Driving to OBX is brutal and I don't think I will do it again. I'd rather fly to Norfolk, get a rental car, then drive down. Driving from Florida involves a full-on day of misery, especially when you get to the Carolinas and you start to wonder WTF they do with the federal money that is supposed to go toward maintaining the interstate highways.

Driving back is even worse if you get a significant foot laceration while you are there, which I managed to do a few years ago.