Day 7 - Saturday 21st May

Today was our day for saying farewell to Virginia Beach and hello to Williamsburg. However, as with most holiday accommodation, we had to be out by 10 am but couldn’t take on until 4 pm – how to fill the day when Williamsburg is only about an hour from Virginia Beach? Easy! Head for North Carolina, 2 hours south!

All joking apart, whilst looking at the map, we realised that Kittihawk was not too far away and we all know what happened there, don’t we? We thought it too good an opportunity to miss out on so set off, having decided to go via no interstate roads (memo to self – don’t do this next time, it’s very slow).Anyway, it was a pleasant enough drive with lots of small towns and market stalls/farmers shops on the way – it’s obviously the peach season as they were advertised everywhere.

Eventually, we reached the Wright Brothers National Memorial which is actually at a place called Kill Devil Hills (where do they get these names from?). Well, it was beautifully done and a really inviting setup. Run by the National Park Service, it costs the grand sum of $4 each to get in where you then can see an interesting, well laid out museum that includes a very lively presentation by one of the rangers, alongside a life size mock up of the Wright Flyer.

The actual flights (there were 4) are marked by stones indicating takeoff and landing, photo alongside taken from the top of the hill that contains the memorial

All in all, a very pleasant and interesting side trip.

In leaving Kittihawk, we started by going along the road immediately by the ocean - or as immediate as could be given the amazing rentals scattered amongst the dunes. I think this may be close to heaven on earth for Carol - wake up every morning to see the ocean and not having to share your living space with anybody else (except me!) Hate to think what the rental costs would be! (Actually, just looked online and 1 bedroom places, when available, are around $600 per week)

Then it was time to hit the interstate and head for our next port of call - Parkside Resort on Merrimac Trail in Williamsburg. A fairly uneventful journey found us checking in at around 5 pm to this resort that seems to have just been dropped by the side of the road. It's about 6 miles out of Williamsburg, directly across the railway tracks (active for freight) from Busch Gardens. Nice welcome with a little twist - if we went to a presentation from the timeshare developer (Blue Green). we could get two 2-day passes to Colonial Williamsburg for free - usual cost $92. Why not we thought? See tomorrow's entry for more detail.

The accommodation here was a significant improvement on Virginia Beach (if you ignored the lack of an ocean view). Proper full size kitchen, lounge, bedroom and ensuite - even our own washer/dryer set up. Comfortable.

First things first - get food and beer!Off to Farm Fresh we went. Then, whilst deciding where to go for dinner, those immortal words - "I'd quite like to stay in". So, bacon and egg it was! Washed down with several bottles of Sam Adams Boston lager! Heaven!

And so to bed.