Birthplace of Aviation

Before we left the Outer Banks, we travelled down to Kitty Hawk to witness the birthplace of aviation. Actually, the birthplace would be Dayton, Ohio, where the Wright Brothers conceived and built their world changing flying machine, but Kitty Hawk can lay claim to them because that's where it flew for the very first time. The kids were interested in the replicas of the planes, but as we weren't actually able to touch anything, I don't think the park held much interest for them.
It is difficult to believe that the first flight occurred just over a hundred years ago in 1903. Since that time, planes have been flown around the world and into space. It's amazing to me how quickly technology has evolved.

The kids enjoyed checking out the markers denoting the starting point and the end point of the first flight. Tristan was doing his customary check for "t's." When he sees a T on a sign, a t-shirt, or in a book he yells, "Mommy, a T!" Guess when it's the only letter you know, it's exciting to recognise it! I'll have to say that I was a bit underwhelmed by the distance of the first flight. It was only 120 feet, which is the equivalent of a twelve story building. Lets just say that it wasn't very far. The kids ran to the marker in about eight seconds and then pretended to fly.


Lorie was the driving force behind our trip to Kitty Hawk. She's always been fascinated by all things aeronautical. She was in her element.

They held a children's program during the course of the morning. We thought it was a kite making program. In actuality, it was a kite flying program. The kites were basically garbage bags with two stick and some strings taped to them. It didn't matter to the kids, though. They had an awesome time flying their garbage bags!

It was precious to watch the joy on the children's faces as they watched the kites fly. I love seeing them experience things for the first time and relive the joy with them.

It was great family time being there with some of the ones we love most in the world.

We stopped for a picnic on the grounds of the National Park and Aunt Emily enjoyed some quality nephew time. Maura and Tristan checked out the beautiful live oak on the property and they were just too cute not to photograph.


Stinker. We took the kids to a mini golf course just afterward for some real fun!! They couldn't wait to get started.
It was perhaps not the easiest golf outing for Brent, but he still managed to beat us all! The kids did awesome and we rewarded them with a Popsicle at the end. I think they'll always connect mini golf with Popsicles from now on!

It was a memorable day and a wonderful way to spend one of our last days on vacation.