[nw_arizona_granny]

Don't forget that Easter Sunday is the 11th of April.

Plus there should be a few Civil War Sites around there, that will upset the locals.

[liberallyconservative]

Just a few more interesting facts I've uncovered about Kitty Hawk, NC. Their permanent population is 2,354 which swells to approx. 15,000 during the height of tourist season in the summer months.

Their police force was formed in 1983 with 2 officers, but they now have a force of 15.

I do recall seeing a Coast Guard station further down, somewhere between the Hatteras and Bodie lighthouses, if I recall correctly.

[DAVEY CROCKETT]

It is everywhere...

http://icrenfrewshire.icnetwork.co.uk/news/localnews/pdenews/pdenews/tm_objectid=14102285&method=full&siteid=63858&headline=wards-shut-as-virus-spreads-name_page.html

WARDS SHUT AS VIRUS SPREADS Mar 31 2004

THREE wards at the Royal Alexandra Hospital have now been closed down as the outbreak of a stomach bug spreads.

The move came after the number of patients affected by a winter vomiting virus rose dramatically over the weekend.

On Friday just 36 patients and three members of staff at the Paisley hospital had contracted the infection. But yesterday hospital bosses confirmed 62 patients and three workers had the bug.

No new admissions will be accepted to wards three, four and seven until the virus can be brought under control.

A total of five wards at the RAH are now affected by the virus which has left patients and staff suffering from sickness and diarrhoea.

As well as affecting people in the three wards that have been closed, patients in wards five and 12 - both of which are also wards caring for the elderly - have also been struck down.

No one is thought to be critically ill as a result of the condition - which usually affects people for two or three days.

A special control of infection team at the hospital is monitoring the situation on a daily basis.

And they've also put in place a series of measures to try to stop the disease from spreading even further

Members of the public who have also been suffering from vomiting or diarrhoea within the last seven days are being urged to stay away from the hospital and not visit family or friends there.

In addition, hospital bosses are also recommending children under the age of 12 don't visit relatives in the affected wards and that only two people visit each patient.

Bosses at the RAH say the wards that have been shut will only be open up again once they are clear of infection - which is 48 hours after the last affected patient stops showing symptoms.

The RAH is the second hospital in Paisley to be affected by an outbreak of sickness and diarrhoea, as staff and patients at Dykebar have also been ill. So far a total of 14 patients and workers have contracted the bug.

[brucecw]

Kitty Hawk NC is on one of the barrier islands. For those not familiar with that part of the country, the barrier islands are long, narrow islands that range from a few hundred to as much as a few miles wide, and dozens of miles long. Basically they're sand dunes in the middle of the sea. The North Carolina coastline is not very hospitable to large modern shipping; the only two deepwater seaports are in Wilmington at the southern end of the state, and Morehead, which is about 1/3 of the way from there to the Virginia state line. Both of these are relatively small seaports by modern standards. Kitty Hawk is roughly halfway between Morehead and the next deepwater port north, which would be the Norfolk/Hampton Roads area.

Because of its position, there has been essentially no significant development around Kitty Hawk except for the beach. It would not have been a particularly valuable piece of real estate during the Civil War because there just wasn't a lot there (not to say that there was nothing, because some of the smaller blockade runners could get through the inlets between the barrier islands, but it was not and is not nearly as significant a place as Wilmington and Morehead). It was a tiny spot out in the middle of the ocean, and the mainland behind it was mostly farmland and swampland with few major towns. There were major battles in the war for both Wilmington and Morehead/Beaufort but I don't recall anything significant happening out near Kitty Hawk.

Even today the most significant things happening around there are the beaches for the tourists, and the fishing community on Manteo (an island in the sound just behind the barrier islands). As others have said it just isn't a very significant place. Very picturesque though.

--Bruce