Kitty Hawk Holidays
Day 1
Baby It's Wet Outside
Day 2
Attack and Surrender
Day 3
Happy Anniversary
Day 4
A Ferry Tale
Day 5
North of Kill Devil Hills
Day 6
West on Sixty-Four
Day 7
Looking for the Big Nut
Day 8
Snappy Start, Rapids Finish
Day 9
Falling Water
Day 10
North on Dixie
Day 11
A Merry Christmas
Day 12
(Almost) Nothing New
Day 13
Drivette
December 27, 2018 (day 13)
Sunset caught me yesterday so today I went back to pickup the Dixie
Highway I'd bypassed in the dark on the expressway. The short stretch,
which included both a bridge and mansion from the eighteenth century,
turned out to be all the DH driving I would do. After a late lunch at a
real 1950s drive-in, I took to the interstate and home.
December 26, 2018 (day 12)
It was essentially a day of repeats and I started out rather late to be
sure a favorite restaurant was open when I got there. That made me too
late to see the one new thing I'd planned on but I found another new thing
to make up for it.
December 25, 2018 (day 11)
I spent the day in Knoxville following up a walk in a park with great food
and great brew.
December 24, 2018 (day 10)
After breakfast at my favorite restaurant, I picked up the Dixie Highway
and followed it from Chattanooga to Knoxville.
December 23, 2018 (day 9)
It rained off and on all day long but that wasn't the only water I saw
falling. The Nantahala National Forest has lots of waterfalls and the road
through it has lots of curves.
December 22, 2018 (day 8)
I drove off route to finally eat at Snappy Lunch in Mount Airy then
cruised through some picturesque lakeside and riverside territory. No
pork chop sandwich at Snappy Lunch but I did have some excellent vanilla
porter down by the riverside.
December 21, 2018 (day 7)
I started in a pseudo 1950s place, was frustrated in my hunt for a nut,
then ended at a real 1950s place.
December 20, 2018 (day 6)
Where the lost colony was last seen, where turtles are safe, and where
brewers get incubated. And BBQ, too.
December 19, 2018 (day 5)
More monuments, beer, and a lighthouse with temperature climbing into the
60s.
December 18, 2018 (day 4)
Today I learned about North Carolina ferries and the Outer Banks Scenic
Byway. I even saw much of the byway but did save some for next time.
December 17, 2018 (day 3)
The way the Wright Brothers conceived things, airplanes had unlimited leg
room. But that was 115 years ago, and aircraft have been getting more and
more cramped ever since.
December 16, 2018 (day 2)
I anticipated driving straight to the Outer Banks and checking into my
motel mid-afternoon. Instead I stopped in places commemorating June 6,
1944, and April 9, 1865, and didn't make it until after dark.
December 15, 2018 (day 1)
I didn't get nearly as far on the first day as I expected. The near
constant rain was part of the reason but the real culprit was my failure
to follow instructions. Nonetheless, it was a good beginning.
Prelude - November 20, 2018
A conversation with a friend about his visit to the Outer Banks reminded
me that I'd not been there about the same time I was starting to think
about a destination for this year's Christmas Escape Run. I mentally
penciled in the Banks as a destination and occasionally thought about them
over the next couple of weeks. For me, any thought about the Outer Banks
naturally leads to some thoughts about the Wright Brother's first flight
at Kitty Hawk and I wondered if the park there would be open over
Christmas. Silly me. I guess the actual date of that first flight had
never made much of an impression on me. It was December 17 and this year
its 115th anniversary would be celebrated at the Wright Brothers National
Memorial where it took place. So that's what I'm organizing the 2018
Christmas Escape Run around. Following their successful flight, the
brothers were back in Ohio before Christmas. I doubt that I will be
although I don't yet know where I'll actually be on Christmas day.
Somewhere along the route home, I suppose.