A sense of history!

Today was gloriously sunny and began with a long early-morning walk on the beach, the Atlantic rollers breaking alongside. After breakfast, we headed for the Wright Brothers Memorial, the very site of man's first flight using a self-propelled machine. On arrival, we discovered that it was maintained by the National Parks Service and so gained free entry with our annual pass ..... result! We walked up to the memorial and then to the Visitor Centre to hear the day's first Ranger talk.

As usual, the address was informative and entertaining and everyone left understanding the importance of pitch, yawl, and roll! The talk was illustrated with a hands-on demonstration involving an actual full-scale replica of the Kitty Hawk that had been commissioned to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the brothers famous first flight. The original plane cost around $700; its replica $1.2M!!We left the memorial site just as hordes of tourists were arriving and headed out to Roanoke Island via the Pea Wilde-life Reserve. Whilst the latter did not prove to much of a draw (although the coastline views are awesome) Roanoke was areal treasure trove. To begin with, this island is both quaint, quiet, and offers fabulous seascape views.

Having stopped for coffee on Sir Walter Raleigh St. we walked past several interesting shops and discovered the Island's Adventure History Museum ...... a must for any visitor, particularly any with children! Essentialy, you can walk through its beautiful gardens and seaside board-walks, where you encounter superb reconstructions of Indian and Elizabethan English settlements ..... with opportunities to board and explore a full-scale reconstruction of a ship from Sir Walter Raleigh's first expedition, and in-period demonstrations of blacksmithing and wood-bodging.

The indoor history exhibits provide a fascinating insight and historical perspective of Island life from the Elizabethan era to the present day and includes an exhibit on the famous pirate 'Blackbeard' who operated from ;his' island in the Outer Banks. All in all, an impressive day rounded-off with a visit to the Black Pelican, where crab cakes and IPA are the order of the day! Today's musical interlude is an old favourite .....MrMemories "Strolling":