Flight plan
Take off for North Carolina’s Kitty Hawk and Outer Banks
Ilearned a lot on my recent trip to Kitty Hawk, N.C., but two things stand out. One, Neil Armstrong carried two small pieces of the Wright brothers’ first flying machine in his pocket when he walked on the moon. And two, I might have the skills to be a pretty good hang glider.
Visiting Kitty Hawk is a natural draw. After all, it’s about all kinds of flight, beyond the Wright brothers’ historic achievements. A visit there, tucked into the beautiful Outer Banks and filled with history, food and activities, is a chance to truly find your wings.
I headed there late season, the weather brisk but walkable with a light sweater at night, warm enough to savor the beach or pool by day. I was drawn by the 115th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first public flight, and the National Parks Department’s complete overhaul of the Wright Brothers National Memorial and Museum (1000 N. Croatan Highway, Kill Devil Hills, N.C.). I was there for the first day it reopened (the museum was originally erected as part of the National Parks “Mission 66” Project more than 50 years ago).
The museum’s overhaul, a long process that carefully wove the classic Frank Lloyd Wright-ish structure (it’s no surprise the Mission 66 architects were approved by Wright) with modern display touches (such as 3D printing). Its setting is open and airy with windows so large
you feel as if you are out on the field where so much of that early flying took place.
The museum flows in a circular direction. As you move along, the display asks you to be active, asking questions for you to ponder and even offering question cards for you to pick up and ask of those around you. It’s incredible when you realize that from the time the Wrights first flew until the day Armstrong walked on the moon with those souvenirs, only 66 years had passed.
I headed to nearby Jockey’s Ridge State Park, where, for the first time, I tried hang gliding. The location makes perfect sense. Jockey’s Ridge is home to the highest and largest sand dunes on the east coast. “Sure,” I think, heading out to the dunes with my instructor Wolf, following classroom instruction. “But I bet they’re not as big as Wellfleet.”
They are. It’s not just the height of these dunes — we stand at the top like lords looking down on the seaside hamlets of the Outer Banks — it’s the sheer size. They seem to go on forever. Which is, as the Wright brothers understood, the perfect spot for perfecting flight. For me, mini crashes in the soft sand mean as I get the feel for the sport, I can make mistakes without worry. Once I do catch air and spend some time gliding, I’m hooked. I leave with my first-level certification. The school can train you all the way up to the big time. Learn more at kittyhawk.com.
I’m staying at Sanderling Resort in quaint but spectacular Duck. A sanderling is a migratory sandpiper bird, but once I settle here, the only migrating I want to do is from the pool to the beach to the bar to the restaurant and to the spa.
Sanderling is located on a part of Duck narrow enough that you can meander out to see the sunrise over the ocean each morning and then walk a few steps over to see it set — spectacularly — on the bay each evening.
The resort’s main restaurant was once an 1800s lighthouse and is filled with fascinating historical artifacts, yet has that clean, beachy feel you want from the Outer Banks. Meals there are sublime. The breakfasts are rich; I fall in love with Carolina Benedict. Dinners feature seafood caught down the road, as well as other locally sourced choices such as North Carolina duck.
My room is airy and bright. I look out over the pool and to the rolling waves of the ocean. Thanks to the time of year, I sleep with my slider open; the sounds of the sea are my lullaby.
There are other moments of flight, too: the high of designing my own doughnut at Duck Donuts; the fun of attending the Outer Banks Seafood Festival in nearby Nags Head, where you can savor fresh seafood creations from just about every chef around, take in live music and soak in the seaside setting; sampling locally distilled rum at the amazing Outer Banks Distilling; and the perfection of just walking along the Atlantic Coast, waves crashing next to you.
The Wright brothers made Kitty Hawk and the Outer Banks household names. Thanks to their story, which is so well told, we can all take wing in this lovely spot.