It's beautiful -- but chilly -- on the beach in the off season.

It’s too cold to swim. The bars and restaurants are eerily empty. The souvenir shops are shuttered.  The Outer Banks may not be the most lively out-of-season destination. But there’s plenty to do at this resort town, if post-apocolyptic desolation is your thing.

Drive on the beach

The beach on at the northern end of Carolla is always open to vehicle traffic, but in the off-season, after October 1^st, several other stretches of beach open up to automobiles as well.  This includes parts of Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills.  Since We’re Out of Here only had a two-wheel drive Toyota Carolla, we decided to opt for the well-traveled (and well packed) beach on the north side of Carolla.

Now, driving on the beach can be a little dicey, especially in a two-wheel drive car.  The packed sand close to the ocean is great for driving, but to reach it, you have to drive through the fluffy sand at the top of the beach.  The sight of a PT Cruiser and another Carolla stuck in the sand made us think twice, but we went for it anyway.

There is really only one secret to driving through loosely packed sand, speed, and lots of it.  It’s not like driving on snow, you have to gun the engine and plow right through the sand to safety. 

Glide Down a Giant Dune

In the summer, walking on the baking sand of Jockey’s Ridge State Park’s giant dune is akin to being trapped in the Sarhara. On average, the sand is 20 degrees hotter than the tempeture of the surrounding area.

In the off season, the weather is cool enough to enjoy this breath-takingly large pile of sand — the biggest, in fact, in the entire Eastern US. Also, with the off season come sand boarding. Only permitted on the dune from Oct. 31 to March 31.

Buy Lot’s of Beer

We’ve all seen that ubiquitous Brew Thru t-shirts that people don in the summertime with their flip-flops.  Conventional wisdom would tell you that this is the place to go to buy beer on the Outerbanks.  Not so.  Chip’s Wine and Beer Market is the place to go.  Located in a strip mall at about mile post 6 on the Croatan Highway, this small store is filled with beer.  It has one of the best selection of single bottles I have ever seen, including some local beers that I haven’t seen anywhere else.  The staff is knowledgeable and friendly and they even wear matching bowling shirts.

All You Can Eat Seafood Buffet’s

These places are pretty much everywhere in Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills.  During the summer, they are usually packed with an interminable wait to be seated.  In the off-season, however, they are practically begging you to come on.  They even try to tempt you with the promise of six different kinds of crab legs or a free lobster tail.

For your seafood pig-out the best bet is probably Carolina Seafood or Jimmy’s Seafood Buffett.  I have been to both establishments and I must admit that there isn’t much of a difference between the two.  Both have mounds of fried goodies, both have a variety of crab legs and both usually have a small selection of locally caught food.  My advice is to go to whichever one you see first.

It’s been a busy year. We started this as a humble Wordpress blog and expanded to our own website. We traveled up and down the East Coast — covering Maine to North Carolina. We’ve eaten jelly fish, ramps, duck fat fries and lobster fresh from the boat. And we’ve had a beer (or two) in every stop along the way. Here’s a recap of the best and worst of our first year.

The Best Bars

Novare Res Bier Cafe and The Great Lost Bear in Portland, Me.: With the help of the guys from Portland Taps, we found these two amazing beer bars. Great selection, great atmosphere (Novare Res had a cellar quality; The Great Lost Beer bar was like a log cabin in the Great North Woods).  See our post here.

Brewer’s Art in Baltimore:  I don’t understand why Baltimore gets a bad rap with Washingtonians. Bar hopping there makes for a riotous, and affordable, night out.  This bar in particular is great. Its is in the cellar of a Victorian townhouse and on tap are the bar’s own Belgian-style microbrews. Even Esquire magazine noticed; it named Brewer’s Art the best bar in the US this April. Wow!  See our post here.

Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, Md.: While this is not actually a bar – and we did visit many great bars this year – it comes in 3^rd. Flying Dog has an excellent spread of beers of which you can enjoy limitless samples.  The atmosphere at one of these Saturday afternoon tasting is that of a well-behaved college house party – strangers chatting and spilling out on to the back porch. And, did I mention, its $5. See our post here.

The Best Surprises

Yeah, of course Maine was gorgeous and New York City was a captivating metropolis filled with excellent food.  These places/events were just as amazing – in ways we never expected.  

Davis-Elkins loop – Although I’ve been singing West Virginia’s praises since this blog began, I have yet to influence anyone to actually go there. I don’t give up easily.  Follow this route for a road trip, a mellow escape from DC insanity and a getaway that’s great in the winter.  There’s skiing, burritos and beer. Just do it! See our post here.

Kinetic Sculpture Race – I heard about this race from a blogger meet-up. I mentioned that we cover quirky travel, and this event sprung to everyone there’s mind. For the Kinetic Sculpture Race, groups of friends, classmates and coworkers make human-powered parade floats that can float in the bay, push through sand and coast down bumpy brick roads. It’s amazingly odd. Next year, I’ll be bringing a bike so I can better follow along with the race. See our post here.

Ohio Brew Week –The word “festival” (and its cousin “fair”) often makes me shudder. It usually means high prices, hoards of people and lots of vendors pushing useless junk (used laser disks, anyone?) However, this beer festival was the complete opposite. It was festively crowded and reasonably priced. We heard some great music and tried beers I’ll never see elsewhere. And there was a beer choo-choo. See our post here.

The Biggest Disappointments

We really wanted to love to these popular destinations, but they just fell short.

Assateague  – Although camping on the beach sounds romantic and relaxing – think: falling asleep to the sound of the waves and taking an early morning swim — the reality is that you are camping in a hostile environment. Sand is everywhere, mosquitoes swarm and the sun beats down without mercy.  I wanted to love Assateague. But Assateague didn’t love me.  After a weekend of being eaten, burnt and drenched, I submitted. See our post here.

Asheville – Maybe it was the rain, but this southern city let us down. It wasn’t nearly as outdoorsy or hippified as I hoped it would be. Although, West Asheville had a food co-op, coffee shops and dive bars, downtown was too upscale. How many boutiques does one tiny town need?  I think we missed Asheville’s heyday.  See our post.

Best beers

Saison Dupont from Brasserie Dupont: This is a truly world class beer.  If you want an introduction to the style called Saison, this is the beer to try.  My favorite brew, at my favorite restaurants with my favorite person; it doesn’t get better than that. Find it at Annabell Lee Tavern, Baltimore MD

Grand Wazoo Batch 2 at Jackie O’s Brewery: A bourbon barrel-aged sour dark ale with raspberries, definitely a one-of-a-kind beer.  This brew really showed off the range and diversity of the beverage.  It’s flavors are probably more in line with a wine than any beer most people have tasted. Had at: Jackie O’s Brewpub, Athens OH

Dale’s Pale Ale from Oskar Blues:  Our go-to summer beer.  Dale’s is a very tasty IPA that comes in a can.  Naturally, makes it perfect for camping, tubing, and backyard barbeques.   Had at: just about every trip that involved a cooler.

Ohioans love to party.  So this former Clevelander ended summer with Labor Day at Kelleys Island, a hard partying destination in Lake Erie. Here’s where to get the best beer, perch basket and marina view on Kelleys. And why you should never, ever rent a golf cart.

My family used to go to Kelleys Island at least once a summer when I was a child.  We camped at the state park, idled on the beach and played horseshoes (while parents drank at the winery). We were almost like locals – scoffing at the people who cruised from one side of the island to the other in rented golf carts.

In all the years I visited, though, I never noticed what the Lake Erie islands are famous for — partying. Ah, the innocence of childhood.  Another island, Put-in-Bay or South Bass Island, is known for its riotous bar scene. It’s a popular destination with bachelorette parties, for example. But some of that hard drinking culture has come to Kelleys. It’s “downtown” is an array of dive bars — all serving Great Lakes beers. And the place is so small that you can walk — or better yet, tipsly drive a golf cart — from one pub to the next.

Where to go:

The Village Pump: (301 Lakeshore Drive) The bar loses points for not having any decent beers on tap. The place is dark, grimy and one of those dives that serves all three big beers — Miller, Bud, Coors — as if there were any difference between the brews. However, this bar does have the island’s best Lake Erie perch, a small fish native to the lake. It’s breaded, fried and stuck over a  basket of fries. Excellent.

Kelleys Island Brewery: (504 West Lakeshore Drive) What’s a family owned business to do when the ferry terminus across the street shuts down, causing revenue at their ice cream shop to plummet? Open a brewery. KIB’s menu described it as a favorite destination with “beer travelers,” a phrase that manages to sum up this blog. So, if KIB is made for We’re Out of Here, what’s not to love? Well, the beer was watery, and they were sold out of almost everything. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to the end of summer.

Dockers: I never noticed Dockers before this trip. Maybe, it’s new. Or maybe it failed to grab my attention because it didn’t have the bawdy acoustic guitar player, the world’s worst cover band or a bunch of drunk, middle-aged boaters as it did last weekend.  Dockers did, however, have a nice view of the marina and the cheapest drinks we found: $6 for a draft beer and gin and tonic. You’ll need that booze though, if you are going to sit through the band’s off-key rendition of Tom Petty’s “Refugee.”

West Bay Inn - The party here was so rowdy that we didn’t even go in.  One glimpse of the hoard of golf carts parked in the lot, and we fled. Later, while sitting at the Kelleys Island Brewery, we watched revelers, wearing paper party hats, speed and shout as they cruised their carts through the center of town.

Read more about partying in Ohio here.

Bar hopping in Portland

We arrived in Portland in the afternoon on the last day of the trip. This harbor town’s compact size makes it perfect for bar hopping. A few hours later, we had to pull ourselves away from the bar stools and make a mad dash to the airport — cramming random camping supplies into our bags (only to have them searched by confused security guards).

Here’s where we went:

The Great Lost Bear
While driving through the outskirts of downtown Portland, I glimpsed a mural of a bear painted on the outside of a building. The painting promised beer — 60+ taps worth of it. We pulled into the parking lot. This, I soon discovered, was the Great Lost Bear bar, proclaimed one of the top ten US beer bars by Forbes and voted #4 on BeerAdvocate.com’s Top 50 Places to Have a Pint 2003. It’s rotating tap list and a menu of beers broken down by style, present an amazing array of choices. The bar also has five-ounce taster glasses are available for a buck apiece.

Novare Res Bier Cafe
At the Great Lost Bear, we met two guys responsible for local beer site Portland Taps. While, I thought we had already hit upon the local mecca of beer bars at Lost Bear, they directed us to another bar in the middle of downtown: Novare Res.

It took us 45 mintues of wandering around in the extreme afternoon heat to find the beer garden and bar, which was tucked behind some downtown boutiques. But it was worth it. Novare Res boasts more than 250 bottles of beer and 25 rotating taps from around the world. It’s cellar-like atmosphere makes you feel like you’re drinking in some Medievel catacomb. While it doesn’t match Lost Beer in quanity of taps, it like a fine restaurant, limits its menu to the outstanding.

Maine’s Blueberry Beer

Lobster is not the only food that is everywhere in Maine. Walk into any coffee shop, bakery or supermarket and you will see wild blueberries. Mainers put blueberries in everything from the standards, pies and tarts, to the unusual, beer and sodas.

Most beer snobs quickly turn their noses up at any beer containing fruit –unless it comes from Belgium. But I really enjoyed trying different versions of theblueberry beer. During our five days in Maine, we sampled several blueberry beers. The two that stood out were the Sea Dog Blue Paw Wheat Ale and Atlantic Brewing Company’s Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale.

Blue Paw:
This brew had a lot of blueberry both in its aroma and initially taste. But I was left wanting in the end because of it’s thin body and watery aftertaste. Since it is a wheat beer, I suppose it is intended to be light and refreshing, but with so much blueberry flavor packed in this beer, I was really expecting something a little more substantial.

Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale:
This was almost the exact opposite of Sea Dog’s Blue Paw. It’s a solid ale with a good malt backbone and a nice medium body, but with only a subtle hint of blueberry. I should note however, that I later had this brew on tap at the Atlantic brewery and it had a lot more blueberry flavor.

Here’s a list of stores in Northern Virginia where you should be able to find Maine’s blueberry beers.

 The Ohio Brew Week was everything a beer festival should be. For one solid week, beer took over the town of Athens, Ohio. Brewers lined the streets with kegs offering samples of their finest and most daring brews (A cabernet barrel-aged imperial raspberry vanilla porter, anyone?), restaurants featured dishes cooked with beer and each bar in the booze-friendly college town (Athens is home to Ohio University) was taken over by a different Ohio microbrewery.

Microbrewery Takeover 

Athens offers what only a college town can: an entire street of bars. The setup was perfect for the brew week. An Ohio microbrewery — ranging from the award-winning Great Lake Brewery to the obscure Zanezville Weasel Boy Brewing – took over each bar and served its own beer alongside the regular offerings. Accordingly, the weekend night crowds were an interesting mix of the beer-bellied brewing diehards and students, who drank their normal PBRs or Jack ‘n’ Cokes oblivious to the festival. 

The most impressive brewery was Jackie O’s, a local Athens brewpub. They offered an astounding 23 beers on tap, including several barrel-aged beers and three sours. My favorites included the OPA (Ohio Pale Ale), Sun Village (an India Pale Wheat) and Grand Wazoo Batch 2 (a bourbon barrel-aged sour dark ale with raspberries). I only wish I had ordered sample glasses instead of full pints so I could have tasted even more of their unique brews.

Brew Events

One highlight of the beer filled week was Friday’s Brew Choo Choo. Riders boarded a train and “chugged” (ha ha) down the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway through the rolling hills of southeastern Ohio. Each train car featured a different brewery.  Local musicians entertained the passengers, and area restaurants handed out samples of their appetizers. 

On the final day of the festival, Sat. July 18, festival organizers shut down Athens’ main street and held a beer-fueled block party called “Boogie on the Bricks.” Revelers bought tokens for $1 and used them to purchase samples of beer from the stands that lined the streets. However, getting up to buy the beer involved a mix of waiting and elbowing. The crowd was so dense, we had to huddle behind a tent to drink our hard won pints. The samples started at 3p.m. and were meant to last until 5p.m. However, most breweries’ kegs started sputtering out about 4p.m. Lesson learned: the early bird gets the ale. 

Before this trip, I assumed that a state famous for its craft brew (home to both the Troegs and Victory breweries) would have a plentiful selection of beer — and maybe even a few things we couldn’t get back in DC. Instead, we found ourselves driving from convenient store to gas station to supermarket and emerging from all empty-handed.

Finally, we got to a small shop in the center of Ohiopyle. The owner was used to tourists from the surrounding states being baffled by PA’s dry mini-marts. When I asked her where we could find beer, she replied with a question I’ve never been asked before: “Exactly how much beer are you looking for?” I shrugged, and she laid out our options:

a) Purchase a six pack from a nearby bar with an “off-license.” However, you will be charges the same rate for the carryout drinks as you would pay to sit at bar and drink them.

b) Drive to the other side of the mountain and buy an entire case from a beer distributor.

With time to kill, we went with choice (b) The distributor turned out to be a garage with a walk-in freezer attached to someone’s house. It was $31 for 24 bottles of Sierra Nevada, a decent price by DC standards. I know what I’ll be drinking for the next month.

1. Assateague Island: We attempted to camp at this National Seashore in Maryland last year. However, the place was booked up through October by the time I thought to plan the trip. So this year, I made reservations in January for a campsite in June. If you are interested in beach front camping and wild horses, go to the National Park Service site and reserve a camping spot now.

2. Philadelphia: Every time I drive up to New York, I pass by Philadelphia. I’ve never bothered to stop. This summer, I plan to change that.

3. Tubing: Tubing at Harper’s Ferry was my favorite day trip of last summer. We rented tubes from Butts Tubes and spent the afternoon floating down the Potomac, tipping over mini rapids and diving off rocks — all while towing a cooler of beer. (This year, I’ll remember to bring cans not bottles.) I want to expand my hunt for the best tubing in the region. I’m hoping to find somewhere as scenic as Harper’s Ferry W Va. but without the crowds of frat boys.

4. Tangier Island: Cheap seafood and weird accents are two of my favorite things in life. This Virginia island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay has both. Just be forewarned, no alcohol can be purchased on the island. Bring your own.

5. The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum: I read about this unusual destination in Weston, WV, in the Washington Post travel section this winter. It closed to patients in 1994, and now — from April to Nov. — it’s open to tourists. I’m getting creeped out just looking at the photos.

Comment with your top travel plans and suggestions.

Westover Market, a landmark in the Arlington neighborhood with the same name, was floundering until the family that owns the shop transformed it into a beer destination. Now, it hosts free tastings the first Friday evening of every month. Often, a brewery hosts the event and showcases its line. Just like in a wine tastings, the beer samplings run from the light in favor to the heavy. Last month was Troegs; May is Sierra Nevada.

In warm weather, the tastings are held outside in the tree-lined walk way. But good weather or bad there’s always music. At the March event, a string quartet – plus one or two — played songs that could be on the soundtrack for a Jane Austen movie. Outside, a man on an acoustic guitar strummed Counting Crows covers.

Westover Market
5863 N. Washington Boulevard
Arlington, Va. 22205

Westover Market: This friendly neighborhood grocery store has an entire, refrigerated back wall, dubbed “the Great Wall of Beer,” filled with craft brew. The staff can also get pretty much any keg for you with a couple of days notice.

Pros: Beer tastings the first Friday of every month. The event turns into more of a barbecue block party in the warmer months.

Cons: Groceries are an afterthought here.

5863 Washington Blvd.
Arlington, Va. 22205-2923

The Lost Dog - This neighborhood sandwich shop has a decent selection of imports and domestic craft beer in the coolers lining its lobby area. Prices tend to be about a dollar more per six-pack than those across the street at Westover Market. However, you can buy singles of any of Lost Dog’s beers.

Pros: A portion of their proceeds go the Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation
You can try a creatively named sandwich (ie: The Bureaucrat, Republican, Democrat) before picking up a six-pack.
Cons: You have to push through the crowds waiting for a table at the restaurant to get to the beer.

5876 Washington Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22205

Total Wine and More – Despite its name, this alcohol superstore devotes an entire aisle to beer. It has the best selection and possibly the lowest prices out of any other store listed here. With locations across the country, this is no mom-and-pop shop and you won’t be supporting your local entrepreneur by shopping here.

Pros: Tons of single bottles for creating a six-pack
They have an extensive wine selection too.

Cons: They are militant about carding you — and whoever is with you.
It’s in McLean.

1451 Chain Bridge Road
McLean, VA 22101

Whole Foods — Whole Foods has a surprisingly good beer selection for a chain grocery store. Unlike its produce, prepared food and other products, the beer is priced competitively. However, the Clarendon location has a minuscule parking lot, so you’ll likely have to park on the street a half a mile away.

Pros: They have a solid selection of 22-oz bombers.

Cons: It’s Whole Foods.

Clarendon:
2700 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201

Tysons:
7511 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA 22043