Sunday, May 15

Funny photo. This is the trunk of our car, filled with bags of dirty laundry and we still have 2 days to go! At least our suitcases are easy to wheel into the Hamptons at night. I even wore my pants 3 or 4 times and my shirts twice.

This is probably the best place we ate at while on our trip, The Black Pelican at Kitty Hawk. Dad had a shrimp and crab casserole and I had cobia (catch of the day) almondine, plus the most delicious and fattest slice of coconut cream pie ever. It was to die for. This restaurant was on the beach about a block from our hotel. It originally included an old telegraph office from which the telegram announcing the Wright Brothers 1st flight was sent.

We spent the morning taking in the sights at the Wright Brothers Visitors Center/Museum and grounds. We heard a 20-minute lecture about the history of their hsitoric flights from a knowledgeable park ranger. It was an amazing story.

Life-sized model of the plane called Flyer.

Earlier glider model and the sewing machine used to make the original's wings.

Another shot of the Flyer.

A piece of the plane's propeller and wing material were taken on the first lunar landing.

Orville and Wilbur Wright at Kill Devil Hills/Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
There is a tall monument on the hill in the background.

View of the flight path.

There is a launching rail at the big rock and then markers showing the distances of the first 4 flights. The 1st powered flight was on December 17, 1903...120' for 12 seconds), the 2nd was 175', and third was 200' and the fourth (far right by the tiny group of people ) was over 850'.

Famous photo.

Afterwards we drove on to Rocky Mount, NC, where we were treated to lunch by Warren Givens (graduated with me in 1967--we dated briefly) and his wife Teresa (graduated with aunt Rana.) They live in Raleigh. I saw them 33 years ago at my 10th High School Reunion. He found me on "Classmates" on the internet seveal years ago and we've emailed once or twice year. It was fun to reminisce.

Next stop..Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We had a fabulous room on the 12th floor with a balcony facing the Ocean.

It was great to sit and relax and watch the waves and listen to the sound of the surf.

Quite a view from the balcony with the setting sun light on the foamy water.

Walking on the beach.

One of the piers.

Enjoying the warm breeze and warm water.

We walked most of this new (May 2010) 1.2 mile promenade along the beachfront...beautifully landscaped.

This is the boardwalk portion with a look and feel of the old one, sorta, with little shops, food, souvenirs, etc.

These plaques tell about the history of the pavilions that used to be where this big empty lot now stands. I remember a big 2-story building in the 60s with dance floors and arcades and an adjacent amusement park with a famous rollercoaster called the Swamp Fox.

Kind of amazing that most of what I remember is gone. Several summers my family rented a beach house at Crescent Beach (all of the beaches have "grown" together now and you can't really distinquish them) and we would enjoy a week beachcombing, body surfing, castle building, sunbathing, collecting shark's teeth, playing games, going to The Pavilion, etc. Ah, those were the days.

with the breeze rippling his hair and a nearly full moon.

The Palmetto State flag.

Beautiful moonlight on the Atlantic.

2nd Avenue Pier House Restaurant for dinner. A little hard to see it after dark. I had shrimp and cheese grits with smoked ham bits...yummy!

Afterwards we walked out to the end of the pier. Dad and the catch-of-the-day?