Treasures of the Outer Banks

Will Thorp is a legend among restaurateurs on the Outer Banks. He opened Tortuga's Lie, Rundown Cafe, and High Cotton BBQ. We sat down and talked about opening restaurants, what it's like operating a restaurant on the Outer Banks, and how things have evolved. https://www.highcottonbbq.com/

Angel Khoury is an author from Manteo, NC. Her novel, Between Tides, is a love story based on real people who lived in Manteo and Cape Cod. We mostly focused on the back story of this book and how certain ideas were threaded within.

You can learn more at www.angelkhoury.com. The book can be purchased online or in local bookstores on the Outer Banks.

In this episode I talk about a few Outer Banks authors, the books they've written, and which book stores are my favorite.

Audra Krieg, The Parker House.

 John Railey, The Lost Colony Murder on the Outer Banks:  Seeking Justice for Brenda Joyce Holland and Andy Griffith's Manteo:  His Real Mayberry.

 Angel Khoury, Between Tides and Manteo:  A Roanoke Island Town.

 Downtown Books in Manteo and Duck's Cottage

Island Bookstore in Kitty Hawk, Duck, and Corolla

Joe O'Grady has been doing kayak tours on the Outer Banks for over 20 years and has great stories about seeing bear, alligators, and places to paddle. You can contact him at www.coastalkayak.org.

In this episode I talk about the time we evacuated for Hurricane Bonnie, no relation. Our hands were full in 1998. We were the new owners of a watersports business, the new owners of a baby girl (Alivian), and Bonnie was starting a new job at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-C). Some parents worry about hoarding formula. We were worried about falling asleep at the wheel and driving in to a ditch. Enjoy, John

Butch Stone and I talk about him helping me during Hurricane Irene, his life on a sailboat, and adventures with the JetPak.

Edward Duffey is a local realtor who spends his free time reuniting people with their lost jewelry. People will contact him when they lose valuables, typically on the beach or in the water. Edward will show up, say a prayer, and start hunting.

It should be noted that there are plenty of individuals, both locally and from outside the Outer Banks, who are happy to find your lost items for their personal gain. Edward's pleasure in metal detecting is seeing the joy in people who get their lost valuables back.

Edward has an Instagram account with the handle OBX_Ed, https://www.instagram.com/obx__ed/, where he promotes local real estate and shares his success stories. In this episode Ed and I talk about some of those stories, what to do if you lose something, and the best equipment to use.

Enjoy, John.

This is a story about me finding the Norris Baum Cemetery in Nags Head Woods. The cemetery contains the grave of David Baum, a former slave. This is interesting to me because there were laws that prevented black people from being buried in a white person's cemetery. Also, slaves were rarely given a properly marked grave.

Meghan Agresto is a force of nature. The energy she brings to her job is infectious. To call her a site manager of the Currituck Lighthouse is a gross understatement. She is part historian, part event planner, part manager, and part problem-solver. In the end, Meghan is a person of action.

Meghan works for the Outer Banks Conservationists who maintain and preserve the compound at Currituck Lighthouse as well as the Island Farm on Roanoke Island. Her office is a renovated storage shed on the compound and she lives feet from the facility. https://obcinc.org/

Her knowledge of the Lighthouse is amazing and her energy helps create an outstanding experience for visitors.

Meghan also holds the title of President for the Board of Directors, Water's Edge Village School (WEVS), a separate non-profit charter school created to educate the youth in Corolla so they wouldn't have to drive over two hours to a school located on the Currituck mainland. https://www.watersedgevillageschool.com/

This talk with Meghan reminded me I need to get up to Historic Corolla Village and take the time to look around.

Enjoy.

Owning a business in an unfamiliar area can be a handful. After moving to the Outer Banks I was fortunate to meet three professionals who made my life easier and became good friends. A CPA, a welder/builder, and an electrician/HVAC/mechanic. These people were personal treasures for me.