Today was another great lesson and a little refresher course in history. I feel as though we have come full circle on this one. A few years ago on one of our visits to the Airstream factory in Jackson Center, Ohio we drove to Dayton, Ohio. There we visited the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Here there is a fantastic exhibit on the First Flight and the Wright Brothers. It's also in Dayton where The Wright Brother Cycle Company was located.
Moving full circle here we are now in Kill Devil Hills where the brothers spent time devoting themselves to the goal of human flight. First, over a period of years, The Wright Brothers flew hundreds of glides here with different gliders that they improved on each year.
Finally on December 17th of 1903, with a crude gasoline engine installed, the brothers made the first four flights. The first being 120 feet and 12 seconds. It was this 12 seconds that changed the world. The second flight was 175 feet and 12 seconds. The third flight was 200 feet and 15 seconds. The fourth and final was 852 feet and lasted 59 seconds.
There is a lot to see at the Wright Brothers National Memorial with an impressive monument on top the Kill Devil Hill, reconstructed hangar and workshop, First Flight Boulders marking each flight, life-sized bronze and stainless steel sculpture recreating the moment and a pretty nice Visitors Center. Thinking we would need about an hour to take our self guided tour it actually took us 2 1/2 hours.
Once we finished the Wright Brothers National Memorial Tim and I decided to take Jett back to the dog park. So glad we did. This time there were other dogs there. She had a blast meeting Roper and also Lizzie to name a few. Lizzie has just three legs. She gets around great and doesn't even know that she only has three legs. Lizzie was definitely schooling any dog who got out of hand including Jett.
It turned out to be a full day. This evening we plan to relax and see what tomorrow brings!
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