Thursday, August 29 – When staying in Kitty Hawk, how can one
not visit the Wright Brothers National Memorial, where the first human-powered
flight took place? Interestingly, we
discovered on Wednesday that there’s a bit of a rivalry between North Carolina
and Ohio on the subject of aviation.
And since Sandy is a born and bred Ohioan, and I went to college in Ohio,
we had a particular interest in this. For you see, Ohio has the slogan “The
Birthplace of Aviation” on its license plates, and NC has the slogan “First in
Flight” on theirs.
It turns out that both states are right. The Wright Brothers were from Dayton, Ohio
and came up with their plans there, although Ohio didn’t have the winds they needed
for their flyer. That’s what brought
them to the Outer Banks, which at the time in 1903 was not developed, most of
the land was sand and had significant sustaining winds.
The field where the brothers took flight is marked with the
end point of each of the 4 flights that took on December 17, 1903 – each one
farther than the next, alternating Orville and Wilbur as pilots, with the 4th
one by Wilbur going significantly farther for 852 feet in 59 seconds, after the three previous flights of 120,
175 and 200 feet. All flights started at
the same point. The field is grassy now, with trees around it, as a result of
human planting. And on the hill behind
the field, there is a monument dedicated to the brothers.
One thing that
confused us: The grounds are in Kill
Devil Hills, not Kitty Hawk. Did they
move the memorial from the original flight location? The answer is no: as the Outer Banks were developed, the area
was divided up into additional towns, whereas all of this area was Kitty Hawk
back then.
Friday,
August 30 - We had an enthusiastic
welcome by the staff both at our hotel, the Williamsburg Lodge, and at the
Visitors’ Center. We had a feeling that
we were in for a treat when we saw this sign at the Visitors’ Center, and our
agent didn’t disappoint!
Friday, August
30 – Headed back into Virginia this morning.
Destination: Colonial Williamsburg.
There was lots infrastructure and commerce going on in the harbor
between Norfolk and Newport News as we crossed the bridge-tunnel. Big container ships everywhere!
Thursday,
August 29 – The last part of OBX for us to explore was north of Kitty Hawk –
Duck and Corolla. It is the least
commercialized part of the developed areas, with what appeared to be the most
expensive homes and resorts on the Outer Banks.
We drove to the end of the road, or at least the road that we could
drive on. The paved road ends at the
beach, and if you have a 4x4, you can continue driving on the beach. Our rental sedan was not allowed. They also operate tours from here, where you
can see wild horses. We’ll have to do
that next time.
On the way back
south as we headed to dinner at The Sanderling Resort, we stopped at the 4th
and last lighthouse on the Outer Banks, the Churrituck Beach Light Station. They were open late, so we got to climb to
the top – the equivalent of 10 stories.
This was my favorite lighthouse on OBX – it has been restored to great
condition (it was built in 1875), and the views were amazing.
Thursday, August 29 – When staying in Kitty Hawk, how can one
not visit the Wright Brothers National Memorial, where the first human-powered
flight took place? Interestingly, we
discovered on Wednesday that there’s a bit of a rivalry between North Carolina
and Ohio on the subject of aviation.
And since Sandy is a born and bred Ohioan, and I went to college in Ohio,
we had a particular interest in this. For you see, Ohio has the slogan “The
Birthplace of Aviation” on its license plates, and NC has the slogan “First in
Flight” on theirs. 
