Today was another perfect day for vacationing. We have had almost perfect weather everyday of our trip. Mostly clear skies, no rain, and temperatures between 50 and 78. Who could ask for anything better. Today was no exception to that. We feel lucky because trying to vacation on the Atlantic coast or along the Gulf of Mexico this time of year can be problematic. There was a storm that traveled up the east coast a few days before we got to the region, but it had cleared out by the time we arrived. We did see a few high rivers and there had been some flooding in the area.
Today we started out at the Wright Brothers Memorial at Kill Devil Hills.
This is a complex around the hill used by the Wright Brothers for their glider experiments and first successful powered flight. They have a replica of the first Wright Flier. It was built in based on the Wright Brothers plans. Flights were attempted in it for the 100th anniversary but the results were mixed. To me this indicates the Wright Brothers chances of success required a lot of luck.
The original Wright Flyer was wrecked and abandoned in 1903. There are replicas of the Wright shack and hanger that were built by the brothers.
There are markers for the takeoff point and the distance for each of their four flights on December 17, 1903
From there we drove to Roanoke Island and the town of Manteo. We wanted to see the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse. 
As we visited the facility, we found out that this is a reproduction of the original. And in fact it was not originally located on Roanoke Island, but on a small island in the area. It was still fun to walk around it.
We need to come back some day because there is a lot of early settlement history on the Island. It was a permanent English Colony at one time – the lost colony. Everyone disappeared without a trace. Lots to explore at another time.
By this time it was getting late morning and we had to head west to Mt Airy. En-route we drove past and over the Alligator River. the trees are reflected in the clear still river.
We drove into a different type of trees since we were climbing out of the low country.
And we saw Pilot Mountain. Do you remember Sheriff Andy Taylor talking about going to Mount Pilot? There is a town called Pilot Mountain….
Andy Griffith is from Mount Airy, and the town is full of Mayberry lore. There is the Andy Griffith museum, Floyd’s Barber Shop, and Aunt Bee’s room. We didn’t visit any of them. Maybe next time…
Tomorrow we continue west to Louisville, KY.
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