Outer Banks Vacation Homes

The house will be rockin’ in the New Year for sure with TR3 as the entertainers for the evening.  Long time residents of the Outer Banks, guitarist/vocalist Tim Reynolds, bassist/vocalist Mick Vaughan and drummer/vocalist Dan Martier opened shows for the Dave Matthews band last summer.  Tim Reynolds and Dave Matthews are buddies that have recorded three albums and toured as an acoustic duo.

The Outer Banks Brewing Station is located at milepost 8.5 on the bypass in Kill Devil Hills.  Call 252-449-BREW for more details.

The Housekeeping Department celebrated the season with their annual holiday gathering at the CPOA Club in Elizabeth City on Dec. 16th.  During the celebration, our sincere gratitude is expressed to all of the cleaners and inspectors that provided exceptional service during the season.

We are extremely fortunate to have Deborah Stone, our Housekeeping Manager, Toni Sawyer and Donna King, our Housekeeping Coordinators, as well as Rico Young, our Housekeeping Technician, working very hard to manage 300+ housekeepers and inspectors to ensure extremely clean and well equipped vacation rental homes. 

A member of our staff, Michelle Layne, our General Manager, is a certified Vacation Rental Housekeeping Professional (VRHP). VRHP is a professional association of vacation rental companies that strives to increase the quality, service level, and professionalism of housekeeping to both vacation rental homeowners and vacation rental guests.  We commend our staff for their exceptional service as they work together to bring the highest level of satisfaction to our guests and homeowners alike.

VRHP is a professional association of vacation rental companies that strives to increase the quality, service level, and professionalism of housekeeping to both vacation rental homeowners and vacation rental guests.  We commend our staff for their exceptional service as they work together to bring the highest level of satisfaction to our guests and homeowners alike.We are very proud of the 300+ housekeepers and inspectors that work hard to ensure extremely clean and well equipped homes.

Thanks to our beloved homeowner of #577, Royal Palace, Carolina Designs Realty once again had an oceanfront palace for our holiday gathering on Saturday, December 13th.  Red Sky Cafe’ had the use of top of the line appliances at their finger tips to prepare a feast for kings for our celebration.  The children, tweens and teens had full rein of the ground floor recreation room with pool table, foosball, TV, full size refrigerator, cooktop, dishwasher, icemaker and microwave.  They ate popcorn and watched movies in the home theater with 13 plush seats for anyone to enjoy.  Employee music picks were played and sung long into the night thanks to DJ Robert Brown and his karaoke machine.  Afterwards, many of the staff retired to one of the twelve spacious and amenity packed master bedrooms.

On behalf of all of us here at Carolina Designs Realty, thank you for such a great party, Art and Monica!  You are the best!

During the holidays, families can participate in 16^th century style traditions on Saturday, December 27^th from 12:00 Noon – 5:00 p.m. at Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo, North Carolina.   Spend time together making decorations, learning special dances, singing songs, enjoying food and drink of the season.

Many events will be held inside and the celebration will go on, rain or shine. In the Settlement Site, visitors can join with the interpreters as they “recreate” their celebration in the American wilderness, with simple decorations and a roast over the open fire. 

For more information, call (252) 475-1500.

Principal Broker of Carolina Designs Realty, Monica Thibodeau, was formally inducted as the Outer Banks Association of Realtors’ (OBAR) president for 2009 at the OBAR REALTOR® BALL on Friday, December 12, 2008 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kitty Hawk.

She has been a volunteer in many community projects and is currently the Town Council liaison for the Duck Community and Business alliance.  Since December 2002, Monica also serves as a Council Member for the Town of Duck, currently serving as Mayor Pro Tempore.

A vacationer to the Outer Banks since the early 70s, Monica has been a permanent resident of Duck for 20+ years and has raised her family here.  Monica has a BA from Boston College and an MBA from Northeastern University.  Since 1991, Monica and her husband Art have been the managing owners of Carolina Designs Realty, Inc.

Instead of exchanging gifts among ourselves at our holiday gathering this year, Meredith Olinger coordinated donations from Carolina Designs Realty employees in order to purchase a specially made bicycle for a child with downs syndrome.  Meredith became aware of this child’s needs by contacting Interfaith Community Outreach and asking how we could benefit the community.  Interfaith Community Outreach (ICO) a non-profit interfaith organization of volunteers who are supported by more than 20 local faith communities and network partners dedicated to providing emergency gap services and referrals to people on the Outer Banks and surrounding areas who have no other place to turn for help.

Meredith was able to secure the purchase of the bicycle through Bicycle Barn in Kill Devil Hills.  The family will receive this special gift for their child well before Santa comes to town.

In addition, Meredith used the remaining funds collected to accommodate the needs of a family with a 16 year old boy and a 4 year old girl from the Angel tree at Hotline, a non-profit organization assisting area families in crisis situations associated with abuse.

During our gathering, we will all contribute canned goods for the Outer Banks Food Pantry.

This year, giving had a VERY special meaning to us by what we were able to do for our community.

In a news release from the National Park Service on December 8^th,  the Wright Brothers’ First Flight Achievement will be celebrated on Wednesday, December 17^th beginning at 8:30 a.m. for its 105th Anniversary Event at Wright Brothers National Memorial.  The First Flight Society and the National Park Service will honor the accomplishments of Wilbur and Orville Wright at the 105th anniversary celebration of the first heavier-than-air powered flight.

A ceremony at the exact spot where the famous first flight occurred will begin the events for the day. A patriotic musical prelude and Pledge of Allegiance will preclude the distinguished guest speaker - James May, President and COE of the Air Transport Association.  By early afternoon, the military fly-by tribute is scheduled to include: F-18 Hornets from the U.S. Navy Oceana Air Station; F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base; V-22 Ospreys from the U.S. Marine Corp New River Air Station; Black Hawk helicopters from Fort Bragg U.S. Army Base; and C-130 Hercules and JJ-60 Jay Hawk helicopters from the U.S. Coast Guard Elizabeth City Air Station. The C-54 Candy Bomber will conclude the fly-by.

The park’s museum exhibits and activities throughout the day will provide an atmosphere of enjoyable learning about one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century. The visitor center will open at 8 a.m. and hold scheduled programs throughout the day.

Park entrance fees will be waived for the day.  For more information, call the National Park Service at (252) 441-7430.

Be a part of remaking history and come out for “The Candy Bomber” flying over the Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo on Sunday, December 14^th for a re-enactment of the Berlin Candy Drop around 2:00 p.m. followed by the arrival of Santa Claus at 2:15 p.m.  Upon landing, the children will be able to visit with Santa and tour the aircraft. 

Monday and Tuesday, December 15^th and 16^th respectively, The Flight Crew will provide school children with a history lesson on the Berlin Airlift.

The Town of Duck Police Department is offering a property check program to the Town’s property owners. These officers would make periodic checks of residences that are not occupied during the off-season.  They would look for open windows and doors and other signs of unauthorized entry, as well as look for other items such as water leaks.

If there are any findings at the residence, the homeowner or rental company would be contacted so the residence can be secured. Additionally, if it appears that a crime has occurred, the incident will be investigated.

Also, a video service is offered to residential property owners so that an inventory of your personal property, complete with photographs or video coverage, on record at the police department. 

If you are interested, a Duck Police Officer will come to your home and videotape your personal property. As part of the service, you will receive a copy of the video on CD for your records and the police department will also keep a copy for its records in a secure database as a back-up. 

For more information, please contact the Town of Duck Police Department at (252) 261-1112.

Thanks to Lee Fitzgerald’s tenacious spirit in managing our extremely sought after wait list, a guest of ours was able to get the week they really wanted in the home of their dreams.  Throughout the year, Lee has repeatedly fulfilled guest requests for an opportunity to vacation in one of our premier vacation rental homes.

In appreciation of her continuous effort to secure a vacation spot for them, they sent a huge basket full of fruits, cheeses, and assorted gourmet items with a note.

“Thank you for being customer sensitive and service oriented.  My wife and I appreciate all that you did for us.”
 

Jerry
Springfield, VA