I recently learned of an event at home that I want to attend on Tuesday so, today, I decided to drive over 400 miles to get to Norfolk, VA and get into position to get home on Monday. This entailed nearly eight hours of driving which did not leave a lot of time for sightseeing. The distance and time were increased because I had to follow the coastline as closely as possible to ensure that I traveled within 50 miles of all of the islands that make up the Outer Banks. The drive was smooth and varied so it did not seem as long as I had feared.
The map and video are here.
The only real stop on the journey was at Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks to visit the Wright Brothers National Historical Monument. North Carolina has the phrase “First in Flight” on its car license plates and historical references say that the first controlled, powered flight took place at Kitty Hawk, NC in 1903. However the flights actually took place 4 miles south of Kitty Hawk and, since that time, the community of Kill Devil Hills has come into being. The National Monument consists of a museum/visitor center, replicas of the Wright’s workshops, a launch rail with stone markers showing the distance of their first four flights and the monument itself which sits on Kill Devil Hill. It is very simple but elegantly presents the pioneering achievement.
The stones showing the launch (nearest big stone in the top picture) and landing locations of the first ever flights
The Wright Brothers monument on Kill Devil Hill