[CooleyAsCanBe]

I just got back from there. My kids are in that age range. Here are a few suggestions:

3- is there anything to do around that area .. we are going to be a couple of families with 5 kids from 1 yr to 6 yrs old

I agree with Firstdown on the aquariums, especially with kids. We enjoyed the one at Roanoke Island with ours.

Hit the Kittty Hawk Wright Brothers museum, but make sure to drive around to the other side of the hill where the big granite monument is, they have a life-size metal recreation of the Wright Flyer your kids can climb on and take pictures. My kids loved that.

Hit the Jockey's Ridge State Park dunes. It's a few miles south in Nags Head. My kids had a blast running down them and you can get some hilarious pictures of them tumbling. I'd go in the morning or afternoon, not at peak heat hours since it gets hot.

5 - any bbq/food places that we must try out

Best Carolina BBQ we got was all the way up in Corolla at Corolla Village BBQ, so not likely worth the drive.

Great burger and seafood fast food joint in Kitty Hawk is John's Drive In. It's just a block from the beach. The mahi mahi fish and chips are great and their shakes are good. Old and authentic and better than any fast food places.

Driving-wise, make sure to take 664 around Norfolk to avoid the city traffic and keep your eyes on traffic on 95 and be ready to jump off on Route 1 between DC and Richmond if there's an accident or a bad back-up.

Have a great time. Work's been tough this week after being down there all of last week.