Wilbur, Orville & Me

Up again at 645am, I repeated the same drill as the two prior mornings. I enjoyed my first cup of coffee in the quiet but then quickly readied for a run. I didn’t get out the door for my run until about 745am after washing all the dishes before heading out.

I ran to the north, once again to the nine mile marker and then back. Several families out on the beach presumably setting up for a 4th of July celebration. We had designs on doing he Wright Bros. museum as well as the giant sand dunes near Kitty Hawk. The hot sun and soft sand took there toll on my feet and skin. The four mile run took a lot out of me. I spotted Mindy walking up the steep steps to the board walk, but she turned around and joined me on the beach once she spotted me. We walked the beach together to the south probably going about a ¼ mile.

Back at the house we enjoyed breakfast burritos. Shortly after a shower my blackberry rang. I checked to see who might be calling. It was my boss. I answered. He asked that I set an out of office message on my desk phone. Said escalations were coming in in my absence. I shared that I didn’t know how to leave a message on my desk phone since we changed systems a couple years back. However, I agreed to try and address it. I spent the next hour taking care of my out of office recorded message. Left me feeling too involved with work.

Early on, we talked about heading to the museum around 1030am but weren’t ready to leave until almost noon. Jacob, having been there before, at first was set on staying back but ultimately changed his mind. It was Mindy, Kaileigh, Bella, me, Darwin, Lane and Jacob. The others opted to stay back. It took a good 30 minutes to get to Kitty Hawk, about 20 miles to the south down route 12. Before heading the museum, we wanted to stop at CVS to pick-up swimmer’s ear drops. Lane, Collin, and Breck were all suffering from water in the ear. Kitty Hawk was somewhat depressing, an over developed piece of the Outer Banks that has seen its better days.

We arrived at the museum I’m guessing near 1-130pm. They charged us $4 per adult, or a total of $12. Under 14 were free. The museum is small but informative. I enjoyed the experience even more than I guessed I might. Lots of detail not only about the about the history of flight, but also about the Wright’s lives.

Outside the museum we walked the original flight paths noted by granite markers, and then checked out the replica hanger and living quarters. Above the flight field sitting atop an enormous sand dune sits a monument paying homage to the Wright’s. We climbed to the top where we were in awe of the incredible view – the sound to the west and the ocean to the east. Off to the south we could see Jockey’s Ridge (the giant sand dunes), which would be our 2nd stop after lunch.

We left the museum around 3pm and headed to the nearby brew pub, Carolina’s only wind powered brew pub. Darwin, Mindy & I ordered Rye IPA’s. The kids, soda and lemonade. The beer was good. The food, just so-so. No complaints. I enjoyed a 2nd beer before we left and had Mindy put her logo’d pint glass in her purse. She bought a t-shirt and was going to get me one but they didn’t have any in my size.

We left the brew pub and drove a mile or so further south to Jockey’s Ridge. The giant sand dunes look much like a dessert. In fact, they’re so large that they have a hang gliding school there. They have signs warning not to pass a given point without water. We didn’t abide, but wished we would’ve. The dunes were incredibly beautiful and provided an even better view than the monument. The kids rolled down the dunes. A surprise to us was how well sound traveled across the dunes. The day moved quickly. It was near 5pm when we loaded back into the Pilot for Brigadune taking old ocean rd north through Kitty Hawk.

Took about 45 minutes to get back. As often happens, I got really sleepy on the drive home. I thought I’d take a nap. Instead, Darwin and I headed to the grocery to pick-up beer, ice, and a few other things. We stopped at the Wings souvenir shop across the street too where I bought a t-shirt and a sticker for the Thule.

Tacos served as our dinner. Connie whipped them up earlier in the day leaving the meat simmering in the crock pot. Yum-yum! After dinner we drove back to the naked beach in hopes of seeing the wild horses. The sun had already set when we arrived. And it gets dark quick on the beach. Darwin expressed a bit of concern driving on the beach this time. For one, the tide was up making for a narrower channel for two-way traffic. About a mile up the beach we spotted a group of the wild horses – about 8 of them. Unfortunately, I had my ‘better’ camera with me, but it doesn’t take good low light photos.

We probably spent 15 minutes out of the car before heading back. It was completely dark when we left for the beach house. We arrived back at the house near 930-10pm. I poured a stiff Jack & Coke, which eventually lead to another. Most of us watched TV, though Mindy headed to bed. Darwin had quite the buzz going after making himself a Jack & Coke. Once I started to dose from the sofa, I peeled off for bed.