The control bar of the kite is now just beneath your chest, and you hold onto this bar while the instructor talks you through what’s called a “hang check” to make sure your harness is secure. A turn consists of the following: First, you harness yourself solo into a hang glider (a “kite,” they call it), which puts you in a prone position parallel to and a few inches above the ground. Each person took five turns, alternating with the other members of his or her group. There were a total of 4 instructors, each of them outstanding in hang gliding skill as well in child and adult psychology – Alex, Robert, Alan, and Willy were great with adults and children alike, motivating and reassuring all of us, calming everyone who was nervous (terrified?) of hang gliding. After climbing up to the top of a high, steep sand dune, we were divided into three groups – Group One for the smaller children, Group Two for the older children and younger adults, and Group Three for the slightly-less-young adults. The hands-on lessons on the dunes were great. This is a complimentary service subject to the rangers’ availability, and we were fortunate and deeply grateful that they were able to drive our parents onto the dunes – our parents loved watching all of their children and grandchildren hang glide while they sat there like a king and queen in beach chairs at the top of the tallest natural dunes on the eastern seaboard! However, the state park ranger service has 4x4 jeeps and, by special request, preferably in advance, they can drive onto the dunes people who cannot walk there on their own. Incidentally, the 2 members of our group who did not participate were our older parents our father has difficulty walking, and our mother wanted to stay with him. Following ground school, each hang glider in our group was outfitted with a helmet and a harness, and we walked to the sand dunes, about a 15-minute strenuous uphill trudge through the powdery sand. We started with an indoor ground school in a classroom, which lasted for about 45 minutes, included a mini-lecture by a terrific instructor named Alex, and was entertaining, informative, and child-friendly. 16 of the 18 family members in our group participated, including two 6-year-old children, two 8-year-olds, two 11-year-olds, a 14-year-old, a 17-year-old, and 8 adults. On our first hang gliding day, we took lessons on the dunes of Jockey’s Ridge State Park in Nags Head. Now, over thirty years later, we are proud to be making a living on pancakes and so forth.We had a fantastic, uplifting hang gliding experience with Kitty Hawk Kites during two of our vacation days on the Outer Banks – we stayed in Corolla for a week with our extended family in celebration of our parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. The concept was honed in a matter of days, the land was purchased and the building was built in less than three months. We'll sell pancakes and we'll call the place Stack 'em High." She asked how he planned on making a living on pancakes and he answered they would sell some other items as well, "you know, so forth." So in 1981, Stack 'em High Pancakes and So Forth was born. Just months into a planned break from the restaurant business, Perry sat up in bed one night and told Kiki."I've got it. Their famed "corn cakes" are still the topic of conversation amongst those with memories of the Point Harbor. People of all walks of life and from all over the region, flocked to the new home of Greek and coastal cuisine. They ran the Point Harbor Restaurant at the foot of the Wright Memorial Bridge for ten years, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. After an abbreviated business meeting and a decision to follow his intuition, Perry welcomed his family to their new home, North Carolina. On a vacation to Virginia Beach, they discovered a spit of sand, known as the Outer Banks. Soon, they were running shops of their own and had two sons, Steven and Nick. They needed no education however, on how to work hard or how to make the most of every opportunity. They learned to speak the language by listening to the customers and practicing to each other. He worked for his uncle in his hot dog shop in Pittsburg for several years before being joined by his bride, Kiki. He entered New York Harbor by boat and sailed under the open arms of Lady Liberty like so many other determined, young men and women. The "Founder" of Stack 'em High, Perry Kiousis immigrated to the United States in the early 1960's from Greece. Stop in and see for yourself! OUR HISTORY AND HOW WE STARTED We believe that cooking with love is the only way to go. We do what we do because it makes you smile, and it makes us smile. Our tradition of serving great breakfast: pancakes, waffles, french toast, omelets and homemade biscuits is something we take seriously. Making breakfast for families visiting and living on the Outer Banks is something we've done since 1981.
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