Day 22 -- Coinjock to New Bern, North Carolina -- 181 Miles

Today I finally was able to achieve what has been, since my junior high school days, a much anticipated goal: to vist the site of Orville and Wilbur Wright's first powered flight in a fixed-wing airplane. In those days I never dreamed that I might one day become a Naval aviator, but airplanes were for me and my friends an almost fanatical fascination. Often we would sit in class sketching World War II airplanes while the instructor carried on in some subject like English not noticing our lack of attention or participation.

As recently as our 2019 RV vacation we purchased a copy of David McCullough's book on CD, "The Wright Brothers," and Concetta came away as big a fan of those famous brothers as her crazy husband. We listened for hours, fascinated by the tenacious nature of the two brothers. No matter what the Wrights tackled, whether it was in the bicycle business or in airplane development, they just never gave up or gave in until success was theirs.

The problem with reaching Kitty Hawk (actually the town of Coinjock) two days ago was we arrived just ahead of inclement weather. First the wind began to blow. Then by bedtime the rain set in. Before long it appeared that our visit to Kittyhawk the next day was not going to be as nice as we hoped. This morning our fears were confirmed as the previous night's rain was still falling.

Nevertheless, we put on our brave faces and drove the 29 miles from our camp in Coinjock to the Wright Brothers National Memorial while the rain pelted us with greater and lesser force. It didn't look good for us, as each of us envisioned the park grounds as being largely an outdoor activity. Thank goodness that we were both wrong as the only things located outdoor are the actual granite monument, recreations of the brothers' workshop and airplane hanger where they did their work while preparing to fly, and the markers noting the length of their first three powered flights.

The museum indoors was actually pretty startling. Initially we walked through the informational displays, which are easily understood, and the type fonts are large enough for senior citizen eyes to see. But right next door, in a room that we originally thought was just our meeting place for a talk by the park ranger, sat the most magnificent reconstruction of the Wright Flyer 3! The Flyer was perched on a raised platform under soft, flattering lighting, and guests could walk all the way around to see and photograph the historic craft craft from all angles.

We've seen an original Wright Flyer at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, but I don't remember it being as spectacularly displayed as the reproduction model was today. It was just so easy to catch it from every angle that I just kept circling the display, firing the shutter as I went. Outside the rain continued to pelt away, but inside and dry, Concetta and I have seldom been more in love with a piece of machinery or the unforgetable gift of being there in person to see it.

Once everyone was seated on the perimeter of the showroom, the park ranger began what turned out to be an absolutely outstanding rundown on the Wright Brothers and their personal history in the relm of heavier-than-air flight. I truly wish I could have recorded her somehow as she not only knew all the facts starting with their schoolboy days, but presented those facts in a animated fashion that just kept you hanging onto her every word.

After our museum visit we dashed back through the rain to reach the RV. Once there we had our lunch, and I did a little editing on the photos I had shot inside. After lunch we set our course for New Bern, North Carolina about four and a half hours away. And wouldn't you know, as we rolled toward the exit we saw that the rain had stopped, and folks were outside walking up the hill to the monument.

The rain was back, unfortunately, for a good part of our drive south and west and away from the Outer Banks. Nothing to report on our drive except that we got here safely thanks to Concetta and her iPhone.

Ciao for now.