For the last several years, Bubba has had a fascination with the Wright Brothers. He’s read several books about them…. multiple times. More than once he’s told me how much he’d like to visit Kill Devil Hills and see the actual spot where the Wright Brothers flew. Last month, we finally made his dream come true.
Two years ago, one of the park rangers from Kill Devil Hills was in our hometown giving a talk at the Air Expo. He was at the museum the day we went! I took a chance and asked if her remembered the Expo and meeting us, and he did! What was even more awesome, he let the kiddos go in the plane exhibit and move the elevator on the plane!
I love the look on his face!!!
His was pretty good too ;)
The girls enjoyed it as well….until they heard the ranger say that it cost 1.3 million dollars to build that replica.
Wow! It cost so much because they duplicated the plane exactly, which meant importing specialized cotton for the wings, and retooling machinery that hadn’t been used in a few decades.
We had a great time exploring the grounds.
We were able to go through their old “shacks” and see how they would have been set up.
The boys loved the stove:)
It was very cool to watch Bubba exploring every nook and cranny of these shacks. He could have been a tour guide he gave us so much information about every detail.
Little brother was pretty excited too…
But this guy….the smiles just kept coming…..
We were able to walk the markers that showed the length of each successful flight.
Then we hiked out to the massive monument that sits atop the hill that the Wright Brothers first used to launch their kites and gliders.
It is a beautiful monument….
And had a beautiful view.
Proof that Mr.OverKill and I were there ;)
Little Man and the girls completed the Junior Park Ranger program,
and were awarded badges and heros of history trading cards.
Then, the neatest part of our visit happened.
Bubba asked me before we left home if I thought the museum would let him fly his Wright Brothers kite on the field. I told him I didn’t see why not, so he built one, and Sugar Belle built a mini.
After adding a few last strings in the van, we were off!
Yep, that’s my boy, flying his kite on the Wright Brothers’ field.
What a thrill for him! I know that the entire family enjoyed our visit to the Wright Brothers’ Museum, but I also know that this stop on our trip was monumental for Bubba and something he will never forget!
Wow!! Just, WOW!