We love to see Shadow and Gus every time we visit Frisco! Apparently I look similar to Gus's mama,…read moreso he follows me a lot and nudges/ nibbles my hands. He was the sweetest! The guys let us bring them carrots last time and we all hung out a bit. We can't wait to see them again next year!

We had such a wonderful time riding Gus and Shadow! Jeff was so patient and helpful with my kids…read moreriding, and then the adults got to ride too! The horses were beautiful and loved by all. It's an experience that we would highly recommend to anybody! Would love to do it again!

We found a lot of hiking trails while visiting the Outer Banks. It's not what most people do, but…read morewe're not big beach people (and it's not all that warm in November). This spot is right across the street from the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, so it's conveniently located. The trail is really short and flat like most of the trails in the Outer Banks. It's only .8 miles, so it's a quick stop. The trail is wooded and goes through a swampy wetlands area, similar to most of the other trails we did. I wouldn't say this was my favorite hike we did, but it's worth a stop if you're going to the lighthouse anyway.

Had no place to park motor home overnight that would allow me to run generator or plug-in. I have…read moremedical equipment that needs power 24/7 and no power also means no A/C. NO accommodations for RVs passing through without reservations made months in advance. The park ranger lied that I was asked to vacate a parking lot at the airport that was marked 24 hour parking. Was given $155 ticket for parking overnight. A beautiful area, to bad the rangers aren't more accommodating.

Nice national park site. Beach area is clean and easily accessible. Camping is no frills but gets…read morejob done. Entry visitor center closed because of fire. Nice junior ranger program. Not a destination but worth a stop in area.

This is a twofer review. We went on 2 tours with the Austins while on Ocracoke for a weeklong…read morevacation recently. This is our second time to go on the ATV Tour and jthe first time for a new tour they are offering, the Sand Bar Cruise. Both are fantastic! We have such a great time with these down to earth folks. First on the ATV Tour...you show up at their office/umbrella stand that is adjacent to the Jolly Roger Marina on the main drag in Ocracoke on Siler Lake Harbor. Bring these thing with you for certain: SUNSCREEN, GOOD BUG SPRAY. Other items you will need: Water, a few snacks if you are bringing kids and maybe some beach towels. Wear your bathing suit under your clothes. You jump in the boat with Wade (a native Ocracoker...very nice) and a guide and off you go (at a great clip) to Portsmouth Island. It is about a 15 minute boat ride. When you get there Wade will beach the boat and help you off and then he leaves you on the island with your super nice quide. You then hop on some ATV Mules (some with windshields, some without-try to get one with!) and away you go. She will take you to the edge of the Historic Portsmouth Village. Before you get there she stops and lets you DRENCH yourself with bug spray. Because this is a deserted island and a National Park, they don't do commercial mass spraying which is a must on the Outer Banks. THE BUGS ARE TERRIBLE!!! It is almost not worth going to the village because of this, but it is a really neat place. The place is like it was left when the last permanent resident left (back in the late 60's I believe). There is a life saving station with all kinds of informative displays including a replica boat. There is the post office, a really nbeat church that really shows the damage of Hurricane Emily and about 6 other houses. It is a walking tour and it is quite a hike and very buggy, but I swear it is worth it if you have any interest in this sort of thing. When you are done looking over the village, you will dash back out to your ATV (they aren't aloud in the village and you have to park where the bugs are the worst..so run!) and then you go back out the the beach where there are practically NO BUGS. There is great shelling here as hardly anyone takes te private ferry (that costs about $200@ car) so you have the beach all to yourself and for the remander of the tour (which is 4 hours total) you go check out the beach and look for shells (we always find big conch/welks!) You ,may even see some fishermen on the beach. While we were there one pulled in a STINGRAY! They let it go while we were there, thank goodness. Then back down the beach to meet Wade and he takes you back to Ocracoke. This tour is expensive (hence the deduction of 1 star) it is $85 per person. But I really think it is worth the money. NOW for the Sand Bar tour. This is the BANG-FOR-YOUR-BUCK experience on Ocracoke Island. It was WONDERFUL! You get on The Native Son, the Austins' new Pontoon Cruiser. It is very nice. THINGS TO TAKE: sunscreen, towels, chairs, a filled cooler, your beach book-basically whatever you would normally take to the beach with you. They have plenty of room on the boat. When we went , Wade and his wife and kids went with us alond with about 15 other people. The boat holds about 30 or so people and so you are very comfortable on the ride out to the Sand Bar. You go about 2/3 of the way to Portsmouth Island and Wade very smoothly and professionally steers you to the barely visable patch of sand and you disembark. You are on the tour for about 3 hours, and in that time, the Sand Bar keeps getting bigger a the tide is falling the entire time. The area you can explore is almost unlimited. The water on the sandbar varies in depth, from about 6" deep to over your head swimming holes. And all this is about 2 miles off shore! It is SO NEAT. While we were there my nephews (the buddied up with Wade's kids, Hayden and Colby) caught about 20 crabs and we found about 40 sand dollars!! It was so nice. Before we left the sandbar was about as big as half a football field exposed. We just turned our kids loose (ages 13 and 10). They had the most fun we had on the whole trip. This is the best deal on the island. $40 for the adults and $20 for the kids! You can't beat that with a stick! And there was even a coupon in the 'Sunny Deals' guide that is in every store for $5 off the adults! Fantastic. We will DEF be going back for more sand bar tours with the Wade Family. BOIL IT DOWN-If you have the cash go on...BOTH! If you are having to choose between the two, We like the Sand Bar Tour...no bugs and tons of laid back fun. If you need to be a little more entertained, the guided tour of Portsmouth Island is for you. Both are fun...its all about your prefrence.

My wife and I booked a morning trip during a recent stay on Ocracoke. We loved this excursion. Our…read moreguide, Mark, was personable and responsive to the desires of the group; my wife wanted to see one house in particular in the village, and he made sure we did. The ATVs were well-used but ran great and were a blast to drive on the beach. We would most definitely do this again. Well worth the money.

I was lucky enough to be brought along as a guest for a trip to the gulf stream and a fun filled…read moreday of folks fishing on board the "Carolina Girl." We met Derek Taylor, Captain, and his son Brian, Mate, on the dock early one morning ready for an adventure. Both very friendly and know their fishing. Understand the seas had not been cooperating for some time and the fish were few. Derek gave us a rough outline as to what to expect and Brian on how to catch 'em. Captain Derek Taylor and his Son, Brian, make quite the bookends. If your not from a fishing family you would never know the barbed exchanges while the lines are singing are really friendly and good natured banter. Derek, stood over watch on the flying bridge and yelled down the dance steps of a fishing experience few have ever had. Especially when the Dolphin (Mahi) took the hooks. Imagine ducking under and stepping over other rods as you brought the fish to the back of the boat for Brian to pluck from the water and cover with ice. Schools circling the boat and singing line. Brian yelling for the leader, unhooking and baiting hooks quicker than you could get the line in the water. A fish-on until the box was full. After filling the box with Mahi off we went for Wahoo or sailfish. One sailfish hook-up a way back from the boat, with a flip of the fish and a spit hook. But the Wahoo did strike hard and run deep. Three Wahoo boated and one nice fish released at the side of the boat. The released fish was big too, guess that is why they call the sport fishing and not "catching." Derek and Brian made the experience great. On the return to the Harbor we off loaded the largest catch of the day and the largest for some time in the harbor. An honest captain and crew. Carolina Girl is a good boat. Fish On!

My family has been fishing on the Carolina Girl for years now. My dad generally books a handful of…read morecharters every year and I have been fortunate enough to have gone along on several of them. We always haul in a great catch, but the time spent with my family, Captain Derek and his son, Brian the first mate, is the priceless part. They are fun, safe, and really know their business. If we can't get on the Carolina Girl's schedule, then we just don't go fishing. There's no other choice for us. We've caught everything from dolphin, tuna, trigger, scorpionfish, sea bass and my dad even caught the North Carolina Golden Tile State Record on the Carolina Girl in 2010!

Tami and her crew were great! We used their 4 boats for shelling excursions. All captains were…read morevery personable and fun to be around. We found a lot of shells and sand dollars. We would highly recommend doing a tour with them! So much fun!!

What a fun afternoon!!! Captain John took us out shelling, he was knowledgeable and fun and we…read morethoroughly enjoyed our time. We found some amazing treasures and learned a lot too! We had 5 women. This trip would be great for a small family. Great experience and we all highly recommend! We are already thinking of doing it again next year!! Kudos to all.

Top-class customer service. I ordered a harness and harness lines, but ordered the wrong harness…read morefor windsurfing and the staff noticed and called me about it and we made the change before shipping the wrong one. Very friendly staff and very helpful. I hope to get a trip out to Avon/Hatteras soon to enjoy the great conditions there! Thanks Brian.

Super quick, like 10 minutes from signing the waiver to getting us in the kayak and out on the…read morewater. In addition to rentals, they offer kiteboarding and windsurfing lessons. Friendly and efficient.

We have been chartering on Hatteras Island/Ocracoke for almost 40 years. We have had a number of…read moregreat captains. Captain Rick is fantastic!!! Whether a novice or experienced, he provides exceptional coaching and training in the finer points of fishing. Within 15 minutes of departure, he had us casting for red drum and we caught our legal limit within an hour of the first cast. We caught and released drum in excess of the legal size. Then we set out for bluefish and, within 30 minutes, we were consistently casting and hitting throughout the remainder of the trip. By the end of the trip, we caught one less than the limit. Rick's light tackle approach made it so much more fun and challenging. Our day with Captain Rick was spectacular!!!! Mike H and Joe D

Rick is great, always works to put his parties on fish. My family has fished with him several times…read moreand he has helped us all catch our personal best weight trout (mine was over 5 pounds). Great captain even when the bite is slow. Will continue using Captain Scarboro. He can also show you where the locals buy their seafood.