Knowing that there were a couple of little tykes eager to pounce on our bed and wake us up, this ol’ lady managed to outfox them and get up first. It was wonderful to spend the morning with all that boy energy and Ned and I each enjoyed taking turns reading to them. I must admit, I was a little sad to have an early start, but we had a lot of territory to cover today. Originally we were just going to head straight for Virginia Beach, but Ned really wanted to visit Kitty Hawk and see where the Wright Bros. had their first flight. I thought that was an excellent idea since that would give us a chance to travel longer up the coast. As we meandered toward the coast, the North Carolina countryside put on quite a show for us. We traveled alongside miles of abundant orange daylilies, magnolia and mimosa trees in full bloom, and the ubiquitous fields of corn. We also admired a field of red tulips. It was quite a thrill to finally reach The Outer Banks of North Carolina and see the sandy shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Hard to believe we’re here, especially after traveling thru the canyons of the west, peaks of the Rockies, plains of Oklahoma and gaps of the Appalachia Mts. It’s so interesting to see the home styles change from single story with large porches to three story homes built on stilts. Nag’s Head and the surrounding towns didn’t seem to have much of a “there” there. Even though there were the obligatory beach shops touting swim wear and hammocks, it seemed more like it was just strip mall after strip mall. We finally arrived at Kitty Hawk National Site and were really amazed at how many people were there. We’ve visited a lot of National and Historic Sites the last 3 weeks and haven’t seen crowds like this. The visitor’s center and pavilion detailing the history of the Wright Bros. and their first flight was interesting, but nothing compared to going out to the dunes/field and walking the actual first 4 powered flights. So fun to imagine what it might have felt like to be in mid-air for 12 seconds, then finally 59 seconds! As we walked the final 852 feet you could almost feel the magic of the moment. We continued our drive up the coast leaving North Carolina and entering Virginia. After what seemed like a really long car ride traveling up the coast we finally reached First Landing State Park. We are camped at the spot where the Virginia Company first landed before going on to settle Jamestown. We picked out a spot nestled under the trees, but facing the dunes and the Chesapeake Bay. The first thing we did was take a walk out onto the dunes and put our feet in the water. It was much warmer than I expected! Well, Ned knew I was feeling antsy after being in the van so long, so he thought it prudent to “run the dogs” – i.e.. take the ol’ girl out for a bike ride. We headed for the boardwalk and had a marvelous 10 mile ride in the heart of Virginia Beach. (Today’s pic is Ned on the boardwalk). It was fun to ride up and down the boardwalk, but I enjoyed cruising through all the neighborhoods and looking at the affluent beach houses even more. It was a little after 7 by this time and we thought it too late to head back to the campsite to cook dinner so decided to head to Doumar’s for dinner and ice cream. (We first heard about this place on the TV show Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives). Doumar’s claim to fame is they invented the ice cream cone. They still make homemade cones on the very same machine that Abe Doumar made in 1905 on Coney Island. Doumar’s is located in the heart of Norfolk, in a very inner-city part of town. We couldn’t believe that after 8 pm on a Tuesday night the place was packed! We each had their famous bbq pulled pork sandwiches at the bargain price of 3.25 ea. Meh – I wasn’t so impressed with the bbq. It’s North Carolina style, so it was a vinegar based sauce. Ned summed it up perfectly when he said they tasted like tuna fish sandwiches. Our main reason for coming was to taste the ice cream! I had a vanilla cone and Ned had a chocolate. We thought it was pretty darn good and rated it just behind Farr’s. So for those of you following our ice cream adventure and keeping score the list now goes like this: 1st place – Farr’s, 2nd Doumar’s, 3rd Blue Bell and Andy’s Frozen Custard still is in last place. (This is only the official ice cream tasting, I’m not even counting the Baskin Robbins or franchise soft serve we’ve eaten!) Yes, there will be more of me to love upon my return home.
