Nags Head Weekend

Susan's sister's family likes to vacation at Nags Head, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This has been a family tradition going back many years. This year, we were invited to join.

Several weeks earlier, we had to make a choice: fly or drive. Given the long distance, I decided that flying was not an option. Turns out that was a great decision. The weather on Friday morning was abysmal. It was raining and foggy. We loaded the Audi early in the morning and were on the road by 5:00 am. The drive to Nags Head took 13.5 hours, with stops at McDonald's, Costco Gas, and Buc-ee's. Once there, we went out to dinner. Our first choice was too busy, so we chose La Fogata Mexican Restaurant. You may think this an odd choice for a beach town, but they had fish on the menu, and it was very good.

Saturday morning, we woke before sunrise. Susan and I went outside to watch the sunrise over the beach. It was cool, windy, and refreshing. We walked along the beach to Jeanette's Pier, then returned to the beach house for breakfast.

Jennette's Pier

Sunrise at Nags Head

Jennette's Pier

After breakfast, Susan and I explored Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Our first stop was the Whalebone Junction Information Center. Then we drove 47 miles south to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Unfortunately, it was closed for repairs, so we didn't get to climb the stairs to the top. But luckily, the sun came out briefly while we were there.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

On the drive back to the beach house, we stopped at Bodie Island Lighthouse. This lighthouse was not under repair, but it was closed for the season. We missed it by less than a week. Then we stopped at BROS for lunch, where we had some interesting "nachos" that used waffle fries and BBQ pulled pork instead of chips and salsa.

After lunch, we crossed the bridge to Manteo, on Roanoke Island, and met the Pearces at the North Carolina Aquarium. The aquarium was small, but interesting. At the first display, we were met by a smiling purple fish. I really enjoyed the jelly fish display and the giant tank that include a few species of sharks. And I laughed out loud when a little girl asked about the 'croco-gators'.

Happy fish at the North Carolina Aquarium

After the aquarium, we returned to the beach house. Susan and I made ourselves dinner, while the Pearces went out for dinner. When they returned, we all went to Coastal Creamery OBX for ice cream.

Sunday morning Susan and I got up to see the sunrise. It was cool and cloudy, so I went back to bed, but she stayed up and saw a nice sunrise.

Sunrise from the beach house

After breakfast, we headed to the Wright Brothers Visitor Center in Kill Devil Hills. As a pilot, this was a must-see for me. I've been wanting to come here forever, and I really wanted to come here on the 100th anniversary in 2003, but I was too busy with other things at the time. Someday I will fly a plane here and land at the nearby airport.

Wright Brothers Visitors Center

The Visitor Center includes a museum and a recreation of the shed and living quarters that the brothers used at the time. There are also markers showing how far the Flyer flew on each of its flights. I came away even more impressed with how they were able to examine the existing research from "experts" and expand upon it - including findings faults in it - to come up with a working solution. I was also interested to learn that their mother and younger sister played such an important role in their continued drive to solve the problem of powered flight.

Memorial to First Flight

After walking the path of the full 852 feet first flight and back, we drove to the base of the hill with the monument on top. At the base of the hill, we parked near a set of statues depicting the scene of the First Flight. I really enjoyed this because you can walk around the scene as if you were there and see things from everyone's perspective. You can even climb on with Orville, if you want.

Statues depicting the First Flight

Next, we hiked to the top of the hill for a close up look at the monument on top. The view from the top is pretty nice, but I had a hard time imagining the surrounding area covered in sand. According to the text in the museum, the brothers chose this location specifically because it lacked trees and was covered with soft sand. Now it is covered with trees. I guess the only way to see it the way it actually looked was to go back in a time machine. :)

Wright Brothers Monument

After lunch, Susan and I returned to Kill Devil Hills to explore the sand dunes. I've always thought it would be fun to learn to hang glide in the same place where the Wright brothers learned to glide. We parked at the Visitor Center and started hiking up the dunes. Along the way, we saw a group of about six people learning to hang glide. The lessons were very basic, and they were only getting about ten feet off the ground, but it still looked like a fun way to experience gliding with very low risk of injury.

Susan at the Mountains-to-Sea Trailhead