Somedays you win, somedays you don't. I had some lost time today and many more miles than I had intended to put on. But the day had some highlights, so let me tell you about them.
Up early as usual, breakfast at 6:00AM and on the road by 6:30AM. Tank asked about sleeping in because it was Sunday, but I asked "what does it matter?" He sleeps on the dashboard of the Explorer most of the time. And today had classical music on the CD player, so it didn't take him long to 'fade out'.
I decided to take another blue highway and dip down into the so-called eastern shore of Mobile Bay, Alabama. I started on highway 98, and they even have an alternate 98 to take you on the scenic route. Well, the scenic route was down a parkway, past the expensive homes, with little chance to see the bay and the morning sun glistening off the water.
I must say however that at a town called Fairhope (there's hope yet), they at least have a sign directing tourists to their waterfront park, which was very nice, especially with a large traffic circle full of roses. At Daphne, Alabama, I saw signs for 'ecur rouge', which only this morning, I read in the local paper about pottery made from the red soil/clay native to the area.
At Point Clear, they made a big deal about 'the Grand Hotel'. Well, very nice, from a structural quality point of view, and hanging flower baskets as you drove into the property. But parking? What a zoo! I imagine they charge a pretty penny to stay there and enjoy the waterfront, but what a hassle getting in and out must be. Cars everywhere, and even where they're not supposed to be only because the 'grand' hotel didn't allow enough space for parking. I would stay elsewhere and forego the 'atmosphere'.
After travelling south, I then headed east towards Pensacola, Florida. This route took me past residential areas, small farms, little towns like those already mentioned, and cattle farms which seem to specialize in black angus. Okay, it was Sunday, so what else was there to do?
When I entered Florida, I was greeted with the following signs. "Speed kills your day", "Florida enforces speed laws" and "Speeding fines doubled" shown twice. I think I must have blinked, because I don't remember seeing a sign saying "welcome".
But welcomed I was at the National Museum of Naval Aviation (the Naval Air Museum). I talked with the two ladies that volunteer at the front desk, told them about my 48 state trip bringing me here, and that I served on three aircraft carriers.
The museum is large and very well done. After my praise of yesterday for the park in Mobile, I had to start thinking about which place I like better. As fine a museum as the Naval Air Museum is, I think I I would lean towards the park in Mobile because of it diversity (ships, planes, subs, tanks and more).
The Naval Air Museum obviously focuses on the Navy and Marines. If you did not know it, Marines do fly and they fly from Navy aircraft carriers. The planes on display are in excellent condition - sparkling, in fact. A difference between Mobile and Pensacola, however, is that Pensacola has federal money whereas Mobile is local and private money. That makes a difference when you're trying to restore aircraft for display.
The Naval Air Museum had a bit of everything. Planes from World Wars I and II, the Korean War, Vietnam and the Gulf War. They had model of the USS Hornet, one of the ships I served on, and they had real planes like the F4 Phantom, A6, SNJ, Corsairs, etc, that were on board the ships I was on. If I had any criticism of the museum, it had about 98 percent focus on the planes and very little detail on the ships that bore them. I would recommend the museum to anyone and everyone.
The Naval Air Station itself is an interesting place to tour. I wish I had been stationed at a place like this. Very modern buildings and facilites, spacious, etc. Ocean view, golf course, huge hobby building for 'moral', and more. But, a down side is that is hot and humid. It was 82 degrees this morning and perspiration dropped from my forehead.
Since Fort Barrancas was nearby, I took a tour through it. It was built in 1874, like other forts, to protect the gulf coast, and in this case, Pensacola. There was only one cannon on display but the structure itself was very interesting to observe. The arsenal and magazines (not to read, but to hold ammunition) are basically under- ground cave-like structures lined with fantasic brickwork masonary. I have laid brick before and I think whoever built this place was a master bricklayer!
I went for a short drive and walk in the Gulf Island National Seashore (park), to see the beach and to find and photograph a lighthouse I was told was in the area. An enjoyable thing to do on a Sunday morning.
As I left the area, headed for Milton, Florida, I thought about where I had been and what I had seen. In Mississippi and again in Florida, if you're in the country, you may not see much because of how many trees they have, creating the tree tunnels I mentioned before. And in the urban areas, like Dallas, I think people drive too fast, they're discourteous (me first) and they should slow their pace a bit.
Mobile and Pensacola have their share of fast foods, franchises, and shopping malls. I have to be patient, drive where I have to, to get to my next objective, which I have hopefully picked out well. Well, after Pensacola, my choice was in error. I was following a AAA tour book and to net it out, it misled me. I went searching for a house made entirely from coral, but as I found out, it's not in Milton! I wasted at least 50 miles and a good hour of my day.
But off I went to Eglin Air Force Base to see the Air Force's Armament Museum. You must think I have some kind of obsession with planes and such. Well, maybe you're right. I like planes. It took me 20 miles to get there, and then 20 miles to backtrack, but the drive was worth it.
The museum concentrates on the U.S. Air Force, just as the Naval Air Museum concentrated on the Navy and Marines. The planes on display are in very good condition, again with the help of federal money. The very large planes, bombers and such, are display outdoors while some of the really vintage aircraft are in the museum building. I like the P51, P40, B26, B17 and other WWII planes.
After Eglin, I drove to Tallahassee, lost an hour because of changing from CDT to EDT, and to make a long story short, Tank and I were pooped (again). I had intended to go into Tallahassee to see the capitol, but I think I will defer that until tomorrow morning, before I head north to Macon, Georgia.
I did treat myself to a juicy steak dinner tonight. A good 13 ounce T-Bone, baked potato, BBQ beans, salad, dessert and coffee. Yum!
This is the beginning of week six of my trip and I'm still going strong. I'm just past a third of my planned itinerary, and geographically I've now come across the southwest, the Missouri valley, the southeast and now its time to head up the east coast from Florida to Maine. I will be stopping for multiple days in Atlanta, DC and Boston, but I have plans for all the coming days.
Well, at least today had less driving miles than yesterday. That was the good news. The bad news is that I have lost the shoe for my tripod and I spent the better part of this afternoon in Macon trying to find a replacement. No luck. Tank will just have to hold still when he takes my picture using the video camera. Cheeezzz, what a challenge!
Tank and I were up early (what else is new?) But I wanted to visit the downtown area of Tallahassee, that I intended to do yesterday but ran out of time. Well, the sun and I were in the capitol district to wake up the downtown area this morning. Very nice. Tank was busy listening to Willie Nelson (again).
I must admit, I like Willie Nelson too. With us entering Georgia, what could be more appropriate than "Georgia on my mind". But I have Shirley, "Always on my mind". "I'd have to be crazy" seemed like another tune symbolic of this trip. Ah, but Tank and I enjoyed Willie's wailing along the miles. On the road again, la-de-da, la-de-da.....
I used highway 319 to get into and out of Tallahassee. The road to Thomasville, Georgia is called the Plantation Parkway, and then when I shifted to US19, it was called the GA-FL Parkway. Both were easy roads to travel. Temperature this morning was 75 degrees and the humidity was waiting to rise too. The sun had difficulty breaking through a veil of clouds all morning.
I saw a lot of logging trucks this morning, so it's pretty clear what one major industry is in southern Georgia. What puzzled me though is that I saw two trucks, one headed in each direction. Somebody's confused. But then, up north, I often see trucks carrying new cars, and likewise, two or more are headed in opposite directions. Weird.
A lot of working farms in southern Georgia. Corn, peanuts, cotton and more. I even saw a pecan orchard, with areas under the trees landscaped just like a major league infield, with the dirt and grass clearly marked off. I can't say for sure, but those trees looked to be a hundred years old. The sand of Florida was replaced by the red sand of Georgia, the further north I drove.
I saw a number of prisoner work crews on the road (3). Today's equivalent of the old chain gangs except today I saw no chains. I also saw a number of plants in the small towns I passed through. Albany, Georgia has a Proctor and Gamble plant as well as a Miller Brewery. In Pelham, Georgia, I saw both a John Deere dealer 'and' a J.I. Case dealer, both with a lot of costly inventory. Economy looks good in southern Georgia, at least at the moment.
I used highway 300 to get to Cordele, sight of the Georgia Veterans Memorial Park. It's a nice park, with a beautiful lake, golf course and picnic areas. They have a small military display, which is what interested me, but it wasn't much to see. The only thing of interest to me was the B29 they have. I did spend time on the water taking pictures of cypress-like trees, growing in the water, with their octopus-like roots standing above the water.
Out on the highway, I passed a logging truck, fully loaded, doing 40 mph in the 'fast lane'. I thought he was nuts until, twice, I had to slow down while cars pulled out from the right, across my 65 mph path, and they too had to get into the 'fast lane'. What is it with these people that are so facinated with being in the left lane? I grew up with the rules of the road that said, stay right and pass left. I wish drivers would wise up and get back to that.
Cordele is right in the middle of some fine recreational areas. Close by is the Flint River, plus the big Lake Blackshear. I'm sure people like to fish around there.
Off I went on highway 280 to Plains, Georgia, to see if former President Jimmy Carter was home. He wasn't, but I left my card. Plains is a very small town and it seems to be just as it was when Jimmy graduated from high school in 1941. The high school is now a museum, which of course features its most prominent student.
Billy Carter's Phillips 66 gas station is still on the main street, not selling any gas these days. Jimmy still lives in his home, which now is surrounded by a tall wrought iron fence, and secret service gates at the entrance of the property. The old railway depot that Carter used as his campaign headquarters is preserved as a national historical site also.
I bought a book and some post cards at the high school museum, but I didn't want to pay the $1245.00 that the 80+ year old volunteer rang up. She went and found someone to correct her cash register error.
I also made another interesting observation. The ground cover in the flower beds and around trees is......peanut shells. What will they think of next?
In nearby, Americus, Georgia, I stopped to make some phone calls at the local Windsor Hotel, which was built in 1892. The hotel's lobby is very nice, with the deep stained wood mouldings, staircase and so on. A pleasure to look at.
Not too far away is Andersonville, site of the 1864 Confederate prison used to house as many as 45,000 Union soldiers. The stockade was built to hold about 10,000 and because of a combination of circumstances (crowding, poor sanitation, disease, malnutrition, etc), over 13,000 Union soldiers died at this Civil War location. Many are buried in the cemetary, also on the property.
The prison site now has only a replica of the 20 foot wooden walls that originally encircled the stockade. Wooden logs were erected, on end, and lashed together to make it extremely difficult to escape the prison. The visit was a somber one, thinking about all the lives lost, here, at Vicksburg, and the many other battle sites.
Before reaching my day's destination of Macon, Georgia and going shopping for a new tripod shoe, I passed through Fort Valley, Georgia. There I saw the Bluebird plant, turning out hundreds of customized school buses, and even the more pricier passenger coaches. I'm sure Bluebird does good for the local economy.
Well, my shopping didn't produce a new tripod shoe, so I consoled myself with a dip in the motel's pool and soon I'll go out for a good evening's meal. Tomorrow, it's off to Atlanta to see a few sights downtown and then to spend time with Bruce and Mary Ferguson. Bruce was one of my IBM managers, early on.
Today was not a good day! It began like most days, with Tank and I getting up early, and me having a full breakfast to start off the day. It was 73 degrees and a little drizzle, but what else is new? Before leaving Macon, Georgia and heading to Atlanta, today's destination, I did a bit of touring.
Macon, like many southern cities has its collection of fine old homes. I went to see the Old Cannonball House on Mulberry Street, built in 1853 and having its own bit of Civil War history, with a cannonball literally arriving in its living room but not exploding.
The Hay House is a magnificent piece of 1860 architecture and the interior is very well preserved including fine period furniture. The Woodruff House, built in 1836 impressed me for how well it has been preserved too. But as far as age, the Mercer University Law School building was built in 1792 and it looks much better than some buildings built in 1992!
Then, we took off for Atlanta, 85 miles to the north. For whatever reason, this morning I chose not to use a blue highway and zipped along the Interstate with all the heavyweight trucks. There are signs to limit them to only the two right hand lanes, but I was passed a number times on my left! One one occasion, a trucker got stopped by a plain white state police car. Gotcha! I was doing 65 mph when that big rig tried to drive up my tailpipe. As he pulled over, I continued on to Atlanta.
I75 is a tunnel of trees, much like other roads here in the south. If I had not been off the main road, I may never have seen anything of the south. I didn't realize how forested it is down here, and how big an industry logging is.
Well, my first stop today was downtown Atlanta. I purposely toured the old homes in Macon so that my arrival in Atlanta would be after the morning's rush hour. That worked out pretty well, and my map reading got me into the center of town with little difficulty. I found a multi-story car park and parked on a upper level, again for peace of mind that no one would mess with my car and its contents.
As usual, I got out with my 35mm and video cameras, ready to do a bit of touring in the city's center. There were three sights I wanted to see; the state capital, the World of Coca Cola, and Atlanta's Underground, one of the first, major redeveloped urban shopping areas in a large city. As I began to enter the Coca Cola building, I noticed my video camera tape door had come open. Try as I might, I could not close the door.
I took 35mm pictures in and around the Coca Cola building and then set off in search of a camera store than might have a look at my video camera and its problem. I found one store in the Underground, which sent me to another store, and both gave me phone numbers to call for someone which 'might' help me. Well, none of that helped me. After some searching on my part, I came up with an 800 number for Sony, and they gave me the address of their repair facility on the northwest side of Atlanta.
I've been to Atlanta many times on business so I do have some knowledge of the city, and boy did that help today. First, I had to get out of the downtown area, and believe me, that is no easy task. The downtown area is a maze of steets, with little symmetry, and that is compounded by the freeway system, built many years after the downtown area was laid out. The thought crossed my mind that Atlanta, having been burned to the ground during the Civil War years, maybe the should reconsider razing the city and starting over still again.
Anyway, I did succeed in getting out of the downtown area and finding my way to the northwest side of town. The drizzle continued and at times turned into a heavy rain. Numerous accidents of people who 'were' in too big a hurry. I made it safely to the Sony location.
Now comes the really bad news. They looked at the camera and advised me that it would not be a simple repair and in fact, given their current workload, it would be a matter of days before they got to it, assuming they had the parts to fix it. I am not going to wait in town for multiple days, and they could give me no assurances of fixing it and forwarding it to my sister-in-laws house in Washington, where I will be next week. Video camera rentals are $25.00 per day, so that was not an option for me.
I was really depressed, thinking that I'm 38 days into my trip and with 56 more days planned, I certainly would want to continue taping all the sights I expect to see. So, later this afternoon, I made a costly decision, namely to buy a second camera. I have a service contract for my first camera, but it is with a local store back home, and I'll deal with that later. I may sell one camera when I get home, or give it to one of my adult children.
I did see the state capitol, by the way, before leaving the downtown area, and I did see the Underground, albeit not in the way I had planned to shop. After my visit to the Sony facility, I had some lunch and then went to visit Bruce and Mary Ferguson, my old friends from Detroit and Chicago days (1963-1972). As old friends do, there was lots to talk about and I'll be here tomorrow as well. Tomorrow, still other old friends will stop by, so that will be fun as well. Bruce has offered to show me Stone Mountain which is a major tourist attraction in this area, similar to Mount Rushmore, a mountainside sculpture.
So, no video pictures for my diary today. I'll catch up with more tomorrow. I realized that I might have some unexpected events during the trip, but I didn't expect my camera to die on me. I can only hope that no other undesirable event(s) occur during the remainder of my trip.
It continued to 'rain on my parade' today. I'm staying with Bruce and Mary Ferguson here in Atlanta (Norcross, really), and today's plan to was visit Stone Mountain. Well, we did that, but my first view of the huge mountainside rock sculpture was spoiled by a strong drizzling rain. Ah, but like the postman, I was not to be deterred, and so I went to the base of the mountain as well as the top of the mountain, rain or no rain.
Stone Mountain is actually a very large park with many varied facilities for the visitor. There are campsites, a plantation to tour, trains to ride, a museum to view and more. The major attraction, I'm sure, is the sculpture of Confederate heros carved into the side of the 853 foot granite mountain. Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are the three figures of the sculpture.
The history of the sculpture is an interesting one. What we see today is actually the result of a third attempt to produce the sculpture, the earlier beginnings having been dynamited off the face of the mountain. I took photos of the mountain and the sculpture, plus video shots with my new camera.
The park enables visitors to literally walk to the top of the mountain or to ride an aerial tram to the top. We chose the latter. I used my video cameras for shots going up as well as coming down. Our visit to the top was a limited one because the windy drizzle and heavy overcast skies didn't present very desirable viewing conditions.
In the afternoon, other old friends, Mike Houlihan and his wife, and Roy Olson, two people I worked with in Chicago back in 1966-72, joined me at the Ferguson home for a walk down memory lane. Mike brought over some memorabila and that was fun to recall the 'old times'. I then gave these 'retired folks' an Internet demo and showed them my web site. They enjoyed it and so did I.
Well, tomorrow Tank and I will be on the road again (thank you, Willie, for a theme song). We'll be off to Greenville, South Carolina and visits to places like Clemson. I'm told the sun will be out but also the temperature and humidity are due to rise considerably for the coming weekend. Ah, sweet misery of life (did I get that right, or did I twist the old saying?).
At least I can't complain about the weather. It was sunny today, partly cloudy and not too warm or humid. But in terms of having a lot of enjoyable things to see and do, today sort of ranks at the bottom of my trip list.
I bid the Ferguson's adieu early this morning, and did combat with Atlanta's early morning rush hour, on three different freeways for me to get pointed northeast towards Greenville, South Carolina. The drive was pleasant once out of the metropolitan area. Northeast Georgia and northwest South Carolina, I would describe as having gently rolling hills. Trucks have difficulty, I'm sure, gearing up for a hill and then gearing down when its downhill. The tunnel of trees continues to be the case, at least on the Interstate routes I used to get out of Atlanta.
Further along the way, I left the Interstate and used highways such as Georgia 106, in an attempt to locate covered bridges as described in the AAA tour book. I followed all the directions, looked for signs, and even looked for people who might be able to direct me. No luck. I chalked that up to some wasted time and miles, in hopes that the rest of the day would prove fruitful.
Crossing into South Carolina you're greeted by a very picturesque Lake Hartwell. It's clear that this area is a great recreational area for boating, swimming and fishing. A lot of waterside homes and cottages, with some to rent, I'm sure. I talked with other tourists at the visitor's center, and they had the same reaction upon seeing the lake and the surrounding area.
Along the highway I saw a number of signs for motor raceways, with a variety of different names. Track, speedway, and dragway were just a few of the descriptive names. I know that here in the southeast (Georgia, South and North Carolina) that racing, stock cars and things like demolition derby are a big thing.
I went north to the Pendleton, Georgia area after entering the state. I had read about the area and its promotional material sounded very good. I have to say, it was better than the reality of what there was to see and do. I toured the town center and visited the house museums in the area (Woodburn, Ashtabula), but I was not impressed.
Just north of Pendleton is Clemson, home of the university and the town. I toured the campus and had a look at Fort Hill, a national historic landmark. On campus, it seemed like there were a lot of young people here for orientation. You can tell by the expression on their faces, the plastic bag of handouts, and the leader of the pack taking them on to the next location. Best of luck to them.
I came to Greenville, South Carolina, my destination for the day, and checked into my motel before going out to sightsee. Unfortunately for the motel, and me staying there, the area is a heavy construction zone with bridges and roads torn up, soon to be replaced. A lot of dust and noise which I hope quiets down this evening.
The downtown area of Greenville, I thought was very nice. They have nice pedestrian districts and what looks to be an excellent shopping area in the city center. In the city, Reedy River Falls Park is supposed to be something special but again, I was not impressed. The river is little more than a trickle.
So, what else? I did get an oil change. With the kind of mileage I'm putting on with this trip, I want to be faithful to the Explorer and change oil every 3000-4000 miles. The guy at the Ford dealer who change my oil commented, "Boy, this car has been everywhere." He made that comment based on stickers left by other Ford dealers where I have had oil changes during the trip.
I have had numerous conversations with people about my being on a 48 state tour. I have been wearing four different Nevada T-Shirts, and that often starts the conversation. The people at the visitor's center, motel clerks, waitresses, and others become quite interested. I have given my web site URL to a number of people thusfar.
Given that today was not a particularly good sightseeing day, I have to pin my hopes on tomorrow. I plan to see a place called Chimney Rock, Carl Sandberg's birthplace, the Biltmore estate in Ashville, Grandfather's Mountain and wind up the day in Winston/Salem, North Carolina. I'll keep you posted.
Better. That's what today was. Better than yesterday, that is. Tank and I were up and out the door around 6:00AM, headed north from Greenville to Flat Rock, North Carolina, site of Carl Sandburg's home (the poet). But first, I had to find, write and mail a post card to my grandchildren. I couldn't return home and face them if they did not have a complete set of postcards from the 48 states I will have visited.
So, Tank kept a lookout for stores open at that early hour, and after a few failed attempts, we finally found a little diner opened for breakfast, that sold postcards. Hooray for our side! Cards were written and posted.
We continued on our journey northward and when we were within say five miles of the North Carolina state line, the terrain changed DRAMATICALLY! Mother Nature does things in her own way, and boy, the Blue Ridge Mountains are unique. The mountains are densely forested and create challenging driving conditions, going up and down and curving this way and that way. But, it was fun.
Just west of where highway 25 enters North Carolina is the Chattooga National Wild and Scenic River, which was used in the filming of the movie "Deliverance", with Burt Reynolds. That river drops 49.3 feet per mile - that gives you an idea of the terrain around here. I loaded the Ford's CD player with "Dueling Banjos" in recognition of my being in the neighborhood.
I should digress a moment to note some of the characteristics of this part of the country. As many of you know, the southeast is tobacco country, and that is very much in the news these days. I ate at a number of restaurants in Georgia, South and North Carolina, and my experience thusfar is that they have more tables for smokers than for non-smokers. Clearly, that is not the case in most states.
This is also minor league baseball country. Boy, they take this seriously. Reading the local papers, the major leagues barely get as much coverage as the southern minors. Such teams as Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, Jacksonville, and of course, Greenville.
One other note is the number of churches. Even within the Baptist population, I think I saw multiple Baptist churches in a number of the very small towns. Add to that, other denominations, and it gets pretty crowded in these parts. The term 'bible belt' is used frequently to describe the area. The other night I saw a feature on television about Billy Graham, and it very much had a North Carolina flavor to it.
Along the route into North Carolina, I saw a considerable amount of purple flowers in the median strip. Which reminds me to mention that in and around Atlanta, the freeways had tons of gold daises planted for the 1996 Olympics, suggesting to everyone, residents and visitors, to 'go for the gold'.
I had little difficulty finding Carl Sandburg's home in Flat Rock. Technically, it did not open until 9:00AM, but the maintenance people 'looked the other way' and gave me free reign in the place. I have read about a number of notable people who decided to acquire property in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and it's not hard to see why.
Sandburg bought his farm in 1945 and it was held by him and his family until 1968 when it was taken over by the National Park Service. The home is situated high in the hills, overlooking a lake. On the property are other smaller homes in which the people who worked the farm lived. Goats were a raised by Sandburg's wife, Lilian, and today there are a few on the property, symbolic of the days when a prize winning herd was raised.
From Flat Rock, I headed east on another blue highway, this time in search of Chimney Rock, North Carolina. Leaving Hendersonville on US64, drivers are met with a huge sign warning you that the next miles are very mountainous. And indeed it was. If you don't like driving on narrow, windy, up and down roads, some with not much of a shoulder, then you wouldn't want to be there.
The area must be a popular one because there are bed and breakfast houses, hotels/motels, inns, gold courses, retreats, retirement homes, etc - all indicative of people wanting to spend time here.
I have to mention, I saw a car parked on the side of the road with a "For sale, by owner" sign. Think about that. Who else would you want to buy the car from? The butcher, the baker and candlestick maker? Of course you expect the owner to be the seller!
This is apple country too, by the way. Orchards all over the place, and the roadside stands to go along with it. I even saw a sign for Apple Realty. But then, there are all kinds of signs to keep one amused. Hog Road, Bob's Creek, Bat Cave, etc.
I found Chimney Rock, North Carolina, along the Rocky Broad River, which later feeds Lake Lure. In other places, the river is just called the Broad River. The rocks in this river are huge, making for rapids and attractive roadside picnic areas and such.
Entering the park and driving through the ticketing area to the upper parking lot is a challenge. Again, if someone doesn't like narrow, windy, mountainous, switchback roads - don't bother to enter this park. Or get someone else to drive. I don't know what the elevation of Chimney Rock is, but it must be 1200 feet or more. From the upper parking lot to the top of Chimney Rock itself is said to be the equivalent of a 30 story building.
Chimney Rock was acquired at the turn of the century by a Dr. Morse and still owned and operated by the Morse family. This is an intriguing mountain, with an elevator and then wooden stairs to enable visitors to get to the very top, and edge, of Chimney Rock. If you don't like height, there's another reason to find something else to do. The park has trails to a waterfall, a cave and lots of nature to enjoy.
By now, the morning was just about gone, so I drove onto Asheville, North Carolina, intending to visit the George Vanderbilt, Biltmore Estate. I didn't get there very quickly because highway 74 continued the slower pace along mountainous roads. Today, I literally saw hundreds of motorcycles on the road, enjoying not only the nice weather, but I think they get a kick out of the windy roads, as opposed to the straight highways.
Highway 74 is chock full of places to shop. If someone enjoys shopping, you might never get out of the area. There are many arts and crafts shops, selling wooden carvings, quilts and rugs, and other hand made objects.
The winding road reminded me that some people can get very car sick on roads like this. The constant rolling to one side and then the other, and not being able to focus comfortably on the road ahead, can upset children or adults.
When I got to the Biltmore Estate, I entered their visitors center and viewed the video tape which describes the property and what you can see on entry. This is more than a nice introduction but rather a piece of psychology, because they have to condition you for the $27.95 ticket price.
I was already running later than I had expected and really didn't want to spend that much time, or money, at the estate. I have toured many find mansions in Europe, so I decided to pass on this one. I left the Biltmore and started east on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Being Friday, midday, and on a nice sunny day, traffic was heavy and not doing more than 40 mph. The road is two lane, with no passing on most of it. So, I made another decision, to try US70 going east, and that too was heavy with traffic.
Like it or not, I reverted to I40 to get me to Winston/Salem, North Carolina, in time for me to tour the Moravian Village of Old Salem. Good choice! Old Salem is a very well preserved 18th century village, with staff dressed in period costume, carrying out the tasks of the buildings in which they're located (craftsman, bakers, silversmith, shop keepers, etc). The bakery still bakes good today!
Yesterday was oil change day, today was laundry day. This trip is not all fun and sightseeing, but I have tasks to attend to. Well, I take that back, a little bit. The motel has a swimming pool, so while my laundry was churning away, I was doing the backstroke for a while.
Tonight, I had North Carolina barbeque. Every part of the country says their barbeque is the best and I won't judge that, but the combination plate I had tonight was delicious. It had beef, pork and turkey, with cole slaw, hush puppies and french fries. I couldn't eat it all.
Tomorrow is Saturday and I'm headed to Roanoke. School's out, so I may find more and more traffic on the road, I'm not sure. Speaking of 'on the road', Tank noticed that there were none of his relatives splattered all over the road around here, so he began to compliment the North Carolina drivers for being so careful. I cautioned him that maybe armadillos don't live around here, but things like possum and racoons do. He prefers his version, that drivers are careful and his relatives are somewhere in the woods. I left him to his own opinions.
Today is the first day of summer. Today is also my deceased wife's birthday. Shirley would have been 63 today. Shirley was not that much of a traveler, so either she would not be with me today, or I would not be on this multi-day, many mile trip.
I like to tell the story about how many times I've been to England and how many times Shirley went along with me on any of those trips. I began to visit England back in 1975 and probably averaged two or three trips per year. So, 20 years times 2.5 trips is about 50 trips at least. Shirley joined me on 'one' trip and that was in 1983. When friends heard that I was headed to England again, they asked Shirley if she was planning to go and her response was "Why, I've been there before!" As I said, not much of a traveler, may she rest in peace.
Well, Tank is a traveler and he was ready at the crack of dawn to leave Winston/Salem, North Carolina and venture north into Virginia. First stop was going to be Pilot Mountain, North Carolina. I've noticed in the highly wooded areas of Georgia, South and North Carolina, that there is always that morning mist or fog to burn off before the sun takes over and makes for a brighter day.
But finding Pilot Mountain was no problem. As we travelled up highway 52, the mountain just 'appeared'. It forced itself on you, there was no avoiding it. I thought I would leave the highway and have to drive to get some sighting but there it was in plain view. A most unusual mountain too. Imagine something like a multi-layer birthday cake sitting on top of a huge sand pile. The base was dense with trees and the 'cake' at the top was a solid rock mountain. A nice sight to see, first thing this morning.
We then crossed the state line into Virginia and the Blue Ridge Mountains greeted us. I stopped for just a moment to check my map for directions and while stopped, a guy pulled over to ask if he could be of assistance. I said no, but thanks anyway. What that reminded me of was the nice people I've met in just about every state I've been in on this trip. Maybe every state. I'll have to recollect and compile a set of notes on those friendly folks that I met along the way, and maybe record that in my diary one night.
Yesterday, when I was in western North Carolina, the Blue Ridge Mountains made for some interesting driving conditions. It was up and down and curve this way and that way, in the Chimney Rock area and elsewhere. As I left Asheville and came east to Winston/Salem, the terrain tended to level out. But this morning as I headed north and met the Blue Ridge Mountains again, the terrain definitely became mountainous.
Unlike yesterday where the traffic was heavy and slow when I attempted to use the Blue Ridge Parkway to head east, today was a delight. Traffic was light and what cars there were, they did the 45 mph speed limit without losing the pleasure of the roadway.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is just that; a park! The road is maintained beautifully. No litter here, no debris of life! The shoulders are all mowed and it's almost like someone landscaped this beauty that you're travelling on. At some points, you're travelling in a densely wooded area, but moments later, the horizon opens up and you can see for miles.
Riding on the Blue Ridge is really riding on a ridge. From the South Carolina line, where I got on, to Roanoke, where I got off, most of the time you're at a higher altitude, looking down on the surrounding areas. There is private property adjacent to the parkway land, but 99.5 percent of what you see is beautifully maintained. It's almost as though the land owners had to sign some agreement to keep their property presentable. The elevation along most of the parkway was about 2700 feet above sea level.
If I were to criticize the parkway, I would say that there could be more places to pull off and take pictures. There are some, but it seemed like not at the places I thought would be good photo opportunities.
At Mabry Mill, North Carolina, I did pull off to have some breakfast but also to tour the recreated Appalachian community. The lumber mill is fantastic and very picturesque. Other buildings at the site included the blacksmith's shop, log cabins, barns and more. This was really a highlight of the morning.
As I drove the Blue Ridge Parkway, I thought of how beautiful this must be in fall when all the trees burst into their colors. It's too bad I don't live closer or else I would put that on my calendar to come back in the fall, just for that purpose.
Virgina, in my opinion, could do a better job of marking highways and giving advanced notice of junctions and such. Today, I missed three intersections that would have made my trip better. I didn't intend to drive all the way into the Roanoke area before going to the Booker T. Washington National Monument, but I missed a turnoff and that added a good 30 additional miles to my day.
But, seeing the monument was another worthwhile experience for the day, and for the trip. I have tried to plan my trip with a mixture of sight seeing goals. I have toured national parks, museums, landmarks, natural sights, man-made sights, etc. Today, I would say Pilot Mountain and the Blue Ridge Parkway come under the heading of nature, but the visit to the Booker T. Washington monument was an educational experience.
Booker was born a slave in 1856, freed at the age of nine by the end of the Civil War, sought an education and graduated by 1875. In 1883 he founded the first secondary school for blacks in Tuskegee, Alabama, and had a career as educator, advisor to presidents, and a creative mind until his death in 1915.
The national monument is a restoration of the farm on which he was born. It tries to preserve the living and working conditions that represented the daily lives of slaves prior to the Civil War. One can try to imagine what life might have been like, but I don't think you can really come very close to how it must have been.
The log cabins, smoke house, out house, barn, pig sty, crop fields and pastures are all restored to their respective conditions for the time. Pretty primitive is one reaction, and with the Virginia heat and humidity, it must not have been an easy place to labor in the fields. As I said, and educational experience.
So, then it was off to Roanoke and the Transporation Museum. The emphasis in this museum is trains. The museum itself is an old train station, and indoors it has very large model train layouts to amuse and educate the visitor. Outdoors is a large inventory of trains, trucks, busses and street cars. Unfortunately, like so many other museums, the inventory here is very good, but the presentation quality of what they have leaves a lot to be desired. I'm sure it's a question of money and support. They do have a grand plan to build a new museum with a very much improved layout, but there is still the condition of the trains that will have to be dealt with. An interesting visit in any case.
And so, the day and week 6 came to a close. Tomorrow, I'm off to see a bit more of Virginia before turning west into (of all things) West Virginia. Next week, when I arrive in Washington, DC, that will be the halfway mark of my planned itinerary. It's been a great trip thus far and I have high hopes for the second half of the journey.
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