Day 20: Corolla, Kitty Hawk, and HOME!

one

e
m






Its day 20 and our journey is coming to a close. We arose with the hopes of kayaking or a little beach time we opened the balcony door to find it was very cool and cloudy. With everyone being pretty tired we decided to start heading home. The Hampton Inn provided my family with a wonderful lite breakfast before sending us one our way. I decided we just had to see the Wright Brothers Memorial Park before we left the outer banks since our other plans had been squelched by the cool weather. When we entered the museum there was a presentation that had just gotten underway. We grabbed our spot and followed our guide on a journey of imagination as he told the Wright brothers story. Our guide was a great story teller that I could have listened to all day long, unfortunately my husband and daughter weren't of the same mind frame! Bored and How much longer were the words that began to overpower this amazing story of flight. After a few more minutes my family had left me and I didn't even mind! I listened to how the evolution of the first flight came about with great fascination. I re-joined my family a few mins later and we ventured out to see the distance markers for those first three flights. I was quite impressed when my son informed me of all he had learned about the Wright Brother even quoting the distance of the third and truest flight. I want to say it was 847 feet but my memory is a bit slow given that its 1:30am. Again I was so privileged to see their history books coming to life right before their very eyes. What an absolute honor to have been able to take them on yet another amazing vacation very much alive in history and culture. To get back on track.....we continued on up to the wright brothers memorial which was so fitting two crusaders! We finished up with a movie and a second museum. It was a beautiful day with perfect temperatures and winds that even Wilbur would have loved! All that was left now was to grab some lunch and get on down the road. The only thing between us and our home was 330 miles of asphalt and traffic! After getting stuck at the Hampton roads tunnel and stopping for gas and finally for dinner, it took us about 7 hours to get home. It was a great feeling to be home yet there will always be this little piece of my that wants to run and explore.

When I return from these trips someone always asks me, "What do you learn on these kinds of trips?" My answer is "I learn who my children and I have become over the last year." What do I mean? Spending 24 hours per day for 20 days, locked up together in hotels and a mini van with your children, your mother in law, and yourself will show you what you are made of. You will quickly learn your depth of character. We learn about give and take, compromise, tolerance, imagination, communication, raw emotions, new ways to rest and play, how the world looks and works in living color, and most importantly you learn what love is not. Love is not easy. People are full of idiosyncrasies, demands, and intensity. Love is the thing that binds us together in spite of them all. Love is what makes you scream in one breath and beam with pride in the next. Love is the driver of all that we do and because of it we find our patience kindness and strength to keep moving forward. When the trip is over, tempers are high, emotions like a runaway train, and everyone exhausted, but a few days later when all you have are the memories, love returns and reminds you how incredibly fortunate you are to have shared that time together creating memories that cant be bought or sold or forgotten.

What do I learn on these trips.......I learn to Love....In living color!

If you have taken this journey with my family, we thank you! It is my hope that you find your own journey and learn what I mean by loving in living color!