This is a picture taken from the deck of a house that we stayed in the Whalehead area of Corolla in 1993. We were 3 lots back from the ocean and as you can see there were empty lots around. The house oceanfront to the right use to be right next to public access area you could walk only. To the right which isn't in the picture was about 1 mile of nothing........now it is Ocean Sands.

What are the odds? My family has vacationed in the house to the right several times. There are many more houses now than in your picture. I wish I was smart enough to look for land back in those days before the boom.