On a trip to the Southeast the last two weeks of September, primarily to see friends and relatives, we found ourselves in central North Carolina, preparing to go to Jekyll Island where we had celebrated our first anniversary. However, Hurricane Helene was projected to hit Florida that Thursday night, and Jekyll Island was under a Tropical Storm Warning. It was Wednesday, and I was trying to decide what to do when I checked this site for blog comments, getting this reminder:

Stop gathering more information and start acting on the information you already have.

That’s a word. So I canceled Jekyll Island and decided to go to Kitty Hawk, where the Wright Brothers flew the first airplane. June loves airplanes, we will never be closer to Kitty Hawk than we are right now, and from Kitty Hawk we can end up in Charleston as planned.

The visit to Kitty Hawk was unexpectedly moving. To be where the Wright brothers were, just 121 years ago, and think about their intentional persistence, was inspiring.

The Monument, dedicated in 1928, reads:

In commemoration of the conquest of the air by the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright conceived by genius achieved by dauntless resolution and unconquerable faith.

Actual photograph of the first flight

The official National Park site sums it up:

Wind, sand, and a dream of flight brought Wilbur and Orville Wright to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina where, after four years of scientific experimentation, they achieved the first successful airplane flight on December 17, 1903.

With courage and perseverance, these self-taught engineers relied on teamwork and application of the scientific process. What they achieved changed our world forever.

The stone marker with the bronze plaque reads:

The first successful flight of an airplane was made from this spot by Orville Wright, December 17, 1903, in a machine designed and built by Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright.

The other plaques mark the terminations of the first four flights:

• 1: 12 seconds, 120 feet
• 2: 12 seconds, 175 feet
• 3: 15 seconds, 200 feet
• 4: way in the distance, no close-up: 59 seconds, 852 feet

“Self-taught engineers” reminds me of Acts 4.13

The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. (Emphasis mine)

PS Timing is everything. I just found out that barely 48 hours after we were there on September 26, a small plane crashed at the airport that’s part of the Wright Brothers National Memorial. The Park was closed from September 28 – 30. I would have been really bummed if I had driven 6 hours out of my way to Kitty Hawk and not been able to see anything!