Flyin'

My plan for today was rather simple. Somehow when I calculated the number of miles I would need to cover to be in Washington D.C. on Saturday morning, I errored. By my initial count an average of 250 miles a day from Merritt Island would put me in D.C. by Friday morning. That did not work with brother Tim's schedule as he would be working until 9:30 that night. 

By the time I left Pinehurst bound for my tag point just outside Wilmngton, my recalculation had disclosed some long days in my immediate future. When I was only able to get to Jacksonville by last night the die had been cast. In order to get to Tim's I would need to cover over 500 miles on Friday or, by cutting it in half, I wouldn't arrive until late Saturday. 

So my goal was to put in a long day and get close enough to complete the journey early Saturday. But this particular leg of my journey included one of the must-see places on my list - Kitty Hawk, or more accurately, Big Kill Devil Hill, the site of the Wright Brother's first powered flight(s) 

I had skipped or missed a number of the preselected points of interest along my route for a variety of reasons. But this one was up there with the Grassy Knoll and (sorry Tim) as much as I look forward to visiting Tim, I could not justify skipping this in the interest of time/miles. 

So I was on the road early to get miles behind me for the above reasons as well as attempting to skirt a large storm front that showed on the radar as moving to the south east from the North Carolina/Virginia border. I was surprised when I finally was able to get my Google Map to load, that I was no further along than Jacksonville last night, so I was glad when I crossed the Alligator River, then hop-scotched over Roanoke Island to Nags Head around 11. A left turn took me down the road to the Wright Brothers National Monument. 

As I sat in line waiting to advance to the ticket window, I read the fee schedule on the sign. It was an eye opener! I suddenly recalled that I had in my possession a Senior Pas that gets me in to all Federal Parks and Monuments. I never gave it a thought when I was in Dallas but I am sure it would have been accepted at the Sixth Floor museum.

Once in the park I walked around and took a bunch of pictures. It fascinates me that people can look at a challenge and solve what appears to be unsolvable. Mankind had dreamed of flying since they first saw a Pterodactyl, probably. Through inspiration, determination, experimentation and failure two brothers from Dayton Ohio changed the arc of mankind! Imagine, being able to place a person in a conveyance that would lift and propel them through the air! It was competitive but collaborative. Every time a major challenge has been undertaken, cooperation and innovation have delivered the answer. Wouldn't it be great if our political forces could stop calling each other names long enough to find answers to solve, or even act on, our greatest social challenges. How do we make people safe while allowing people to own and carry weapons that can be used against each other. How do we finally learn to treat everyone with respect and agree to disagree without running to violence? Can we increase opportunities instead of hand outs? Return dignity to the highest offices in our nation?

It was an incredible experience to look up that hill and envision that first plane rolling down the monorail until it was stable, then slowly rise for a flight of 120 feet. 

From here was launched a new age of Discovery

and we have touchdown! Similar markers were placed for the touchdown point of flights 2,3 and 4

I still remember reading my Grandfather's observation that he was born only 5 years after the Wright Brothers flight and yet (while living in Zepherhills, Florida) he could now stand in his yard and watch men take off for the moon!

It was easy to see when it was time to leave. The sky was turning dark and the wind was picking up. I made it back to the mainland before stopping for lunch and putting on my rain gear. While eating I attempted to look at my map but my phone couldn't load it. So, knowing only that I needed to continue on highway 168. As I pulled onto the road The Girls confirmed this by telling me to "continue north on North Carolina 168 for 2 miles". About that same time I realized that I had neglected to take my phone off of its handlebar mounting pad. When rain appears to be imminent I have been putting the phone in the saddlebag to protect it. So I had to pull over again, remove the phone from the mount and place it in my bag. As I re-accelerated The Girls chimed in again, "continue north on Virginia 168 for...". What? Did they really say that? Sure enough, just up ahead was the state line and Welcome To sign. I would have blown right by it and not realized for miles that I had missed the sign! 

I mention this so you'll know why I forgive them for their later lapse of sanity. As the rain started to fall I hit the south side of Portsmouth, Va. For some reason, after 8600 miles of contrary behavior The Girls chose this opportunity to NOT put me on a freeway, but only after I paid the toll initially. They dumped me in an older residential section of town, then had me take a ramp that placed me in the mid-town tunnel. Immediately after coming out of the tunnel I discovered that the skies had opened up with full fury. I reduced my speed as I followed The Girls onto another ramp which led directly to the M.L.K. Tunnel. I had no sooner emerged from the M.L.K. Tunnel when I found myself entering a third tunnel. By this time I had no idea whatsoever where I was or what city I was headed for, but quite frankly Rhe Girls didn't know either. As I started down into the third tunnel one of The Girls said, "In 600 fee turn right". This command was immediately followed by her partner saying, "do a U-Turn!" I elected to ignore both of them and get off at the next exit. The rain was falling full force as I pulled into a Wendy's to get a cup of coffee and to duck in out of the rain. In the course of one day it had gone from hot and humid with my biggest concern being keeping the wrist wraps in place to keep my skin from burning and peeling again to cold and wet and discovering that it suddenly is chilly again! While at the restaurant (which by the way had no coffee) I talked to a salesman from Richmond who was waiting for traffic to clear on I-664. We had a nice chat (he had just come from a job interview with an electric motor Epirus company), then he was nice enough to tell me what the best route to D.C. Would be (my map still wouldn't come up on my phone). Turns out that I too needed to take I-664 north. 

What he didn't tell me was what was immediately ahead on I-664. I sat out about a half hour of driving rain before deciding that waiting longer would simply put me in rush hour traffic. I loaded up and headed out onto the Interstate which turned immediately to a bridge that, for the most part was about a foot above the bay, the water of which had been whipped into a frenzy, frothing at the mouth, with waves crashing over the side of the bridge onto the roadway I was trying to ride. My speed was at tops 40 mph in the right lane while cars zipped by me at 55 mph splashing even more water across my line of almost sight. What was interesting though was when the bridge became a tunnel with special instructions over the entryway "do not change lanes in the tunnel". Amazingly, the locals all followed this rule and backed up in the left lane while I pulled a whole train of cars past them while catching up with the car that was a quarter of a mile ahead of me!

I made it to Fredericksburg, Va by 7:30 and found a room at a Motel 6. My phone had drained its battery and shut down by that time. It wasn't until I charged it and turned it back on that I discovered that I had done over 400 miles today! But I still have two hours in the morning before I wake Tim up!

I'll have to add pictures tomorrow as the Wi-Fi at the Motel 6 sucks and my pictures can not be uploaded.