NORTH CAROLINA: The Outer Banks

Today we’re going to Outer Banks North Carolina!!    This is an island at the farthest east part of North Carolina.    When we were driving I noticed that it was incredibly windy as it blew the camper back and forth.  We  reach the bridge to take us over to the island and it wasn’t very far up off the water . . . Oooo, scary.  The wind was howling and we were rocking, and all I could see was very large white caps in the water.  We weren’t very far from water, and it was only a two lane bridge, so my hands were gripped tightly to the steering wheel praying hard all the way over the bridge.  We made it to the visitors center and we stopped to get some information.  The man there said it wasn’t supposed to get this windy and if the gales got above 45 miles and hour that they would close all the bridges . . . thankfully that didn’t happen!

We set off for The Lost Colony of Roanoke on the North end of the island.   We arrived at the visitor center which was very informative and well done.  We watched the 15 minute movie about the Colony, and then the kids began the Junior Ranger program of answering questions. 

The first English Colony of Roanoke, originally consisting of 100 householders, was founded in 1585, 22 years before Jamestown and 37 years before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, under the authority of Sir Walter Raleigh. In 1584 Raleigh had been granted a patent by Queen Elizabeth I to colonize America.

John White, an incredible artist, was sent on the journey to draw and take notes of what he saw.  He became the governor of the colony, and  led the people with enthusiasm at the same time taking great notes and drawings of what was happening.  His daughter was the first English woman to have a baby in America, so  they named their baby girl Virginia after the name of the colony.   After 7 months of building homes and trying to survive they were running our of supplies, so they begged John White to return to England for supplies.  He reluctantly left and was unable to return for 3 years because Raliegh was unable to get him a crew & ship.  The Colony was getting help from the  Indians for food, but they also antagonized the Indians by such tactics as kidnapping them and holding them hostage in exchange for information. When John White returned the colony was entirely gone and unable to be found.   It is one of the great mysteries of North America, Roanoke's so-called "Lost Colony" of 90 men, 17 women and 9 children, founded in 1587 and discovered to be missing in 1590, but for the word "Croatan" carved on a post. Although both the English and the Spanish searched for clues to the colony's disappearance for many years, the mystery has never been solved.  The surrounding County is “Dare” county after the first American born child, Virginia Dare. 

After the kids finished all the Junior Ranger information, we walked the pathway to the area where the colony was. 

At the end of the path is an incredibly outdoor theater that has a dramatic reenactment of the Roanoke Colony.  Unfortunately for us it only plays during the summer.  But the stage was beautiful and right out there on the “windy” Atlantic Ocean.

We got back into the RV to drive to the Bodie (pronounce body) lighthouse since the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which is the largest in the United States, measuring at 208 feet tall, was closed.   The Bodie lighthouse was the next best one, measuring at 187 feet tall.   We were not able to walk up in it though because they haven’t made that available yet .. . . bummer!!

Next, we drove over another incredibly windy, close to the water bridge, to Kill Devils Hill.  Have you heard of that name before??  I hadn’t before I came here.  I’ve heard of Kitty Hawk, but not that name.  Well, that is the actual place where the Wright Brothers flew their first airplanes.  In 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright, two brothers from Dayton, OH, became the first people to fly a heavier than air, power controlled machine, known as the Wright Flyer. This did not simply happen overnight. The brothers had been tinkering with the idea of flight off and on since childhood. They were mechanically inclined young men who were inspired by the efforts of others.

In 1878, the brothers’ father, Milton Wright, brought home a rubber band powered toy helicopter, which eventually inspired their idea of the aeroplane. 

“The brothers were dressed in coats and ties that December morning - a touch of private ceremony for an event that would alter the world. The pools around their camp were icing up, and the break in the weather might be their last chance of the season. Words were impossible over the engine's roar, so they shook hands and Orville positioned himself on the flyer. Then, on a remote, sandy beach, in the year 1903, he broke our bond to the earth. He flew. It lasted only 12 seconds, and the distance of the flight was less than the length of an airliner. But for the first time, a manned, heavier-than-air machine left the ground by its own power, moved forward under control without losing speed, and landed on a point as high as that from which it started. Within two generations we had taken to the air for routine travel, seen an aircraft break the sound barrier, and watched a man walk on the moon. Their amazing story does not even end with these successes. It continues, in the 1920s, when a group of people began the first efforts to commemorate "the first successful human attempt in all history at power-driven airplane flight" and to establish a memorial to commemorate the brothers and their achievements. “  National Park Service Wright Brothers Web Site.

This memorial was an incredible tribute to their work of genius.  And look how far we have come in just over a 100 years.   I loved seeing all of the museum and the statues, I just wish we had a little more time there – we didn’t quite plan our time well – we took too much time at Roanoke -  but I’m thankful we got to see most of it. 

After the memorial was closed, we decided that we had to go buy all of us some famous Pirate Rum Cake to try.  What we didn’t know is that they must be a delicacy because one little cake the size of a cupcake was about about $8.   We split it 7 ways and enjoyed every bite. 

Now we are back on the main land and heading for Virginia.  What a great day being at the Outer Banks!!