Outer Banks Vacation Homes

On Wednesday, July 1^st, Team Sandtastic, A professional sand sculpturing company, will sculpt 50 ton sand “Peace Frog” and the public is invited to observe free of charge.

The Outer Banks Hospital will provide free skin cancer screenings and public education. Peace Frogs will sell limited edition sand sculpture t-shirts with a portion of the proceeds contributed to The Outer Banks Hospital’s Cancer Resource Center.

On Thursday, July 2 at 2 p.m, these pros will offer tips, tricks, tools and techniques of sand scupting.

On Friday, July 3 from 10 a.m. to noon, there will be a free Sand Sculpture Contest sponsored by Gateway Bank for kids ages 6 to 12.

All of the festivities will be held in front of Kitty Hawk Sports in the Jockey’s Ridge Crossing Shopping Center at milepost 12.5 in Nags Head.

For more information, call 252-441-6800.

The Outer Banks Vacation Home Wizard is back and better than ever helping guests far and wide 24/7 search in style, and at their convenience, for their perfect vacation destination for 2010.  Guests may narrow their search in every way possible:
• Arrival Day
• Arrival Date
• Number of Bedrooms
• Area
• Private Pool
• Subdivision Pool
• Tennis
• Pet-friendly House
• Oceanfront
• Hot Tub
• Elevator
• Allow Special Events
Our guests can pre-reserve right on-line and make payments as well.
For all guests that have already pre-reserved to-date, we will send a letter detailing the advance reservation policy and request a fee to hold the property until the leases are sent and the first half deposit confirms their reservation.

If Governor Bev Perdue signs off on the bill that bans retail chain stores with five or more stores in the state or at stores with 5,000 square feet of retail space or more from using plastic bags, the law would go into effect Sept. 1.  Thanks to the grassroots effort of state Sen. Marc Basnight, the NC state Senate passed the bill 44-2.  Looks like the Dare, Currituck and Hyde counties will soon become the first communities on the East Coast to banish the use of these bags.

If you had the pleasure of visiting our slice of paradise from 1968 to1988, you may have remembered seeing the huge red and blue circus tent that was set up off to the side of the main road.  The scene was so inviting; especially the free ice cream.  Inside, you would find it… along with folk music playing, sing-a-longs, a book shop to peruse and friendly people to meet.

Now’s your chance to enjoy it for the first time or reminisce with the folks that are preparing for the “reunion” at the Promenade Saturday, June 27^th from 5 to 8:00 p.m.  There will be a world-traveled puppet show at 5:00 p.m. and the New Hermeneutics, the original band members of the Circus Tent in ‘71 and ’73, begin at 6:00 p.m.  Volunteers will dispense ice cream from ingredients donated from Dairy Queen.  NC Barbeque and hot dogs will be sold by High Cotton with proceeds contributing to the use of the huge tent supplied by Ocean Atlantic Rentals.

Admission is free.  Bring a chair and prepare to have a great time!

In most cases, you’ve waited all year for a week’s vacation and in this case, you will spend a week with family and/or friends in a luxury vacation rental home on the Outer Banks.  The home was thoroughly cleaned, inspected and incidental maintenance issues were addressed before you settle in to your new digs.  Upon your arrival, after grabbing a refreshing dip in the ocean or drink from the fridge, take a moment to walk through the home to make sure that nothing is amiss.  If you find any cleaning issues, pool or hot tub water not looking sparkly clean, a light bulb is out or remote is missing; that is the time to give us a call so that we can make it right.

Carolina Designs Realty provides a guest survey in every check in packet so that all aspects of the service we provide can be evaluated and improved if necessary.  There is a comment section to rate the whole rental process from your point of view.  Please take the time to relay any information pertinent to the vacation, hospitality of our staff, or amenities provided in the home.  This information is invaluable in our continuous effort to provide the best possible management of the property and service to you.

So, when you walk into that rental home and everything is working properly and the house is spotless, remember the people who made it possible. They work hard to make your vacation a great one!

 “First and foremost thank you so much for your excellent customer service and kindness when it comes to dealing with your customers. Never in 3 years have I had a bad experience, your representatives are always very friendly, courteous and kind.

We checked into #618 on June 6th, we loved the house, we had 3 family groups and 6 kids ranging from 4 months to 13 and we found that house to be excellently furnished, accommodating and exactly what we had hoped for. Sunday after check in is when we found that our home had a termite issue and one of the bedrooms had holes in the wall where the termites were coming through. Thank you for very promptly identifying this problem and sending an exterminator. We do appreciate it.

I just want you to know that while we may have had different opinions about whether we should or should not have stayed at that property, we greatly appreciate you moving us to property #341 The Mainsail. For our family’s health and safety we felt it was best to leave that house and we sincerely appreciate you accommodating that request.

Everyone my husband and I spoke to- customer service, maintenance, house keeping - was more than professional and understanding during these circumstances and Carolina Designs should be proud of that. We have dealt with two other rental companies in the past and neither could even touch your level of customer service and overall great people skills.

The Mainsail property was great, and we couldn’t have been happier to move, even though it was a bit tedious. The house was beautiful, pool area very nice and location couldn’t have been better.

We just wanted to extend our deep thank you for making our vacation a great one and we will definitely be reserving for fall 2009 and summer 2010 with you soon.”

Sincerely,

Steve and Jennifer

Toledo, OH

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Kill Devil Hills has been rated the No. 6 best surf town in the United States by Surfer magazine in its July issue.   For a town to make the list, criteria included quality of life, variety and quality of surf, climate, cost of living, access to culture, availability of work, and even prevalence of sharks.

THE COMPLETE LIST:
   1. Santa Cruz, CA
   2. Haleiwa, HI
   3. Encinitas, CA
   4. Paia, HI
   5. San Clemente, CA
   6. Kill Devil Hills, NC
   7. Malibu, CA
   8. Montauk, NY
   9. New Smyrna Beach, FL
  10. Ocean City, NJ

Source:  Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 8 June, 2009 : - - San Juan Capistrano, Ca

“I just wanted to tell you that I have not experienced such great customer service in a really long time!
Elaine is responsive, accurate, and overall a pleasure to work with.  I have a very hectic schedule and she made planning for a beach trip vacation this year so easy.
And then, when I call right before 5:00 and get Helen last minute, she drops everything and picks up where Elaine left off!
Overall, you have a great team - I have been coming to Corolla for over 20 years and I think the tone that has been set for this vacation has the whole family set up for a wonderful time.”

Guests of #627 American Waves

July 5th through July 12th

Dr. Beach declares once again Outer Banks as one of
AMERICA‘S BEST BEACHES 2009
 

Outer Banks makes the Top 10 list again:  http://www.drbeach.org/drbeach/

1.                    Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii
2.                    Siesta Beach, Sarasota, Florida
3.                    Coopers Beach, Southhampton, New York
4.                    Coronado Beach, San Diego, California
5.                    Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii
6.                    Main Beach, East Hampton, New York
 

7.                  Cape Hatteras, Outer Banks, North Carolina

“Bulging far offshore of the mainland coast as a barrier island, Cape Hatteras was the first National Seashore.  Providing some of the best board surfing along the East Coast, as well as the most famous lighthouse in the United States, Cape Hatteras attracts beachgoers to its historic fishing villages.  Nature lovers adore the excellent beachcombing and superb fishing.”
 

8.             Cape Florida State Park, Key Biscayne, Florida
9.             Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
10.           Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina
 

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On Wednesday June 24^th 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Thursday June 25^th 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the Whalehead Club Arts Festival provides a place for visitors and locals to appreciate over 100 artist’s creations from near and far to include watercolors, clay, photography, wood, stained glass and much, much more.  There will activities for the children to enjoy from rock wall climbing, kite making, creating ceramic art, treasure hunting and being guided on a daylight ghost tour.

Admission is free; however, there is a $5 car parking donation requested.  All proceeds benefit the Whalehead Preservation Trust.  For more information, call 252-453-9040, ext. 3.