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Nagging Headaches in Nagshead
Oh, Whoa !!! Moaned Bone after a second night of absolute excess, Mike rose slowly as well, however both of the party warriors were committed to not wreck the day due to hangover. To cure their achy, breaky heads they went out to a local diner for a quick supply of cholesterol for breakfast. During their dining, they noticed a hang glider, which provided all the impetus needed to send the boys to check out the place where man's flights of fancy turned to flights of reality, Kill Devil Hill and the Wright Brothers Museum.
A replica of the first airplane in the Wright Brothers Museum at Kill Devil Hill
The tale of how two boys from Dayton, Ohio took to flight is a story of legend. At the turn of the 20th Century while the U.S. Government was investing hundreds of thousands of dollars on Professor Langley (posthumously honored [for doing nothing] with Langley Air Force Base) and large military team in Virginia attempting to create heavier than air vehicle, it was two bicycle makers from the Mid West investing $2,500 of their own money that discovered the aerodynamic principles of flight as a weekend hobby. So much for Government science !!!!
It has now been proven, Orville was the Dummy !!!
Upon viewing the flyer it was a flimsy contraption, similar to Bone's VW Rabbit that he was driving, with no light, heat, or brakes, with a fairly bad driver !!!
The start of the first Runway, so where are the annoying Flight Attendants ?
The Wright's had three flights on that cold winters day in December 1903, all three are marked at the National Park with the first flight only going for a couple of hundred yards.
The Runway with the Wright Memorial in the Background
One of the most amazing things the boys learned is that even though airplanes have become bigger, with many comforts and abilities such the ability to go above the speed of sound, aerodynamically, the fundamental design of all planes have not changed from the Wright Brothers patented design. Not bad for a couple of high school dropouts !!!.
The Wright Memorial on the Hill of Thorns
(That ain't grass in the picture !!!)
When the sign warns you to stay on the paved paths,they ain't kidding !!! After hearing about the Wright Brothers achievements, the boys thought to pay homage to them by hiking up to the Wright Memorial (plus they always like climbing hills.) Not wanting to walk up the winding paved path the boys ignored clearly marked signs and took off through the field, much to their regret. Little did the boys know that the hill was covered in the most pernicious thistle's that man has ever encountered. The needles were long, strong, and covered with a sticky substance that made pulling them out of your bare flesh difficult, and stung like the devil once out. They were so sharp and nasty that they actually penetrated through Mikes running shoes and Bone's deck shoes and stuck in their feet. For weeks afterwards they were both finding needs in their shoes. So the whole way up the hill the boys "ooed", "aahhed", and "ouched", along with many loud colorful metaphors. Once at the top of the hill they spent the next five minutes pulling needles out of their shoes, feet, ankles, and calves, before being able to appreciate the Monument.
The morale of the story is by following the right path, the Wright Brothers flew a plane and found fame,
by following the
wrong path, the Wrong Brothers found sore and bleeding feet.
"Ohhhh Our Bleeding Feet !!!"
"I may not stay on the Straight and Narrow, but I am definitely staying on this path down !!!"
Is it the Wright's Flying in over Jockeys Ridge ?!?
Hanging around watching the Hang Gliders off of Jockey Ridge
Having completely enough of the Wright Brothers Memorial, Mike and Bone headed a few miles down the road to a huge local phenomenon, Jockey's Ridge, which is a mountain of sand rising over the very flat Outer Banks. Being on the very flat Outer Banks, Jockeys Ridge catches very good ocean winds, the very reason that Orville and Wilbur chose the Outer Banks for their flying experiments, which also makes it perfect for hang gliding. The boys wanted to see if they could sign up for hang gliding, unfortunately the Hang Gliding Outfitters were booked solid for the Labor Day Weekend. So the boys watched several gliders take off and land.
A view of Pamlico Sound, over Jockey's Ridge
Being it was a hot and muggy day in the 90's, Mike suggested that they hike up the Ridge, to sweat out the booze from the night before. Since the goal of the climb is the top of a hill, and the reward is beer, Bone readily agreed and set off for the top of the Ridge.
"Hurry up Bone, We got a Sand Hill to Climb !!!"
20 minutes later both Mike and Bone realized that even though hiking up a Volcano is challenging, hiking up a sand hill is harder. Every step you take up you slide two back, finally they made it to the top of the hill. By now Bone was still dehydrated from the night before, include all the sweating on the climb up, along with the Wright Brothers tour, flights of fancy now roamed through his feverous brain. In his delusional state he thought he was Icarus from Greek Mythology, and tried to fly off of the Ridge, to little success and much rolling, as evidenced below:
Bone trying to fly without a Hang Glider
(with no success )
"Like a Rolling Bone"
"Once upon a time I met two of a kind, that used to get juiced up too !!!
"They never understood that it was no good to jump off a hill after drinkin a few !!!
Like a rolling bone ! With no direction home ! Losing his cell phone !
Now it is true that Bone gotten a little fat, but that's not where the center of his gravity's at !!
I don't want to sound like a some sorta diplomat, but sand up your crack is not where its at !!
You both got no dignity,,,,,,,,, that I can seeeee !!!!!!
Like a rolling bone ! With no direction home ! Losing his cell phone !
Abridged very liberally from Bob Dylan's, Like a Rolling Stone
"Yep, that was a Hair Raising Experience !!"
"Are you done rolling in that Kitty Litterbox yet !?!"
"The heck with this nonsense ! I'm gonna drink a beer !!!"
After flying high off of sand cliffs hoping to replicate the Wright Brothers experiments to no avail, the boys were hot, sweaty, and thirsty. Having a few cold Corona's quickly quenched their thirst, and to cool off the boys headed to the beach to have a nice relaxing swim, or so they thought.....
Swimming a la Morte de la Mer
Needless to say, hurricanes are extremely disruptive events, they destroy property, change the terrain, erode beaches, and create very big waves, during the time that the recent Hurricane was slamming into the Outer Banks, it was also creating huge breakers with dangerous rip currents three hours north in Virginia Beach. Unfortunately for local three teenagers the allure of the big surf was too strong and they tried to surf it, all to their eternal regret. All three drown in the surf, two were quickly found in the Virginia Beach area, however the third mysteriously disappeared. The Coast Guard suspected his body would never be found. Unfortunately for Mike and Bone they were wrong.
Knock it off Mike !!, Mike ??? As the boys went out in the surf a Life Guard warned the boys of the strong rip tide. They fought the current as they jumped around in the water enjoying the cold, salty waves. Bone drove into a wave and when he surfaced Mike whacked him the back of the head (or so he thought). Turning to provide Mike a colorful metaphor Bone saw a large greenish, decomposing hand of the third drowning victim. The missing victim drifted several hundred miles south of Virginia Beach to Nags Head. Quickly swimming away, Mike and Bone got the Life Guards who pulled the body from the surf. Three days in the open ocean did not do justice to the teenager. His body was a green tint, bloated three times its normal size, due to the water. The decomposing body looked eerily like Bone's now ex-Mother-In-Law.
After helping the Life Guards pull the body out of the Ocean (where the corpses shoulder dislocated due to the bloating) the boys were totally grossed out. The rest of the afternoon was spent drinking beer, washing their hands repeatedly and vowing to stay out of the Ocean for the remainder of the trip.
Not having a tremendous desire to do much else for rest of the day, the boys found a good seafood restaurant by the Bridge from Nags Head to Roanoke Island. After a great seafood dinner the Boys were feeling a little down due to the experience, so they made plans to visit the Lost Colony the next day and went to bed early, they just were not in the partying mood....