Tuesday-Thursday, November 3-5, 2009

Days 58-60

It seems that our travel days are destined to be beautiful, but we are not complaining. After hooking up the 5th wheel, we take one last long walk on the beach and start the short 90 mile jaunt to NC…an easy day of driving compared to most.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore is a thin broken strand of islands that comes out into the Atlantic Ocean and connects again with the mainland. There are long stretches of beaches, sand dunes, marshes, and woodlands.

It is a fishing mecca and great place for birding. We arrived at the Visitor Center in Kitty Hawk to get some information on campgrounds and a seafood restaurant. We settled on Henry’s, and it was a good choice. We savored excellent she-crab soup, shrimp, crab cakes, and hush puppies that tasted like dessert. We were nourished and ready to see the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk. Our first stop was the Visitor Center to see reproductions of the 1902 glider, the 1903 Flyer, their first wind tunnel, and the original engine block from the 1903 flying machine.

                                                                             

They even displayed the original sewing machine that the brothers used to sew the fabric for the plane.

From there we walked to the First Flight Boulder and Markers. The 6 ton granite boulder is where the first plane left the ground on December 17, 1903 at 10:35 a.m. It may have only been 12 seconds and 120 feet, but it made history.

It was followed by a second flight of 12 seconds, 175 feet, a third flight of 15 seconds and 200 feet and the final flight of 50 seconds and 852 feet. Near the Boulder is the reconstructed hangar, quarters and workshop that Orville and Wilbur used. On top of Kill Devil Hills, a 90 foot sand dune, there is a 60 foot monument that honors the Wright brothers and is the site of the hundreds of glider flights that preceded their first powered flight.

This was an amazing experience and what is even more amazing is how far we have come in 106 years. I do not think that I will ever get on an airplane again and take it for granted.

From Kitty Hawk, we made our way down the Outer Banks along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. We found our campground, Ocean Waves, just as the sun was setting on Pamlico Sound…it looked like a blazing ball of fire disappearing into the Atlantic. Of course, as soon we got set up, the sounds of the ocean lured us to her for a walk on the beach.

On Wednesday, we soaked up the sun on the beach reading for several hours and watching people surf fish and fly kites.

After walking 6 miles down the beach and back to the house where “ Nights in Rodanthe” was filmed,

we stopped to watch another glorious sunset, making it back to the 5th wheel at dark. It was one spectacular day. And to think that Bob was worried that I would have trouble adjusting to being retired!

On Thursday, I woke at 6 a.m. and headed to the beach to look for shells and watch the sunrise. I was the only one on the beach to welcome the new day. I would have taken some great pictures, but someone forgot to put the charged battery back in! It was peaceful and relaxing listening to the surf and watching the shore birds. After breakfast, we went to Bodie Island to see the lighthouse, built in 1847.

It had to be rebuilt in 1859 due to unstable ground. In 1861, it was blown up by the confederate army so that the Union army would not use it to their advantage. We met the 93 year old volunteer, John Griskill, whose father was the lighthouse keeper. He lived in the “keepers” quarters during the summers and holidays with his family until he was 18, before joining the Merchant Marine. It was fascinating listening to his stories about growing up on the Outer Banks at a time when boats were the only method of transportation. He told us one story about the hurricane of 1930. His Dad was trying to get to the lighthouse to light the oil lamp beacon, but because he was heavily dressed in rain gear, it acted like a sail and he was almost blown out to sea. Desperate to provide a beacon for mariners, he stripped down to his underwear and fought against the hurricane force winds. He made it to the lighthouse, only to be greeted by snakes and muskrats on the first step trying to avoid the flooding waters.

From there, we went to Roanoke Island to get seafood at O’ Neills: scallops, shrimp, and little neck clams. We could hardly wait to get back to cook them up outside. What a feast! We had to take one last walk on the beach after the sun set. We sat by the dunes, listened to the surf, and watched the sky come alive with stars. What a way to end another great day.
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