Monday, July 28th

We decided to spend most of our day on Roanoke Island (about 15 miles from our hotel.)  Our first stop was the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.  Archeologists have discovered the bases for the Lost Colony earthworks and they have restored some of these earthworks.

 

This is the site where John Smith brought 116 men and women to the American coastline to establish an English colony.  Due to shortage of supplies, John Smith went back to England to obtain additional supplies and returned 3 years later.  The people of the colony had disappeared including his granddaughter, Virginia Dare, who was the first child of English ancestry born in America.  The fate of the colony is unknown although there are a lot of speculations.  There was a very good, historically correct, movie at the welcome center and it really made you think about the fate of the English and the treatment of the Indians by the English.   We left there going to the island farm but it was closed so we went to Roanoke Island Festival Park.  They had an Indian Village where James got his picture with a wooden pole that was part of a dancing circle!

 

We boarded a replica of the ship that brought settlers to the Americas.

 

I think we know history but to actually be on a ship this size and learn it had 12 sailors for each 12 hour shift just to sail the ship and then to add the settlers (usually 30 to 45 per ship) was a real eye-opener.  Talk about close quarters!  The guide answered questions about food and water supplies for the long trip and we learned that they started with water for about 30 days and then, knowing the water would mold, drank a beer that was less than 5% alcohol.  The alcohol prevented mold and mildew.  They ate meat that was cured with salt for preservation and caught rain water when it rained.  The ship had a pump to remove the water that would seep into the lower deck since the ship was wood – now that is something to think about – get on a ship that you know is leaking!! There was also a blacksmith shop manned by men in period costumes.  The blacksmith, with an English accent, manufactured a nail with a “rose” head and gave it to me.

 

Across the way a carpenter was putting the kids in “stocks” and giving the ultimate punishment (tickling them with straws!)

 

Leaving there we found a nice picnic area and stopped for lunch.  We were both tired and it felt good to sit for a while.  After lunch we headed to STARBUCKS!  It was back on the Outer Banks and was 13 miles up the beach.  On the way we saw the sign for the Wright Brothers National Memorial, another National Park.

 

 

We decided to go there rather than to wait until tomorrow to tour it.  Again this was marvelous.  There were excellent descriptions of the efforts and attempts by the Wright Brothers to prove that motorized flight was possible.  There was a replica of the non-motorized glider that they started with and a replica of the final product – a motorized glider.

 

 

The original is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.  There were portraits of people who were important in aviation history, including the founders of Northrup and Southwest Air.  There were portraits of John Glen, Neil Armstrong, Amelia Earhart, Chuck Yeager, Charles Lindberg and many others.  We saw the actual spots where the Kitty Hawk was launched and replicas of the cabins built to house the glider and the men while they were working on the invention.  Finally there was a huge monument at the top of a very high hill.

 The walkway wound around the hill but still was very steep.  I didn’t try it but James did!  I made a picture (he is the tiny dot at the top in a dark shirt.)  He will be sore tomorrow!  The picture of him waving was made with a zoom lens.  

 

 

From there it was finally to STARBUCKS!  Then back to the hotel.  After making a few pictures on the beach, James noticed that his shoes didn’t match – after wearing them all day, he finally noticed!  When I told DeLyn she said that people had said all day, “That poor old man doesn’t even know his shoes match – and his wife is so senile that she hasn’t noticed either.” 

 DeLyn is SOOOOO loving! 

 

 With a banana split for supper, we are calling it a night.  Heading north tomorrow.  Don’t know where we will land but that is ok – that is part of the trip.