THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 26, 1995 TAG: 9503230159
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JOHN HARPER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 105 lines
IN A SEASONAL shift nearly as dramatic as the swallows' return to Capistrano, cottage and business owners, fishermen and beach lovers are returning to the Outer Banks.
The long winter's nap is over.
Everywhere there are signs of spring: People walking the quiet beaches as seagulls swoop in for the seafood buffet, surfers paddling out to catch the spring break, replaced screens appearing in windows as ``closed for the winter'' signs disappear.
But for some locals, the winter's nap was light.
The season is a time for rest, but it is also the best time to prepare for the grueling summer months ahead.
Tom Haddon, 40, of Nags Head spent the better part of winter designing and building a new 1,800-square-foot studio and warehouse for his wife's ``Donna Designs.''
``It was a major effort,'' Haddon says. ``But it was something we needed to do in order to expand our business.''
Donna Designs, specializing in wearable art, now has shops in Nags Head and Duck.
Donna Haddon opened her first shop in 1987 and soon will have a store in Corolla, set to open on Memorial Day. The Haddons are also expecting their first child in June.
Gene O'Bleness and his staff at the Dare County Tourist Bureau spent the winter months drumming up business. O'Bleness traveled to England in September for a tourism show.
The staff published the 1995 Vacation Guide and then went to work distributing its 350,000 copies.
``Our work doesn't really slow down in the winter,'' O'Bleness says. ``It's just different than our summer work.''
Another winter project for the Tourist Bureau was the first ``Countdown to Summer'' brochure, which lists springtime activities on the Outer Banks.
``It's really our main thrust,'' O'Bleness says. ``The Tourist Bureau is really working to increase visitation during the shoulder seasons.''
How does O'Bleness feel about the upcoming tourist season?
``A lot depends on the weather, but all our indicators say it will be an up season.''
Some residents, like Chuck Voigt of Kill Devil Hills, used the down season for activities they don't have time for in the summer.
Voigt closed his Osprey Island Grille Restaurant in November.
For the last three months, Voigt has coached youth basketball, done volunteer work, soaked up sunshine in Florida and traveled to Pennsylvania to ski.
But now, he's ready to get back to work.
``I feel rested,'' Voigt says. ``It was a good break.''
He says he doesn't expect another day off until May. Owning and managing a restaurant requires 70 to 80 hours a week during the summer months.
Larry Johnson of Kitty Hawk also relaxed a bit in the winter, working ``only'' 50 to 60 hours a week to maintain the three properties he manages: The Surf Slide, Pink Elephant and King Neptune miniature golf courses in Nags Head.
Johnson says it takes about two weeks to get the greens ready for potential putters. Some of the putting greens are being replaced; others are spray-washed.
Work on the Surf Slide started in December. Johnson is helping to refurbish the 17-year-old attraction.
All the slides are being resurfaced, and the game room and snack bar are being expanded before the Memorial Day opening. That's when Johnson really goes to work.
``This is really a slow time for me,'' he says. ``Once the season gets here, I work about 100 hours a week.''
The season has already started for surfers, who are riding waves in full force. Mickey Bednarek, manager of Wave Riding Vehicles in Kitty Hawk, says the boys of summer are coming out of mothballs.
``Just last week,'' Bednarek says, ``we had some of the best waves ever on the Outer Banks.''
With a water temperature of 48 degrees, Bednarek says, most guys are still in ``full battle gear.''
He says the hoods should be coming off in a few days.
``It's an Outer Banks tradition,'' he says. ``Guys hit the waves in the spring.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
SPRUCING UP
[Color Photo]
Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
Mike Andrews, 30, of Manteo, prepares for the coming fishing season
by sanding the teak bowsprit of a sportfishing boat at Mill Landing
in Wanchese.
Shirley Adams, 49, of Richmond, Va., washes wallpaper at the Pebble
Beach Motel in Nags Head.
Joe Seymore uses a pressure washer to clean the exterior of the
Outer Banks Motor Lodge at Kill Devil Hills.
James Thompson, 23, of Manteo sweeps sand from a driveway at the
Viviana Motel in Nags Head.
by CNB