i love the outer banks. ocracoke is beautiful and less crowded (last time i went), but hatteras is usually where it's at for surfing.

A trip we've done a couple times is the Way to St. James which has a number of routes that all end in N/W Spain. Some cool features are that you can alternate between paved and dirt roads. Also one route in particular that winds through northern Spain is set up with "pilgrim" lodging or "albergues" for hikers and cyclists alike every 20 km or so. It costs next to nothing to stay in one and the landscape goes without saying. All told it takes about 2 weeks to do it if you start in southern France.