Beachcombing on the Outer Banks

Beachcombing is one of my favorite pastimes – especially during the winter months. You literally feel like you have the entire beach to yourself. Well, you and the multitude of shorebirds, who don’t seem to mind you’re there as they politely scurry of your way. The wind is blowing, your eyes are watering, the waves are crashing and you're bundled up like the kid on "A Christmas Story". You’re searching for the Holy Grail – a smoothly shaped, etched piece of sea glass, edges worn from time spent tumbling in the waves. The most common pieces you will find are green, white and brown – but sometimes you will encounter a prized piece of cobalt blue, purple or turquoise. My collection has a very special place, in one of my favorite glass vases – a trophy case of some sort. Sea glass isn’t the only thing you’ll find while enjoying a walk on the beach. Beautiful shells, in all shapes and sizes, are sitting in the tide line. Clam, scallop, oyster and whelk shells are commonly found along the shores of the Outer Banks. They too have a special vase waiting for them when I get them home. I also look for unusually shaped pieces of worn driftwood. They make great garden accents and whimsical wind chimes.

If you’re lucky enough to be here when Miss Mattie Midgett's Store is open, you’ve got to check it out. The Nags Head Guide writes “Built in 1914 on the soundside before being rolled to the seaside, this unpretentious and once-thriving store houses the celebrated beachcomber collection of Nellie Myrtle Pridgen, Miss Mattie’s daughter who was a self-appointed protector of her beloved Nags Head beaches. In support of Mattie’s store, the Nags Head Board of Commissioners passed a resolution in June 2003. The resolution declared, “The site, the store and the artifacts are an irreplaceable part of Nags Head history.” In 2005 Pridgen was awarded the first annual Nags Header award by the town. The award recognizes a person who has helped shape the image and direction of Nags Head. In the museum, visitors will step back into time viewing artifacts discovered by Pridgen during her years of daily sound to sea jaunts. The collection is essentially the way Nellie left it. Rare shells, beach glass, war paraphernalia, buttons, barnacles, driftwood, messages in bottles and more chronicle her life’s time and its relationship with the sea. The unusual, must-see collection houses a huge fulgurite (crystallized sand caused by lightning) that took days for Pridgen to extract - with the help of a bicycle pump. At the time of this writing, the building had not yet become a full-time museum, but they do conduct several open houses at various times throughout the year.”

See you on the beach!

Submitted by Dana Breashears, Kitty Hawk Rentals Internet Customer Care