Saturday, 31 March 2018

Our friends Rita and Randy have come down for “second spring break” so we can indulge in another version of our Blues Tour from last year.  This year we’ve decided to visit The Carolinas (north and south: specifically Charleston and Asheville.)

Our first day we didn’t make it out of Georgia:  Isabella is going to attend UGA next fall, so our first destination is right outside of Atlanta in Athens.  On the way over, we made a quick stop in Madison, GA to visit the historic little town and see Heritage House.  What we thought would be a 45 minute pit-stop turned into a nearly-all-day visit because there was so much to see.

Heritage Hall.  An adult ticket is only $10, but for $15 ($10 for students, under 12 free) you get to tour two more historic houses within walking distance in the town; Rogers House and Rose Cottage.

Heritage House is supposed to be haunted.  Our tour guide said she’d seen a lavender “hazey” circle with shooting orbs of light inside it on the staircase.  They have a “ghost room.”  Even if you don’t believe in the supernatural (like me) this tour was fascinating.  The guides are local volunteers who love their town and love sharing their history with people.

Rogers House and Rose Cottage

Rose Cottage

Easter Sunday, 01 April 2018

Quick visit to Athens to poke around UGA and familiarize ourselves with the town.

The idea behind the double-barrel cannon is that two cannon balls connected by a chain would be fired simultaneously, acting like a scythe that could mow down anything in it’s path.  In the end, they could never get the two balls to fire at the exact same time and the thing never worked.

The UGA arch.

The Tree that Owns Itself.

“For and in consideration of the great love I bear this tree and the great desire I have for it’s protection for all time, I convey entire possession of itself and all land within eight feet of the tree on all sides.  William H. Jackson”

We had lunch in a hamburger joint that served roasted brussels sprouts as a side dish.  My favorite!

Monday, 02 April 2018

Charleston, South Carolina

We arrived in Charleston last night and settled into a nice Airbnb house.  This morning we headed out early to be first ones there! for a tour of Fort Sumter.  It was a good, thing, too …. we weren’t the only people with that idea.  You have to take a ferry out to the island and it’s quite slow.  There is a lot of standing in cattle lines waiting for your turn to buy a ticket, then to get on the boat, then to get off the boat, etc.

Below: on the walk from our house to the Ft. Sumter ferry terminal.

Around two hours later:  finally here!

Adam asked the kids to sit here for a photo and they got yelled at by a guide.  No sitting allowed.

The raising of the flag ceremony. It was a surprisingly somber occasion.

My opinion of the Ft. Sumter experience is that it’s not worth the amount of time, money and hassle.  There are neater forts to visit (The San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico springs immediately to mind, just as one example.)

Visiting Ft. Sumter takes up at least half your day and most of that is spent on a very boring ferry ride.  The fort itself is quite small and (in this Philistine’s opinion) they didn’t do a good job of bringing the history to life.  I’m not a history buff but I’ve been to places where the hosts made it so interesting you get lost in the story and go home to read up even more on the thing you just saw.  This was not one of those experiences for me.  You’d need a pre-existing emotional reason to enjoy the outing and get much out of it.  For American history buffs it’s probably worth it, but for us common folk there are much more fun ways to spend your time in Charleston.   This, for the kids and me, was the equivalent of standing in line for 3 hours at Disney World to get on the teacup ride.

Below: Back on the mainland visiting the Charleston City Market after a quick lunch.  This is a series of covered booths in a very long alley-like series of buildings.  Most of the stalls sell junk but there are a few treasures to be found here.  It’s worth it if you like browsing bazaar-type markets.  It’s not worth it if you don’t particularly enjoy shopping and very much not worth it at all if you get claustrophobic in crowds.  Randy is the latter … he and Rita took one look at the tourist traffic here and opted to go do something else.  We met back up with them later in the day.

The remainder of the afternoon we walked around Charleston’s historic homes area and ran into Calhoun House.

The kids on the front porch of Calhoun House, waiting for the tour to start.  They didn’t allow photos inside the mansion, but it’s VERY much worth seeing.  This is a good example of a tour guide bringing a story to life; she was fantastic and the house itself was fascinating.

Tuesday, 03 April 2018

This morning we drove out of town (about 10 miles) to visit the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.  For us, this was the highlight of the Charleston portion of the trip.

The plantation dates back to 1676, but after the Civil War, they opened their doors and grounds to the paying public.  It is the oldest public tourist site in the Lowcountry, and the oldest public gardens in America.

They also have a petting zoo to visit and free-range peacocks all over the place.

Bald eagle hanging out in the gardens.

Wildlife photographers very excited about the bald eagle.

Egret.

Geese!  At the petting zoo.

Magnolia Plantation also has a quite nice plant nursery.

Man proposing to a woman.  She said yes. (Good thing, too, since there were a lot of people watching and taking candid photos. He chose a spot where it was sure to be a spectacle.)

We met back up with Rita and Randy and spent the remainder of the afternoon walking around Charleston.  They opted out of Magnolia Plantation to go see something else and squeeze in a yoga session.

Porch swing on our Airbnb house.

Wednesday, 04 April 2018

Before leaving the “low country”, we paid a visit to Boone Hill Plantation, about 10 miles outside of Charleston.

After this tour, we hit the road and headed west toward the Great Smoky Mountains.

Thursday, 05 April 2018

For the next 3 nights, we have rented a house near Asheville, NC – up in the Great Smoky Mountains.

This was a view from the deck of the house we rented.  We sat out back in the afternoons for wine time and eaties.

One morning, we made a hike up to Purchase Knob – elevation 4,850’.  The total hike was about 5 miles.

The kids are eating granola bars at a cabin built originally in 1874.

Randy coming out of the woods into a clearing near the top – the first full views of the mountains and great 270 degree views.

After the hike, we drove in to Asheville to do some shopping and get chocolate treats for the kids.  The city was busy with plenty of pedestrian traffic and the most dogs we ever remember seeing out and about.  Asheville is a dog town!

Friday, 06 April 2018

Today we drove all through the Great Smoky Mountains national park – over the mountains and into Tennessee.

We visited the tri-cities of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville and stopped at the largest knife store in the world to re-stock our underground bunkers.

While in the park, we made a couple of short hikes.

Tomorrow we’re headed back home.  Until next time!