It's gray and windy outside. Not a great day to fly a kite, but the field is filled with school kids doing just that. The weather was just as yucky over 100 years ago when brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright launched the Kitty Hawk here at Kill Devil Hills in Outer Banks, North Carolina.

The Outer Banks, linked to the rest of the U.S. only by bridges and ferries, is a place of firsts ‹ first flight, first English colony and, many times, the first place a hurricane hits. Wilbur and Orville chose it because it had winds, sand, open spaces and solitude‹plus the postmaster let them stay free at his house. So, if you are a lighthouse junkie, a history buff, a lover of the outdoors or fresh seafood, maybe you want to put Outer Banks first on your places to go list.

Of course, the Number One attraction is the Wright Brothers National Memorial. It has full-scale replicas of the boys' hangar, wood shed camp and the Kit Hawk ‹ right down to the bicycle chains. Park rangers will lead you through the Wright Brothers progression from their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio to their spectacular lift-off on that dreary, windy Dec. 17, 1903.

To solve their problems of lift, power and control‹pitch, roll and yaw‹these amazing fellows crafted a wind tunnel. The same type tunnel was used in developing aircraft until the Boeing 777.

These guys were no dummies. Their decision to soar no higher than 15-to-20 feet, made their flights history, not them. Markers on the sandy runway indicate their four flights ‹ from the first 12-second, 120-foot flight to the fourth, 59-second one which traveled 850 feet. Outer Banks is also a destination for non-human flyers. Pea Island Wildlife Refuge, part of the Atlantic flyway, hosts 265 different bird species at various times of the year. Loggerhead turtles also nest there. Slather on the bug spray (late afternoon is not as buggy) and follow the path to the water. Watch for laughing sea gulls, terns, egrets and ibises.

All this winging around might give you the itch to soar. You can. A three-hour, low-altitude, hang gliding course at Kitty Hawk Kites in Jockey's Ridge State Park includes five chances to become airborne. Lessons include a lot of sand dune sitting while waiting for the wind to gust. When it does, stretch out your arms, look straight ahead, run like the devil, then lift your legs and soar. A tethered rope attached to the glider at one end and the instructor on the other eliminates the chance of flying off into the clouds or to heaven. The toughest part is the landing. If it isn't on your feet, you will be eating sand.

Outer Banks restaurants offer something more desirable. There are a variety of them. The Weeping Radish, with its micro-brewery, German baker and butcher that serve wiener schnitzel top with a giant pretzel is like a trip to Bavaria. In Nag's Head, Tortugas' Lie Shellfish Bar and Grille is nothing fancy, just a laid-back, friendly eatery that is usually crowded with locals that specializes in very fresh seafood.

Fresh seafood is what you'd expect at a place that is surrounded by the sea ‹ a sea that can be quite treacherous during hurricane season. Though historic lighthouses at Cape Hatteras National Seashore have stood watch since the 19th century, they could not prevent the area's 70-mile shoreline from becoming a graveyard for shipwrecks.

Many of the lighthouses are open to visitors. Every one is different. Cape Hatteras resembles a giant black and white barber poll, while Ocracoke is white and chubby. Bodie Island's watchtower is banded black and white. Most are located south of Kitty Hawk on the picturesque Route 12, where the unspoiled stretches of beaches seem never ending.

Kayaking is another way to enjoy the water. Even on a dreary day paddling around Roanoke Island can be fun. Outfitters will supply both crafts and guide. It is relaxing and scenic. You can even paddle around the Elizabeth II, a replica of a 1585 sailing ship.

Located just across from the town of Mateo, the Elizabeth II is part of Roanoke Island Festival Park. Not the most comfortable of sailing vessels to be in on a journey across the Atlantic. All of its living quarters would probably fit into one state room of the QE2. The crew, period-clad actor/guides will show you around and tell stories about what such a journey was like.

The rest of the park is very kid-friendly but you don't have to be a child to enjoy it. At the Adventure Museum, it is not unusual to see visiting kids and adults dressed in period frocks checking out the hands-on exhibits. There is a lot to do. Shoot ducks with old-time rifles or hoist the sails on a spritsail skiff. Test out old-time navigational equipment like an astrolabe. Sailors who used it had to stare directly into the sun. Many times it caused them to go blind in one eye ‹ hence the eye patches.

The museum has an Indian village, a small lighthouse and a general store. Outside there is a working smithy and scallop-trimmed tents, like the first English colonists, "the Lost Colony" occupied from 1584-87‹pretty but not the greatest winter quarters. But then again, the colony vanished, leaving only the legend of Virginia Dare.

The site of the "Lost Colony" is now Mateo's picturesque Elizabethan Gardens. The gardens' best vantage point is from the Mount where four paths meet. On one side is a stature of Virginia Dare and opposite it are the sunken gardens.

While in the area, explore the town's unique shops. At Nancyware, a pottery shop, you can chat with Nancy as she works her potter's wheel. The funky Endless Possibilities, which donates its profits to the Outer Banks Crisis Intervention Hotline and Prevention Center, weaves old ties into unique rugs, purses and scarves.

The Outer Banks is a little flighty, a little wet and has a lot of cool dry spots in-between.

IF YOU GO

Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, (877)-298-4373, website: ww.outerbanks.org