On the way out of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, you have to slow to 25mph and cross this clapped out bridge that looks like it was built by Redd Foxx.
Our next destination was the Wright Brothers National Memorial. As an engineer I'm pretty fascinated by how they took ideas from their bicycle shop and turned them into a working aircraft. The memorial is pretty cool, with the monument dominating the landscape. It marks the top of the hill where Orville, Wilbur, and 5 locals started to push the plane down the track to the takeoff point,
marked right here. There were 4 successful flights that day, ranging from 120ft to the final flight of 852ft, staying in the air for almost a full minute (59 sec).
Inside there was all sorts of nerdery, so I kind of blacked out for a bit reading up on all the history.
Jordan was pretty interested, especially seeing the models of the plane and hearing the stories of them crashing so many times trying to figure it out.
Then we turned the corner and BAM! A full scall replica of the Wright machine.
...and the patent, which even in 1903 took 3 years to be processed. Good to see that the government was already operating at maximum efficiency over 100 years ago.
One last shot, just because all you ever hear about is Kitty Hawk, NC being the origin of flight. It actually occurred just a bit south, at Kill Devil Hills, which is a cool enough name to deserve mention.
Back on the road, we stumbled on something so randomly amazing that I didn't even have time to grab a picture, so these are just some images from Digger's Dungeon. Yup - Gravedigger.
I'm actually glad we didn't stop, because if we did, I would have been immediately transformed into my redneck formative years. You would have heard the influence of at least 10 straight years of reading Four Wheeler and watching any form of motorsports involving dirt, mud, and KC daylighters.
Next up - want to see what a $28 bridge/tunnel crossing looks like?
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, which actually required us to stop and turn off our propane at the tank before crossing. Interesting. The 2 gaps you see from the overhead view are the portions that tunnel beneath the water, allowing the huge ships access to the bay.
The light at the end of the tunnel. Go into the light.
It took most of the day, but we finally arrived at Assateague State Park, a place that Kimberly and I had visited close to 10 years ago. Within about 10 minutes, Kimberly and Jordan had the first wild horse sighting.
I had picked up a shell during my beach ride the previous day, so it was time for a little tire patching lesson. As you can see, Jordan preferred the stylish overseer role.
A couple minutes later, we had some visitors.
They were interested in my bike shop operation,
and Jordan had been so excited to see the wild ponies, that she could barely contain herself.
From there it was on to the beach. You know you are someplace special when you are dodging horse bombs on a picturesque shoreline.
We got a few good family shots, this one being my favorite.
I snuck out for a quick night beach ride, and the waves crashing in the moonlight & the ghost crabs (they are real, I didn't just make that up) were quite an experience.
These little guys are fast, as soon as the headlight reached them, they scattered. As quick as they were,
...they still weren't as talented as one of their brethren.
The full moon was pretty cool - more of a harvest moon than we had seen.
By the time we got back to the site, I was determined to win the battle with our wet firewood. It has been so humid and rainy, everywhere you go to get firewood you can tell it is waterlogged. This is the fruit of my labor.
Day 12 brings a day wandering the beaches with horses, followed by an attempt at an online fantasy football draft. Those seem to work out well with sketchy internet connection in the middle of nowhere.
I'll leave you with this image of a 5 year old who was talking about seeing the horsies all day, then finally got to see one. Love the reaction.
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