The morning was like most with work and school. We did do a little research on Hurricane Sandy and from everything we read and researched we should be out of harms way on our planned route. We will be heading south following I95 which is inland from the coast while Sandy is heading north off the coast line. We do feel very blessed though that a week later or a week earlier and we would have been much more affected. We hope that the storm does not do the amount of damage they are predicting and that it dissipates much faster than forecasted.
About 1PM we finished shift one of work and school and headed in the car to Kill Devil Hills. Not the nicest name but home to the Wright Brothers Memorial. The area relating to the Wright Brothers is more well known as Kitty Hawk. Stacey agreed to drive so I could finish up some work in the car. It started to rain as we were leaving but by the time we arrived had just turned into a light drizzle.
We visited the National Monument (getting in for free thanks to our cool National Park Pass) and reviewed the history of the Wright Brothers. It was pretty neat how they basically worked together their whole lives - even sharing the same dream of flying. Some days we really wish our kids would work together that way! It also impressed us how long they stuck with their dream and the sacrifices they were willing to make to see it become a reality. No quick solutions or overnight successes. Lots of long, tedious research, testing, refinement and adjustment to finally come up with the plane that worked. 
We saw replicas of the glider and powered planes they had used for their flights here. Outside the museum were replicas of their hangar and living quarters. Next to that is a stone marker showing where the powered test plane took off and then four marker stones for the four flights they made and where they landed. We of course had to send a kid to each marker for a group picture. Another dad and son got in the picture as well but in the far distance is Brighton (hard to see) at the spot where the fourth flight landed and made history. 
Next to the field is a hill that they used for training and plane refinement using gliders. In the thirties they built a monument on top of the hill. As we hiked up to the top the weather took a turn and we started getting rained on. By the time we made it back down the car, those of us that did not bring a rain jacket (OK, that was pretty much just me) were soaking wet - like rain in your eyes and you can't see soaking wet. We drove home from Kitty Hawk and started dinner prep. Brynna took Heidi for a walk and came back really quickly and very excited. "There's a bear!" she announced and we all crowded around the window. Sure enough a black bear came sauntering out of the woods just across the road from our campsite. He did not seem to be in a hurry but seemed to be looking for food. He came to within 30 feet of our trailer and spent a good 3 to 5 minutes looking around before heading back into the woods. Needless to say it was a bit of a surprise to see a black bear here and that close. Our camera kept focusing on the window and not the bear so we really don't have any good pictures of it but here are a couple. Kind of glad I did not encounter him on my run yesterday. Good thing I had bait dog, I mean Heidi, with me!
Tomorrow we head out and have a pretty long drive day. We should make it into South Carolina if all goes well.
Brig would like to know who you think would run faster... you or Heidi? ;)
ReplyDeleteStacey: Ha ha ha. I think it would depend on whether it was the beginning of the run or the end. Some days Brock is dragging her home, but I think she just gets bored. Also depends if she's on leash or off. She is like a bullet shot out of a gun when she's off. :o)
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