Yesterday turned out to be a total wash out for the most part. We awoke to steady rain and thick clouds and the forecast called for clearing in the evening hours so we didn’t have much to do. We hung around reading and I finished my book “Love the One Your With” by Emily Griffin which I enjoyed but wished for a slightly different ending. I won’t spoil the book but if you read it I wonder what you would think of how it ended. Overall, I didn’t find the book quite as gripping as Something Borrowed, her first novel which I tore through on the beaches of Aruba when it first came out. Don’t get me wrong “Love the One Your With” is good, just not a total pager turner in my opinion.

By late morning the heavy rain ended and there were only clouds and spotty drizzle here and there. We decided to take a ride down to see Kill Devil Hills. Kill Devil Hills is the Outer Banks’ oldest township, established in 1952. But the landmark that lends the town its distinctive name has been around much longer. At one time, the northern Outer Banks was characterized by a series of sand mountains over 100 feet high. These dunes stretched from sound to sea, from Corolla south to Nags Head. Kill Devil Hills was one of the larger of the dunes, and stories about how the monolith got its name are varied and colorful but the most widely accepted theory is that the name came from a brand of rum found washed ashore during the colonial period. The reason this area is considered a tourist attraction (one of very few in the area) is that Kill Devil Hills is the site of the Wright Brothers first heavier-than-air flight in 1903. About thirty years later, workers planted grass on the dune to prevent it from continually shifting, then constructed the impressive Wright Brothers Memorial which can be seen for miles. We were looking forward to seeing this site but it when we arrived in the general area it seemed like everyone else on the Outer Banks had the same idea and the line of cars was backed up for a couple of miles. This was a big turn off so we decided not to get in line. Instead we went a little further north and browsed in some of the shops along the water and then headed back up to Corolla for lunch and afternoon which was mostly spent inside due to the periodic showers.

By evening though, the clouds had parted and took the rain with them and a glorious evening sunset was upon us. After dinner we took a ride down to Duck to listen to a band play outside at Aqua S, a local restaurant/bar which was fabulous. We saw the sunset over the water and listened to good music which sipping some drinks and dancing to cover songs. It was a great evening.