We spent a long weekend in November at Portsmouth Island, a small southern Outer Banks barrier island.
Portsmouth Island is 13 miles long and only accessible by a small boat or privately run ferry.
It’s one of the last wild frontiers of the Outer Banks with no businesses and only a small handful of National Park Service regulated and managed cabins.
4WD vehicles are a must for driving on the beach. . .
And not a place where you want to get stuck in the sand and have to leave your car behind.
November weather is unpredictable on the NC coast. Saturday was a beautiful day to fish with 65 degree temperatures and sunshine. Sunday was blustery, cold and raining.
My friend Carol is a dedicated fisherwoman. . .me, not so much.
I caught a Monarch butterfly looking for nectar and plenty of photos. :)
For a while it looked like this was the only fish we were going to catch. . .
But we took a page out of the Carolina Panthers’ playbook to Keep Pounding. . .
Happy Sunday!
I have never been to P.I. Love the out of the way beaches….your friend Carol reminds me of my sister Carol…an avid fisherwoman…her and her hubby fly all over to get to the best places to fly fish….Her idea of a great gift is a pair of great waders!…I am like you…I will just watch and make wonderful shell art in the sand…Love that shell art!!!
This reminds me of a quote by Chief Seattle Suquamish (1786 – 1866)
“Take only memories, leaving nothing but footprints”
I stumbled across your site in October and fell in love with it! I told my mom and sister about it and they love it too! Your page is the first one I open when I see it in my email. Thank you for sharing and just know you do AWESOME work!
Did you cook that fish over an open campfire? Love the “shell fish”. You are always creating.
Hope you Holidays will be Mary!
You even “stage” the beach girl! HoHoHo!!!!
Great weekend getaway!! Love fishing and the beach!! 🐟🎣🎣🎣🎣
I had no idea that Portsmouth Island even existed…what a beautiful respite! Gorgeous photos!
Sad to see that ugly rusty scrap on the beach, though.
FL has a similar spot called Palm Island…very isolated & relaxing. Your post jogged lots of good memories from there.
Lovely!
Your pictures stirred up memories of Ocracoke Island, only it is certainly heavier populated, though quaint. Gorgeous pictures, and I adore that fish! As always, thanks for sharing…
What lovely pictures. I’ve been to a couple of places on the Outer Banks but had no idea this island existed. Too bad about the rusted ugly cars littering up the beach. Hope your MIL continues to get better and hope Betty is home for Christmas.
Your photos are a gallery of “oh, gosh!!” franki
What a wonderful little vacation and how fun. We spent two years at Camp Lejeune and explored the Outer Banks a few times. I fell in love with it, hopefully I can go back sometime.
Stunning pictures. Thank you for sharing.
love your flag!
What a beautiful serene place away from the hustle and bustle, Mary~ I would be collecting shells and photos and just watching the fishing too! I guess you had to take all your groceries and be well organized? Sounds like a great way to spend a quiet weekend before the holiday craziness~ might be a great place to return to and refresh after New Years too!
Jenna
Just beautiful !
Aaaaaahhhh, that sunset!
Many years ago several members of my family and I met on the NC coast and took the car ferry across to the Outer Banks…we spent several days camping and after leaving them in Manteo then went to see “The Lost Colony” play… I remember that time fondly…many wonderful memories!
I love every bit of this post, Mary! Beautiful and creative and wonderful!
Beautiful!! Cam was our QB here at Auburn and my nephew was his Center (starting C all 4 years of his career starting as a true freshman) and we’re very proud of him!! #KeepPounding 12-0 now!!
How fun! Love the sunset, how beautiful!
So pretty and such a different coast. It’s wild to see cars on the beach, so not a ca thing, I can’t imagine driving to your destination and just being there! Your homemade fish is great, I too prefer catching butterflies, so cute how your pink drew him in :-) great shots of the day~
What a beautiful day you captured through photos, Mary! Thanks for taking me along to PI. I enjoyed seeing the isolated beauty, the fish formed from shells, the Monarch butterfly, the fishing friends, and even the wrecked car. What a glorious day with views of the gorgeous sun reflected in the water!
I can almost smell the salt air…..
We had too much fun and I had almost as much fun reliving the weekend through your pictures! Love it!
What beautiful sunsets and scenery. I went to PI as a child many, many years ago. Looks like I may have to make a trip back soon. I love the NC Coast. No where on earth like it. Thanks for sharing.