Bragg Family South summer 2015 vacation (part 3)

After a couple of enjoyable days in the Williamsburg, Virginia, area, we pulled out and headed to the North Carolina coast.  Our next destination was the Wright Brothers National Memorial on Nags Head of the Outer Banks.  We arrived a little early, so while we waited to get into the park, we found a nearby beach that we strolled on for a little while (pictured above).  Our intent had been to spend a fair amount of time this day on the beaches; regrettably, that did not happen to the extent we intended (more on that later).  At Wright Brothers National Memorial, we got to learn about the early efforts in flight by the brothers, including seeing a replica of their plane:

We also saw Kill Devil Hill, from which they launched some of their experiments from:

While Hope took Beth and Stephen to an interpreter's program, Kenny and I hiked to the based of the monument pictured above.  Below, you can see how large this monument was:

After our visit to this park, we headed further south along the Outer Banks.  We hadn't realized how long of a drive this was going to be, nor that we'd have to spend quite as much time on ferries across the places where there weren't bridges.  Below, we pass one of these ferries on our way to Okracoke Island (our ferry was of the same size):

Once we got to Okracoke, we had another lengthy drive to catch our next ferry, which would take us back to the mainland (where our hotel was).  We got to our scheduled ferry with about an hour to spare; while waiting, we visited some of the local tourist traps, and Kenny posed next to a fragment of a whale skull that was on display:

Between the several hours we spent on the two ferries:

and our extended driving time, the next time we found a chance to get to a beach was about an hour before sunset.  Beth and Stephen enjoyed being "chased" by the waves:

 

We also had a "visit" from a Marine rescue helicopter:

The Marine copter was close because we were staying in a town not far from their major base called Camp Lejeune.  After a nice night in a large hotel room suite--an unexpected bonus, called "the best room ever" by Stephen--we hit the road early the next morning.  Our plan was to drive most of the way across North Carolina to reach a hotel room in the mountainous western part of the state.  Oh, and here's a picture of why my work took me to the southeastern US:

They still cut lots of trees in the South!  It took us all day to get to western North Carolina.  En route, we stopped at a couple Revolutionary War battlefields along our route.  The first was Kings Mountain National Military Park (http://www.nps.gov/kimo/index.htm) which commemorates an American victory over British forces rather late in the war.  Below, the kids show their weariness at another hike to another monument:

We also stopped at another Revolutionary War battlefield, this one at Cowpens (http://www.nps.gov/cowp/index.htm).  The monument below:

shows the long shadows of late afternoon...We didn't stay long at Cowpens, as they were starting to close for the day.  The next morning, we drove along the beautiful Nantahala River into the Appalachian Mountains towards Chattanooga, Tennessee, our next destination.  The kids enjoyed getting out of the car, even if briefly:

By mid-day we had reach the Chattanooga area, but our first stop was at Chickamauga, a site of a major Civil War battle.  I suspect many of my relatives may be aware of this battle, as the overall Confederate commander here was one General Braxton Bragg (very distant kin, if related at all).  Below is a monument that show a recurring them for many of the Union unit monuments throughout Chickamauga:

No, that carved stone acorn hasn't been photo-shopped onto a different monument!  The acorn was a symbol used by a number of Union army units that had not joined the initial retreat from the battlefield, but rather stood "like an oak" against Bragg's forces until the rest of the Union army was able to retreat.  Not all of the acorns on these monuments were this prominent, but a lot of them had them!  The picture below was taken by me from atop a different, tower-style monument, looking down on Hope, Beth, and Stephen (about 80 feet below me):

Here are Beth and Stephen at the top of this monument--quite the view!

Below is a monument to the 5th Wisconsin Battery (of artillery):

There were many Wisconsin units at Chickamauga and elsewhere in the western theater of the Civil War.  This includes Arkansas--I recently learned one of our ancestors (Elias Sidney Jenkins) had served in the Arkansas region in the latter months of the war, and may have passed close to where we live on one of the scouting missions he was likely on!  Below are some cannonballs that had lodged in trees on the Chickamauga Battlefield:

Assuming these were actually fired out of a cannon, it is obvious these rounds had spent most of their energy by the time they struck these trees, otherwise they would have gone straight through them!  We didn't spend every minute at battlefields...We found time that afternoon to visit the aquarium in downtown Chattanooga, and the kids got to "pet" some fish, including these sturgeon:

Ducking in and out of heavy rain showers, we drove up nearby Lookout Mountain, which had seen its own action during the siege of Chattanooga.  Behind Hope and the kids (in the background) the Tennessee River winds its way past the city of Chattanooga:

We spent our last night in a hotel in northern Alabama.  We then drove back to Arkansas, stopping at a couple antique shops, gas stations, and restaurants, but little else.  We arrived home by middle of the afternoon on Saturday, August 15, with enough time to wind down a bit before the kids started school the following Monday. 

Another big adventure for the books!