Nags Head to Kitty Hawk

April 30, 2015

So today was our rest day. Sorta. We really weren't too happy with our hotel (Owens Motel) for a number of reasons, although their restaurant across the street had an excellent prime rib! So the thought of spending our rest day there was not overly exciting. Plus there was the Wright Memorial to go see! That was 10 miles further up the road. So we decided to bag the Owens Motel for the Buccaneer. And we might make it in dry weather, it seemed. But maybe not.

We walked over to The Dunes for a very healthy breakfast and were back by 10:00 and packed and ready to roll by 10:30. It was an easy ride up the Virginia Dare Trail, which runs adjacent to NC-12. But it did rain. Not too bad, but enough to be a bother.

Today's ride to Kitty Hawk

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If it had been a bit warmer, we'd not complain. The bad part was it stopped when we got to the Wright Memorial, picked up again for our last three miles to the motel, then stopped upon check-in! Not complaining, just sayin.

The Wright Memorial is worth a visit. Hallowed ground, as the park ranger said. What they did is pretty impressive after all.

The 1930 monument on Kill Devil Hill, site of the first Wright brothers glider flights.

Pieces of the original 1903 flyer that were taken to the moon by Neil Armstrong.

A working model of the 1903 Wright Flyer (working in the sense that it demonstrates how they controlled pitch, roll, and yaw).

I have to say that the visitor's center is a nice piece of architecture. Outside (in the rain again), we visited the first "airport," where the initial flights occurred.

Takeoff point and guide rail for the Flyer (it used a track for guidance, not wheels).

First landing point. Four are demarcated in this fashion, but we were satisfied seeing the first. We still had three miles to ride to get to the motel.

So we pedaled our last three miles in the rain and checked in to our motel by 12:30 or so and took it easy the rest of the day. No lunch, so we went out early for drinks and dinner at Chilli Peppers Coastal Grill, where they were having a tapas night. Good food. We'll see how the weather is tomorrow.

Today's ride: 12 miles (19 km)
Total: 1,600 miles (2,575 km)

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