it is always like that, but we really enjoyed the peace and quiet and how pet-friendly the neighborhood was.  It is conveniently located near the beach and Timbuck II, and those were the two biggest selling points for us.

Reserve your stay at Tangerine Dream in the Outer Banks today through Brindley Beach Vacation & Sales: https://bit.ly/2NKdrqp 

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Have you visited the Outer Banks? If so, please leave a comment below with all your OBX tips and tricks to help us plan our next visit!