Here are a few more pics

It seems David skillfully avoided the camera for most of the trip.

Last Day

Well, we are in the middle of preparations for leaving this morning. Our camera died on Thursday so we've not been able to post any more pictures. However, once we get home we'll get some of the Anderson's pics and share those with you as well. Thanks for sharing in our adventure this week. See you in Louisville.

First Flight

Here is the gang at the Wright Brothers museum and memorial. It's located on the spot where Orville and Wilbur made their first powered flight. Our picnic lunch was a little too chilly for some of the crew who decided to take their chicken salad and eat in the cars. The temperature was a balmy 55 with the wind coming off the ocean from the north. Makes for a pretty chilly breeze. Today and tomorrow are supposed to be near 75-80, so we should be on the beach all day. We do plan on running back down to the Cape and getting some good pics of the lighthouse.

Just an FYI

We are here on vacation with our good friends from Louisville, Hans and Vanessa Anderson (yes, no joking around, his name IS Hans Christian Anderson) and their lovely children Anais, Isabella, and Mateo.

Cool finds

We found this on the beach. Some proclaimed it to be a shark egg while others voted for a type of kelp. The verdict is in and these skate egg sacs are scattered all over the beach. We also found a string of hard disc-like sacs that resemble a snake's spine and ribs. Once again the vote was a type of seaweed but, lo and behold, they are the egg sacs of the whelk, aka the conch shell. I'll try to post a pic of this soon.

At the museum first the kids,

and then the grownups.

The USS Monitor

Just several miles off the coast of Hatteras, the USS Monitor foundered and sank taking all hands with her. The wreck has been salvaged and here you see a replica of the ironclad as she looked when in service.
There are two other great displays at the museum. First is a dedicaiton to Army Air Corps Gen. Billy Mitchell who conducted bombing tests just off the coast here to prove the superiority of air power over naval power with the use of pinpoint strategic bombing. Gen. Mitchell also reportedly devised the ideas for the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-25, which bears his name, and smart bombs. He also supposedly filed a report detailing the attack on Pearl Harbor, correctly predicting the country, arms, targets, AND THE DATE that the attack would occur, all years before 1941! The curator said his prediction even stated the time of day the attack would begin-however he was wrong on the time-HE MISSED IT BY TWENTY MINUTES.
The museum also has, submerged in saltwater, an Enigma machine and a transcription machine which were salvaged from the German UH-58, sunk by the USS Roper off near here. The Enigma was the coding machine used by the Germans and the codes were considered unbreakable until some of the machines were captured.