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Published: November 16th 2010
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Wright Brothers Memorial
The column stands on Kill Devil Hill in Kitty Hawk, NC September 11—Last night I managed to get lost in Elizabeth City, NC. It's about the third time my tom-tom GPS couldn't find Wal-mart at the address given in the atlas. One of these days I'm going to have to update the thing on the internet! Anyway, I was pretty tired by the time I did get to stop for the night, so I slept in this morning. After a leisurely breakfast, I drove over to Kitty Hawk and the start off the Outer Banks. I stopped at the Wright Brothers' National Memorial. I toured the museum and watched the movie about their research, building the airplane and testing it there at Kitty Hawk before finally succeeding in flight. The Wrights had a bicycle shop in Ohio and used the principles of bike building in designing their plane. They picked Kitty Hawk to experiment because the low population, the remote area and the wind! I found the movie and museum fascinating. I walked off the feet that the first, second and third flights covered. Their flight at Kitty Hawk surely was an event that changed the world!
September 12—I dry camped in Kill Devil Hill last night, then continued the drive
Wright Brothers Memorial
A long view of the monument on Kill Devil Hill, NC along the outer banks all the way to Cape Hatteras. That is a long drive! Cape Hatteras island by itself is 70 miles long and the average speed for driving was 35 mph. It rained off and on all day and the road had a lot of water on it. In some places it was so bad the road was down to one lane. Driving was pretty tricky between the water and the sand which had drifted and/or slid down from the dunes. .
At one point I stopped to take pictures of the kite surfers in the Inland Waterway. In addition to the off and on rain, it was pretty windy. Apparently it was the perfect day for wind/kite surfing, because there were about a dozen people looking like they were having a lot of fun. I drove through Rodanthe, the town of a book by the same name. There is also a movie made from the book and I think it has Richard Gere in it. I have read the book and liked it. I was told the house described in the book is a real house in Rodanthe, but I didn't find it.
I visited
Wright Brothers Airplane
This replica of the airplane used in the first flight is displayed at the Wright Brothers Memorial along with several bronze statues of those helping with the take-off. the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse which is the tallest brick lighthouse in the world, and climbed all the way to the top, 248 narrow, iron, winding steps. My usual luck with wind prevailed. It was too windy to get out on the balcony, so I had to take pictures through some very small windows. About a half hour after I was down the wind died and they opened up the balcony! (Shades of Las Vegas!) My legs wouldn't take a second trip! The weather was beautiful and I enjoyed seeing the vistas through the window.
I had made reservations to stay at the National Seashore Campground. I had a site up near the top of the hills, so I could see the ocean from the RV. I could also see the lighthouse that I visited, as well as the intermittent light revolving at night.
September 13—Today I spent most of the day on the beach. The last beach I was on was in Oregon last year. I've missed it. I walked, looked at shells, but managed to pick up only one. It was a black scallop shell. I sat on the sand to take pictures of the birds and
waves. The ocean was very calm, so the waves were not big. A lot of people were fishing. I watched some dogs frolicking in the water; beautiful red Irish setters. While watching the water, I did spot some dolphins pretty far out. They were too fast to get a picture, but I did get one in a picture of some birds. You will have to get out the magnifying glass to see him, though. All in all I had a wonderfully relaxing day.
Bootsie—Yeah, Marty gets to run around the beach and I get to look at the palmettos out of the RV windows. There were a lot of birds and those caught my attention for awhile, but after a while I got bored. As usual, I did a lot of sleeping. I had a dream that I was driving the RV and Marty was stuck in the corner “upstairs”. When we stopped, I jumped out the door and locked it behind me so she couldn't get out. I romped around chasing a couple of dogs. I really liked the sand, too. I have never seen such a big sandbox! I stayed away from the water, though. It always tried to come and get me, so I jumped up on the little sandy hills that were all around. The whole place smelled like fish, but I never did see any. The smell made me hungry. I woke up, then. Marty was back and opening a can for my supper—tuna!!!
September 14—I backtracked the Outer Banks highway and drove to Roanoke Island. The island is between the Outer Banks and the mainland of NC. It was the location of the first settlement in the U.S., as well as the place the first white baby was born. Her name was Virginia Dare. This settlement is one of history's mysteries. It simply vanished, and is known now as the “lost colony”.
I drove around a bit before deciding to visit the Elizabethan Gardens. I had read about them in the brochure and thought it would be nice. I paid eight dollars to see a few acres of impatiens flowers and crepe myrtle trees. The “rose garden” section had about a dozen scraggly bushes with very few blossoms. Other than a few nice statues, there wasn't much to see. I was extremely disappointed. I had planned to visit the downtown
From the Lighthouse
The eastern-most point of the Outer Banks from the top of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. area which is supposed to be historic, with a living village to replicate the original settlement. It includes a replica of the ship on which the settlers sailed from England. When I discovered the cost of the park as well as parking, I changed my mind. It seemed to me the whole area was overpriced and overrated. I crossed the bridge to the mainland and kept going.
September 15-16—I spent these days just driving on to Brevard and Balsam Grove. I boon-docked in the Wal-mart lot in Brevard.
September 17—I spent the day getting reacquainted with Brevard, seeing my favorite places and noting new stores and buildings. I also spent quite a bit of time at the new library. They had just started building it when I left here over two years ago. I spent the night at the state park on the Davidson River. They charge $20 for dry camping and were full! Unbelievable! I only had to pay $10 as a senior, and I still thought that was high. I love the river, though and have always wanted to stay a night in this park.
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Kathy
non-member comment
Lighthouse
It's the Bodie Island Lighthouse - the black and white one you didn't know the name of. It's pronounced "body." Love your journal and pics! Hope you are well.