College Life

Wifey is in college.  See below two presentations she gave in the Fall of 2020. 

 

On the Road Again!

We drove home from VA in an epic road trip.  In two days we crossed 7 states and traveled about 1,500 miles and 23 hours of actual drive time.  

Video Link.  If you're reading from mobile, you'll likely need to click the link.

Along the way we stopped to capture pictures at each state-line.  The trip was long but beautiful!

The KY sign was on a bridge, so we took our group picture a mile down the road at the Welcome Center.

 

Wright Brothers National Memorial

We visited the Wright Brothers National Memorial during our time in the Outer Banks!  We enjoyed learning all about their many attempts, failures, and eventual success at controlled, manned flight!  And we took a few selfies while we were there!  This was Hubby & Wifey's second trip to the Memorial and Ms. Karen's first!  

You can walk the path and distance of the first 4 flights.  We didn't this trip :) 

 

Roanoke Island

Monday morning we loaded up our rental car and drove south to the heart of the Outer Banks and visited the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on Roanoke Island.  We began our visit to the site with a tour of the visitors center.  Wifey spent most of that visit chatting it up with the Park Ranger after noticing her name tag which included the "I" handshape and the word "sign". 

We hiked two trails at the historic site, visiting an archaeological wall which served an unknown purpose as well as the site of the Freedman's colony. 

The first trail we hiked was the Thomas Hariot Trail.  It is about .3 miles and is a loop.  Of particular enjoyment are several off-shoots from the main loop which allow access to the beach areas and the bay.  

The dirt path slowly narrows and changes to sand .... 

And the next thing you know, you're looking at the water :) 

After the Thomas Hariot Trail, we decided to tackle the Freedom Trail.  It is a 1.25 mile each way out and back trail which leads to the opposite side of Roanoke Island and the site of the Freedman's Colony.  For slaves escaping north on the Underground Railroad, making it across the water to this island meant freedom.  

The Freedman's Trail again ended with a beautiful view of the water!

On our way back to the starting point, we had a little fun with my ever present selfie-stick!  

 

The Beach

The main goal of our trip this October was to visit the Ocean!  

We got lucky and the rain backed off for a while Sunday afternoon so we took a quick walk on the beach!  I don't have much narritation for this post, but here is a photomontage and quick video!  If you're reading on mobile, you'll want to click the link.

Sandy Feet!!

King Neptune!

 

USS Wisconson

 Our first adventure after reaching Hampton Roads was to tour the Battleship Wisconsin. With rain forecasted to begin around 2 pm and the Wisconsin opening at noon we knew we had a narrow window to explore this magnificent ship.  The Wisconsin served in WWII, Korean Conflict, and Operation Desert Storm. After its retirement, it was transferred to the City of Norfolk and now serves as a Museum.  

We bought our tickets online and showed the resulting QR code to the staff at the Wisconsin .... touchless for the win!  Each person then received a dated wrist band which would be our access into the ship itself.  

Selfie Stick Time

Can you tell Wifey has been getting rained on?  

Stationed throughout the Wisconsin were various volunteers who shared their knowledge of the Wisconsin as well as experiences from their time in the service.  We enjoyed chatting and learning!

Across the bay, we could see modern Naval ships at dock.  

and docked nearby, we saw smaller historical recreations:

A lifeboat on the decks of the Wisconsin.  

The majority of the interior of this ship is closed due to COVID, 

but the open portion was fraught with risks for the taller among us: 

St Louis Arch

We recently traveled with Hubby's Mom out east to visit the ocean!  Along the way we passed through St. Louis MO and took the opportunity to visit the St. Louis Arch! We were excited for the change to (1) see an intriguing piece of architecture and (2) get one more use out of our America the Beautiful Passes!  Due to some lunch challenges, we arrived at the arch just at our appointment to ride to the top.  We breezed through security, skipped the museum and lined up to ride to the top!  

Video of our visit.  If you're reading on mobile, you'll want to click the link.