5-26-11

Today we left the outer banks on our way to Virginia Beach, Virginia. On our trip up the coast we stopped by Kitty Hawk and toured the site of the Wright Brothers first powered flight. The site has been preserved as it was when they were there ( except for the dunes have been covered with grass to keep them from eroding, and there is a small airport right behind the site. Obviously not there during their time). There is a big stone marker right at the launch site, and then 4 smaller stone markers showing the landing spots of the 4 flights they took in Dec 1903. We are not really big history freaks but we all felt how special this place was, and appreciated the effect it has had on our lives in so many ways. The last picture shows the 4 markers and the buildings that the brothers lived and worked in while they were here.












Jack came away with a model replica and a new curiosity about airplanes.

We stopped at a nearby place for lunch. Their motto was "eat and get the hell out". I had NC barbecue which I think is tastier the Memphis BBQ.

We thought we could get to where we were going by taking a trip up through the towns of Duck and Corolla, NC but the road just ended at the beach and there was no where for us to go. After some tricky Mimi maneuvering we headed back...on the way we found a lighthouse that Jack could go up. He was "so exciting" about it. At the top I dropped my sunglasses and the wind took them right over the edge. Jordan spotted where they landed and we recovered them, in one piece, when we got down.






In this one you can see Mimi and the truck in a sand lot on the lower left.


After this significant detour we got back on the road only to need to stop for dinner. We stopped at a truck stop on the border of NC and Virginia. A woman at the counter ordered "two vegetables; macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes with gravy" she wasn't kidding.
We finally got to Virginia beach after driving past some amazing farm and horse properties. The road also took us along some great back bays and salt marshes. Our site for memorial day weekend is in a park right on the sound. Pretty cool, but the bugs are almost unbearable.

Location:North Carolina / Virginia