9/27-28/18 Congaree National Park, SC and home

9/27/18 Thursday

Had lots of rain last night/this morning.  It is 62 degrees and very, very foggy up here in the mountains of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

 We plan to head to the Minerals Museum at Milepost 330, then leave the Parkway and head towards Congaree National Park in South Carolina.

The Mineral Museum is just okay, but the rangers there are friendly and helpful.  They say they had no problems with the latest hurricane and don't think we'll have any travel problems so long as we stay west of Charlotte.  Route 226, which takes us down off the mountain, is a crazy twisty, steep road with lots of warnings and runaway truck areas.  As we get out of the clouds and fog we are back to rural, mostly farm land.

We pass through Rutherfordton, NC, where Greg's parents lived for several years, so detour to get a snapshot of their old house.  Still looks good!

Lots of kudzu on and off.  Looks like a constant battle for some occupied areas and those abandoned are quickly claimed by kudzu. It blankets everything in some areas.

We arrive at Congaree National Park, created in 2003, about 2:00 - just in time for evacuation of the welcome center for a fire drill!

 These pretty spiders are all around the parking area and a ranger tells us they are called Golden Silk Orbweavers.

We watch a film which explains that this is a wilderness shaped by water.  It is basically a forest in the active floodplain of the Congaree and Wateree rivers. The water can rise and fall up to 10 feet, and is important in revitalizing the land - seeds, fish, animals, nutrients.  These areas are becoming rarer in the US and preserving it is important.  It has some of the largest trees in the south - mainly loblolly pine, cypress, oak and sweetgum.

We take a Boardwalk Hike with 2 other walkers and a few thousand mosquitos. We were warned.

 We have been hearing some distant rumbling and half way through the walk the rain catches up with us.  Oh well, at least it is warm!

 Overall we aren't terribly impressed, maybe because the terrain is very similar to home and Louisiana.  No other trails unless you have canoes or kayaks; so for us land-bound folks it is a bit underwhelming.  No camping here either.

Since the weather is crappy, we decide to head west into Georgia.  Not far over the border we stop at a Cabella's for the evening.  Crazy rains with lightening cools the temps a bit, so that with the Fantastic Fan going, we are fairly comfortable.  We enjoy the last of the leftover wedding bbq.
 975 miles to home and I can tell Greg is already thinking of doing it all tomorrow....

9/28/18  Friday

Still raining this morning at 8:30.  Enough already!  We reach Alabama at 10:18 and change to Central Time.

For a leg-stretching break we stop at Hank Williams Sr.'s boyhood home and museum.  Small home in an old neighborhood with an eclectic collection of memorabilia.   Hank Williams was born in September 1923 and died when he was only 29.  He lived a rough life but also had chronic back pain and depended on a lethal mix of barbiturates and alcohol to relieve the pain. Very talented but troubled man.

South to Mobile, then we catch I-10 and move into Mississippi, then Louisiana and finally Texas. Lots of traffic, including 18 wheelers.

Arrived home about 10:40 PM.  3,691 miles this trip, plus another few hundred in Mom's car.
Arrived to more rain, but it is good to be home.

9/25-26 Heading South/Roanoke/Blue Ridge Parkway

9/25/2018 Tuesday

Heavy rain this morning as we leave Anita & Kevin's house.  We opt not to explore the Catoctin Mountain area and Cunningham Falls in Maryland.  We'll save that for a future trip.  Instead, we head for I81 South. Finally out of the rain as we approach Roanoke, Virginia.

We stop here for gas and to fill our propane tank at a U-Haul spot - always a good bet for propane. Then we go downtown to check out a pinball museum we'd read about.  Downtown has been re-done a bit and seems quite nice with flowers, shops, restaurants and a trolley.

 Apparently we aren't far from Virginia Tech.

 The Pinball Museum is in a large complex called Center in the Square.

There are 61 machines at the museum, going back to the 1930's.

  Most all of the machines are functional, so we had fun wondering around and playing a game here and there.

 Some early games had only one flipper, some newer more complicated ones had four. Some had great graphics - and lots of bells and whistles.

We played some in college, though Greg was the "pinball wizard".  Here is the real wizard, who keeps all these machines working.

We move on to the nearby town of Salem where we were thinking of staying at Walmart.  We pass a Lowe's (Home Improvement, not the Lowe's Grocery Store found in some areas) and decide to check there, as it is in a quieter, less congested area and we've stayed at Lowe's before.  The manager gives us an ok, so we have a leisurely dinner at a nearby Applebee's and enjoy a quiet night - with good wi-fi!


9/26/18 Wednesday

A comfy 65 degrees this morning at 7 AM, though it is a little foggy.   We grab a quick breakfast and wind our way up to Bent Mountain where we join the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The fog begins to burn off and we have some great views at stops at places like Devil's Backbone, Trail's Cabin and Rakes Mill Pond.

(That's Greg out there looking for a good view.)

We see quite a few tumble-down barns and buildings in our travels.  It always makes me wonder about the people who once lived there and why the buildings were abandoned or ignored.... if those walls could talk!

Next stop is Mabry Mill, which was built in 1910.  A beautiful spot we've visited before.  We walk the trails which show signs of recent rain but none today.

At Groundhog Mountain there is an overlook, as well as displays of the different styles of fences found in the area.  Most are/were made of hickory.

Beautiful scenery along the way.

Next stop is the Blue Ridge Music Center where there is a small museum and where local musicians perform daily at noon.

 Today we are entertained by Bill & Maggie Anderson, who, they say, play traditional music that they like.

They start with Carter Family numbers which we recognize - Wabash Cannonball, Keep on the Sunny Side and more.   Maggie is playing an instrument called the Dobro, invented by 2 brothers from Czechoslovakia.

 Maggie has been in the top 10 players in the world for the last 11 years. (She has won 10's of dollars, Bill jokes.)  The appreciative audience waxes and wanes and after a while, we wane.

We soon cross the border into North Carolina and stop at Cumberland Knob for a short hike. A few trees are just beginning to show some red and yellow and we enjoy seeing a variety of fungi.

Traffic is light today, but in a few weeks it will no doubt be bumper to bumper when the "leaf peepers" arrive.

We decide to stop at Julian Price Campground.  The campground, especially the roads, are in need of some major TLC,  but the sites are ok and they do have hot showers.   Despite  the dampness from recent rains,  Greg gets a fire going for a while, till more drizzle arrives.  We cobble together some dinner and relax inside.

9/24 Eisenhower Farm Gettysburg

9/24/18

Today we decided to do a little sightseeing in the Gettysburg area.  Since we had been to the battlefield and visitor's center several times, we opted for the Eisenhower National Memorial Site , where President Dwight Eisenhower and his wife Mamie lived for many years.  Eisenhower was a general in WWII and was our 34th President from 1953-1961.

We still had to go to the visitor's center for tickets and waited a little while for a shuttle bus.  The weather is still drippy and gray this morning.  So we ran between raindrops. Enough, already!

The farm was purchased in 1950, before Eisenhower became President and was the only family home they ever owned. Only a small part of the house is original, as it was added on to and repaired before they moved in.  Prior to that they moved frequently, so never really settled anywhere. The farmhouse tour was interesting.  The home looks just as you would expect a 1950's-1960's farmhouse to look (although a bit larger for guest rooms).

Note the red radio.

Very down-to-earth and simple, although for it's time I suppose it was fancy, with a private putting green,  two small TV sets, a baby grand piano and one room with many shelves and cabinets displaying gifts from other countries.  (Eisenhower was the last President allowed to keep gifts.)  As President, he entertained many heads of state here.

It was a working cattle farm and Ike was hands on with breeding, raising and showing his stock.  The rain held off long enough for us to walk some of the grounds. It is still farmed and used, though not by the Eisenhower family.

Lots of pretty, green rolling hills and well known horse farms in this area.

From here we went to Dobbin's Tavern in Gettysburg.  Built in the 1700's, it is a nice stone building with a fancy restaurant upstairs and a more casual tavern and restaurant downstairs.  There is a small spring downstairs and upstairs there is a small hiding place once used by the Underground Railroad.
Nice lunch!

On the way back to Anita's, we stopped at a Clark Shoes outlet in Hanover.  Good prices! Anita, Sue and Beth managed to find a few bargains!

We enjoyed some wedding leftovers for dinner and packed things up, as both Tom & Sue and Greg & I will head out tomorrow.

Cody is such a hoot!  Here he is making himself comfortable.