During our travels to Cape Hatteras, we went through northern North Carolina and saw many fields of cotton. Some had already been harvested at that time (mid-October), but some fields were still green, and even other fields were still in their seedling stage. This led us to believe that the growing season is very long, perhaps year-round.
North Carolina has the slogan “First in Flight” written on its vehicle license plates, and Kitty Hawk is well- known for being the location of the Wright Brothers’ first successful flight. After years of testing gliders in the area, Orville and Wilbur Wright built an engine-powered cloth airplane which had four successful flights on December 17, 1903, the longest of which was 852 feet long and lasted 59 seconds. Unfortunately this prize airplane was flipped over by the wind shortly after their tests were completed on that historic day, and was damaged. That didn’t stop the inventive spirit that was so prevalent in that era.
We camped at the Kitty Hawk RV Park, which was bordering the beach, so right away the boys got out their boogie-boards and tried out that sport as the waves rolled into the shore. They seemed to get the hang of it, and they appreciated that the ocean water in the Carolinas seems a lot warmer than in the northern states. We also spent some beach time when we went to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which was beautiful with grassy dunes and warm sun. The kids had a sand-castle –making competition. At the National Seashore we also went to the Bodie Lighthouse, which is a 156-foot tall brick structure that was built in 1870. 
North Carolina has the slogan “First in Flight” written on its vehicle license plates, and Kitty Hawk is well- known for being the location of the Wright Brothers’ first successful flight. After years of testing gliders in the area, Orville and Wilbur Wright built an engine-powered cloth airplane which had four successful flights on December 17, 1903, the longest of which was 852 feet long and lasted 59 seconds. Unfortunately this prize airplane was flipped over by the wind shortly after their tests were completed on that historic day, and was damaged. That didn’t stop the inventive spirit that was so prevalent in that era.
We were surprised to find another National Parks Service jewel at Cape Hatteras, and that was a place called Fort Raleigh. Also described as the ‘Lost Colony’, this was the location of the first attempted permanent English settlement in the New World. Sponsored by Queen Elizabeth I, the colony was established in the 1580s, but by the time the British came back to check on the colonists after the wars with the Spanish Armada, everyone in the settlement had disappeared. Sir Walter Raleigh made many voyages trying to locate any survivors, but it still remains a mystery as to what happened to the settlers. It was a very interesting location, steeped in history and mystery, and was an excellent ending to our North Carolinian coastal experience.
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