Sept. 14 - 28

One of our goals on this trip is to try to avoid major highways (and freeways) to get to our destination. Leaving Myrtle Beach we wanted to go to Kitty Hawk, NC to see the site of the Wright Brothers first flight. Looking at the map, we could get there via the Outer Banks of N.C which would include taking a ferry from Cedar Island to Ocracoke (2 1/2 hr ferry ride), so we headed that way. We road the ferry and then had to ride another one (1/2 hr) to get from Ocracoke to Hatteras. If you ever get the chance to take that trip - take it. It is great.

We made it a 2 day trip to get to Kitty Hawk camping right along side the Atlantic Ocean. We have now been parked right next to the Pacific and the Atlantic. The Atlantic coast line (at least from South Carolina to North Carolina) is nothing but sandy beach. Unlike the rocks and cliffs of the Pacific is it just flat sand with some roads no more than 6 feet above the top of the water. No wonder they flood so bad in storms.

Kitty Hawk is something to see. To think that in all this time of people on this earth, just 104 years ago man, under his own power, took to the air for the first time. Then within 60 years we flew to the moon.

What was really interesting was the fact that the Brothers not only build the first airplane, but they built every part. Obviously they could not go to the store to "buy airplane parts." In fact, they could not find an engine for their plane, so they built that too. They did not go with the traditional view of a propeller (for a boat) being an "air screw." Instead they saw it as a rotary wing and hand carved those also.

Their first flight --- 12 seconds and 120 feet (Bob Newhart had a great joke about flying coast to coast with the Wright Brothers but was concerned that it would be a long flight if they had to take off and land every 120 feet). They flew 3 more flights that day with the longest being 59 seconds and 852 feet (that would shorten that coast to coast flight).

While some people had made gliders (including the Brothers) no one made a "machine" that under its own power could take off and fly - they made it happen and WOW look what happened as a result.

Form Kitty Hawk we went to an "out of the way" resort in Jackson Springs North Carolina and will be here for a week. No driving, just relaxing. Next week we head for Nashville, Tennessee and the Grand Ole Opry -- So long Y'all