Girl Who Travels: A Story in Every Frame

Travel Date: September 2026

Saturday: Manteo Strolls and Coastal Bites

Wandering down the quiet, oak-shaded streets of Manteo on a Saturday feels like stepping into a postcard.

Between the historic waterfront and the salt air, we spent the afternoon weaving in and out of the small, independent shops that give the town its quiet charm:

• Something or Other Treats and More was a delightful stop for browsing unique local finds and sweet surprises.
• Downtown Books offered that quintessential, cozy indie bookstore experience right in the heart of town.
• The Artful Navigator completely won us over, and we ended up leaving with some adorable couch pillows featuring beautiful hand-drawn art.
• Our Charmed Life added even more local character to our afternoon stroll with its eclectic curation of coastal gifts and goods.

After exploring the storefronts, we grabbed a fantastic lunch at The Lost Colony, where I happily dug into an order of fried oysters and chips.

Suitably fueled up, we wandered over to the little pop-up market at the park right across from our Airbnb. While we were checking out the handmade pottery at the market, we also took in the charming view of the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse right nearby—its classic cottage-style design perched over the water is such a picturesque little landmark for the waterfront.

By evening, we found ourselves at Olives for dinner, and it completely delivered. Tucked away and welcoming, it’s the kind of intimate spot where the meal becomes the main event of the day. Every dish tasted fresh, inventive, and deeply comforting, making it an easy favorite for anyone looking past the usual beach-town fried seafood baskets.

Sunday: Island Drives and Armloads of Books

Sunday kicked off with a hearty breakfast at Dunes before we hit the road, setting us up perfectly for the day ahead.

That morning drive featured an amazing crossing over the bridge onto the pristine expanse of Pea Island, following the highway further down the Outer Banks.

That scenic route brought us straight to our bookstore jackpot: Buxton Village Books. Housed in an old cottage and packed to the gills with titles, local history, and the unmistakable scent of aged paper, it’s a reader’s dream. I went in with good intentions and walked out carrying an absolute armload of books, proving once and for all that self-control is entirely optional when good literature is involved.

While we were down that way, we made sure to stop and take in the stunning Bodie Island Lighthouse. With its unmistakable horizontal black-and-white bands and the historic keeper’s quarters nestled neatly at the base, it is such an incredible and photogenic sight against the coastal sky.

We had originally thought about ending our trip by taking the ferry over to Ocracoke as our final stop, but travel plans often require a pivot; with the route down to a single boat and a multi-hour wait stretching ahead of us, we decided to skip the queue and head home instead. Between boutique-hopping in Manteo, waterfront lighthouses, sweeping coastal bridges, a towering historic beacon, and a trunk overflowing with new reads, it was still coastal weekend perfection.