There's a patch of beach just waiting for you on North Carolina's Outer Banks, along with fish to catch, birds to watch, lighthouses to photograph, a spot to learn hang gliding and the place where the Wright brothers showed that powered flight really did work.

Try Outer Banks.com — www.outerbanks.com — for information on the whole region from Hatteras north to the Virginia state line. Click on Kill Devil Hills to read about the pirate Blackbeard's connection to the area.

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You can still visit some of the lighthouses that were built along the Outer Banks to warn ships of the dangers. North Carolina's Lighthouses — www.outer-banks.com/lighthouses.asp — has driving directions and links to articles and photos. And you can read more about the fight to preserve Currituck Beach Lighthouse — www.currituckbeachlight.com — which sits near the northern end of the Outer Banks.

The NC Lighthouses Web site is part of North Carolina's Outer Banks — www.outer-banks.com — a handy place to learn about wildlife refuges, local history including the Wright brothers' flight tests, the "Lost Colony" drama about the doomed English settlement on Roanoke Island, and more.

Welcome to the Outer Banks — www.outerbanks.org — focuses on the lion's share of the area, the places most visitors see, including Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, Hatteras and Manteo and the beaches, fishing areas and shops in between.

You'll need to click on Visitor Services for beach information; Attractions for the first flight and other historical sites; and Activities for everything there is to do on land, in the water and in the air, including hang gliding on Jockey's Ridge.

Jockey's Ridge is close to the Wright Brothers National Memorial — www.nps.gov/wrbr/index.htm — where Orville and Wilbur showed that man could take a sustained, powered flight on a heavier-than-air machine.

There's some serious fishing to be done along the Outer Banks. Oregon Inlet Fishing Center — www.oregon-inlet.com

— has boat charter connections, water conditions and details on the fish likely to be running at whatever season of the year you choose for your visit. Try George's Outer Banks Fishing — obxfishing.com — for more details on hot spots, fishing conditions and photos. Then look over Outer Banks Fishing — www.outerbanksfishing.com — with its guides to tournaments and fishing piers.

Don't ignore the mainland. Historic Albemarle Tour — www.historicnenc.com — guides you along a heritage trail that winds through historic sites on the Outer Banks and across the coastal counties.

And at the southern end of the Outer Banks, the Crystal Coast — www.ncbeach.com — is the home of miles and miles of beach, Morehead City and Cape Lookout. It also provides access to the Cape Lookout National Seashore — www.nps.gov/calo/home.htm — where you can really get away from civilization. Look under Activities for horse watching on Shackleford Banks Island.

— Roger Petterson, Associated Press;

e-mail cybertrip@ap.org.