In off-season, Outer Banks residents take breather

Karen Harrington tossed a ball to her dog, who enthusiastically criss crossed the empty, rutted sand in pursuit. They slowly continued south, dog and owner sharing the beach with only the seabirds darting along the edge of the cold Atlantic.

The South Nags Head resident called her dog to her when she spotted the other person on the beach. She leaned over and snapped the leash on the collar.

"This is my favorite time of the year - you've got the whole beach to yourself," Harrington said. "We have a leash law down here, of course. But a lot of us locals try to let their dogs off the leash. We like to let them play."

Dead of winter on the Outer Banks starts the first week of January, when holiday visitors head home or to points south. Traffic clears, beaches empty and local residents take a deep breath.

In an economy based on tourism, this is traditionally when most restaurants and retail shops close and owners and workers alike leave town for their own vacation.

But this year's off-season has been tempered by a sense of unease about the battered economy. Fewer business owners are kicking back and counting their profits from the busy months, especially those working in building- and real-estate-related companies.

"I hear a lot of people saying that they're having to go elsewhere just to find work," said Mike Askew, 53, a self-employed plumbing contractor who lives on the oceanfront in Kitty Hawk. "It's hard to live here."

The native Outer Bank s resident said there's still money to be made in the area in remodeling and repairing storm damage - although he said that many people wait until the last minute in March. But winter also gives the break, he said, that allows homeowners the time to fix their own homes.

Despite the tough economy, Askew said he welcomes the peace of winter and the light traffic.

But some take advantage of that.

"When it gets really quiet like this," he said, "that's when we start getting a lot of break-ins."

Jerry Walker, owner of electrical contractor Power Edge Electric in Nags Head, said that widespread job losses have changed the sense of relaxation that once descended on the barrier islands in the winter.

"I would say there's a difference now in that construction is way down," he said. "They're hurting. Truthfully, a lot of the contractors are laying people off."

Unemployment in Dare County in November, the last available figure, was 11.5 percent, up from 8.6 percent in October.

Local residents on their way to fish at Oregon Inlet or bird watch at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge in the winter have frequently stopped at the Bodie Island Lighthouse on the way, said Christine Godwin, unit manager for Eastern National, which runs the gift shop.

But this is not a typical year, she said.

"Attendance here is down," she said. "Normally this time of year we have the birders - loads and loads of birders. I don't know what's keeping them away."

It's not all doom and gloom. Ben Sproul, president of the Outer Banks Restaurant Association, said that moderately priced restaurants, including his own, have been up this year.

"Now people are very picky and they want value for their money," said Sproul, an owner of The Pit/The Boardriders' Grill in Kill Devil Hills.

Lee Nettles, the managing director of the Outer Banks Tourism Bureau, said although some businesses have closed earlier or may not reopen at all, he also has heard that some business owners have decided to stay open longer in the off-season than usual.

Business is never bustling in the off-season, he said, and this year is no different. But people are still taking day trips to enjoy the beach, while locals can still find the winter solitude they love.

"There are definitely fewer folks, but there are some folks who kind of covet that," he said. "On the plus side, you can get around town very quickly."

Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com