Outer Banks, Kill Devil Hills, Wright Brothers, and Cape Hatteras National Seashore Park - Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

We woke up the earliest ever and we were on the road by 8:00 a,m. We drove on highway 17 to highway 64 to the Outer Banks. We frist drove to Kill Devil Hills and this is where the Wright Brothers National Memorial is and the site of their first attempts and successes at flying. We stood in the field where their first flight took off. It was remarkable and well worth the visit. One of the best places we've been to so far on this trip.  

After three hours there, we drove to Cape Hatteras National Seashore Park. There were enormous, impressive sand dunes. It was a beautiful drive.  We drove south to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. The wooden beach homes are reminiscent of the homes on Cape Cod. There are simliar homes all along the east coast of Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina. These homes are bigger and more beautiful than any others. The drive was very beautiful. We arrived at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and attempted to buy tickets to climb the 244 steps in the 93 degree temperature inside the structure. We were informed we wouldn't be able to buy tickets because there had been a medical emergency inside and they weren't allowing anyone else in. We waited a bit and then just went through the museum, read about and saw pictures of the $2 million relocation of the lighthouse to this new spot. They had to move it because there was a lot of erosion and the land was wearing away. After waiting about 30 minutes, we decided to leave. We think the emergency was that an older woman either fell and hit her head or it got too hot and she felt sick.

Then, we drove to the beach and the kids played on the shore. They ran around jumping in and out and over the waves. They enjoyed it very much.  We even collected some seashells and then went to play, run, and roll down the sand dunes. We had take-out dinner from the Atlantic Coast Cafe on 25150 NC Highway 12 in Waves, NC.  Check out the link to their web site.  They are only open from April to October.  They had great gourmet burgers and were fast.  There were two large families eating inside and they all seemed to be having a great time.  We drove out of Cape Hatteras National Park and then back through the Outer Banks and up to Virginia. We stayed in Virginia Beach and will soon visit with the Ws.