First in Flight

The Wright Brothers flew their Kitty Hawk here in the Outer Banks, but we blazed past the monument and museum in one of our downpours. To pay tribute to them, however, we took a 45 minute flight in a small plane.

The gal who makes (delicious) breakfast at our amazing motel-turned B&B, said her step-dad operates small tours of the islands and to give him a call. As it turns out

he's a retired Coast Guard pilot and his plane was a 4-seater: pilot, Grandma, me and one other. Since the kids are so little and enjoy a good scramble, we just stuck Little Man in the back and the girls shared a seat next to me.

(I figured that if Pilot's flown in a category 5 hurricane and actually managed to save people, we'd be just fine.)

This must be one of the most interesting landscapes to see from the air. Grandma was in awe with all she learned! We could actually see the southern Gulf Stream warm water converging with the northern Labrador cold water; this is what causes Hatteras Island to be "elbow shaped" instead of linear, like most barrier islands. It's also the impetus for all of the violent storms.

Watching this in action solidified my decision that these babies would NOT be putting a toe into this current-mixing shipwrecked sea.

We flew over wild ponies, light houses and countless dolphins fishing in colossal schools of fish. Ferries navigate a slender, deep path between shores that might only be 6 inches deep at different points in the day. From above, these shallow areas looked like Navajo sand paintings.

Albemarle Sound is just a tad smaller than Puget Sound on the West Coast, but with an entirely different look and feel.

By the time we landed, I was so sick I could barely stand up. Why do I always forget to take Dramamine? The flight was smooth, it was me turning around to talk to Little Man, leaning over to hold Doodle while she stood up to see the ponies and spinning around to answer Peanut's questions that had my head and stomach in knots. It took it's toll, but I'm proud to say I avoided puking.