After a hot breakfast at the hotel, we stopped by a local produce stand for some actual fruit.
I'm not sure if my body will know what to do with all these nutrients after the junk food and fried food I've been eating on this trip. But mmmm, fresh local fruit is good.
Then we headed to the Wright Brothers Memorial and Museum.
We took up the entire front row of the ranger's talk.
And learned about how the Wright brothers invented wing warping to create control over roll and yaw (you can ask Adel if you want to know what those terms mean).
They had a reconstructed model of the first Wright glider.
And of the first Wright motored airplane, the Wright Flyer.
The museum had a reconstructed Wright wind tunnel too. The brothers had to finance and build everything they used.
As a space family, we loved the factoid that Neil Armstrong took a small piece of the Wright Flyer's wing to the moon just 66 years after their first flight. Amazing.
Outside, we saw reconstructions of their temporary home and airplane hangar.
Seven cute little airplanes in the hangar.
And seven cute kids stand on the spot of the first successful flight of an airplane.
The first flight lasted only 12 seconds (1st stone).
The second lasted 12 but traveled almost twice as far (2nd stone).
The third lasted 15 seconds and went a bit further (3rd stone).
The fourth lasted 59 seconds and traveled more than 800 feet (4th stone not shown here).
Adel and Matt get their "Nerd" on, talking about today's big obstacles for further space flight.
The monument.
Wrapped around the monument it says, "In commemoration of the conquest of the air by the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright conceived by genius achieved by dauntless resolution and unconquerable faith."
I took a photo of each family member next to a word from the monument that describes him or her best.
That's right, folks.
Back inside, the kids had their worksheets checked.
And were sworn in as junior park rangers.
His new badge.
Waiting for the rest of the group to use the restroom, Isaac started building a new fort.
And again, he built a sand fort while we checked out the climbable replica. Will someone please take that boy to the beach!?
On the replica with Orville.
And then we took the kids to the beach so Isaac could finally play in some sand.
Not that anyone else complained about it either.
We enjoyed a picnic lunch while the kids played at Nags Head Beach.
Our one rule: don't get wet.
Isaac: "Sorry Mom, I fell."
Mom: "Just stay away from me. I don't even care anymore."
If he weren't so darn cute, I'm sure I wouldn't keep him.
Our last stop of the day was to Fort Raleigh, the sight of the lost colony.
The park ranger there was great. She lead a special unscheduled demonstration for our kids on how the Native Americans made clay pots to cook their food.
The kids got to make their own clay pots.
Then we went on a scavenger hunt so they could earn their second junior park ranger badge. At the park there is a monument to the Underground Railroad that quotes: "If you can cross the creek to Roanoke Island, you will find 'safe haven'."
We found the earthen fort, where I had the kids pretend they were colonists, each doing a job to make a home out of the fort.
We did not, however, find the lost colonists. Maybe one of our kids will grow up to one day help piece together that mystery. Hmmm? Could happen.
After a fried okra and chicken-and-dumplings dinner, we found our new hotel, took baths, and constructed our very own Wright Flyer.
The kids took turns flying it.
The one who wasn't flying was using their old fashioned stick candy as ground crew flashlights (lightsabers, as Abby calls them).
It was a pretty great day.
Oh yeah, and happy father's day too!
Glad our space man was able to be with us on our "first flight" day.
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