The Dunes

The Sand Dunes in Kitty Hawk are well worth the time and effort.  Every trip to these parts we spend one evening climbing to the top of the gigantic sand hills.  In 1900 Orville and Wilbur Wright used the dunes in their flight experiments.  The picked this area because of the near-constant breezes and soft sand landings.  The Wright Brothers Memorial nearby is also a worthwhile destination.  Paul took our two ten-year-old granddaughters there one morning and they gave it rave reviews.  

The dunes are a favorite spot for hang-gliders now, swooping down and back up again on the wind currents that rush through the valleys stretching between the tall plateaus. 

Climbing to the tallest point we can see the narrow strip of land that makes up the outer banks, bordered by water on both sides, the Atlantic to the east and the sound to the west. Rows of beach houses, weather beaten and holding vigil along the sea, are visible from our perch high atop the surrounding towns.  I can’t understand why the sand doesn’t simply blow out to sea.  What keeps it moored to this spot, a shifting landscape that has changed every year for hundreds of years?

After the sun sets we hike back down, stopping for frozen custard at our favorite ice-cream hangout en route back to the house.  Black raspberry and key lime cheesecake were the flavors of the day, both of them lip-smacking good. 

Our time here is moving along too fast. But I must stop and remember what happened fourteen years ago.  We were on another vacation in the northernmost part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Fishing from a pontoon on a remote lake, we did not learn about the Trade Center falling until we were off the lake and back into our house.  We watched TV in horror, along with the rest of the country, as the collapse was shone again and again.  It was one of those moments when everyone can remember exactly where they were when it happened. And it is our duty to never forget.