Even though a ransom ware attack shut down the gas supply on the east coast, there was nothing but heavy rain in the forecast for the next several days, so we hit the road on schedule on May 16th. We knew that it was possible we would get stuck somewhere but that’s all part of the adventure. About 20 minutes into our trip, it started to pour (so hard we were almost in 2 accidents), so we were glad to have left when we did (it is definitely not fun to get the trailer ready in the rain). As it turned out we did not have any gas problems at all, not even any waiting (and the rain in Dallas was horrible, Sami’s yard was flooded by early afternoon the day we left and stayed that way for days).
We took a leisurely 3 days to get to our first stop – Augusta, Georgia (given no deadlines, 5 hours of driving is my preferred limit). I have to confess, after a jam-packed week getting ready for our departure and three days of travel, we didn’t do much sightseeing in Augusta. They had a Saturday “Market at the River” on the Riverwalk, where we had lunch and listened to live music, while admiring the huge houses. The Pie Hole was on our list of places to visit and we found them at the market. Getting a jump start on our travel pastry hunt, we bought four small pies. They were so delicious, on the day we left Augusta I drove to their shop in town and bought four more, filling our freezer with pies.
Stop two was Savannah and it was lovely. There were beautiful homes, lots of hydrangeas, majestic trees draped with Spanish Moss and horse drawn carriages wandering around town. Did you know that Spanish Moss is neither Spanish nor moss? It is actually a bromeliad, and is native to South America and the Caribbean. It grows in moist tropical areas, and it was very warm and humid in Savannah. The conquistadors’ named it Spanish Beard, which eventually became moss. We enjoyed the Waterfront Walk and Forsyth Park is also very nice. There are tons of sculptures, many of which honor the Confederates. Google recommended a visit to the Bonaventure cemetery and it was massive. The huge trees and the moss gave the whole area a serene vibe.
Bill’s parents had previously visited Savannah and only recalled one thing from their visit, Mrs. Wilkes Dining Hall. They warned us that there would be a long line and they were right (we arrived at 11:50 and it took us 30 min just to order our meal). The building was once a boarding house but they were only serving to go orders, so we did not get to see the inside. Not sure if that was a COVID thing or just how they normally operate. The menu only had 2 entrées, four-pieces of fried chicken or meatloaf, with three sides, rolls, and a small desert for $25 (which is considered a meal for one). With only those two food choices you would think it would be pretty fast to get your food but ours wasn’t ready until 1:45. Mrs. Wilkes is known for the “extra” food they give and they live up to the hype. We got eleven pieces of chicken, thirteen sides and three deserts. I think we got extra extras since they close at 2:00. We did not like all the sides (collard greens, mushy peas and noodles to name just 2 but the sweet potatoes were delicious and practically a dessert) but everything else was great. It is definitely a must do experience (but take my Mom’s advice, line up early) if you are ever in Savannah. (if you do stop here, be careful about the street parking. Dessa parked by a working meter and put money in it. Apparently, that was wrong, they now have a centralized electronic system you are supposed to use. When we returned to the truck after lunch we had a $20 ticket on the windshield)
A friend of Bill’s from university lives on nearby Hilton Head Island and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner with them and a much less enjoyable round of golf (the company was great my score not so much). The island’s tourist area is Harbor Town, located in a private residential community called Sea Pines, and we were surprised to discover we had to pay $9 just to drive into the neighborhood. Aside from the usual expensive gift shops, restaurants and treat shops you find in hundreds of seaside towns there was a marina, pier and a lighthouse museum that I went into alone since Bill thought it… (wasn’t worth the cost of admission especially on top of the $18 we had already paid just to enter the neighborhood). Coligny Beach Park was more of the same but with a cool Neptune sun dial statue.
The weather in Charleston, South Carolina was predicted to be cloudy with rain, so as soon as we arrived we rushed off to see Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. We knew it was $20 each but when we got there, that $20 was garden only with extra charges for half a dozen other add on items like going inside the house. If we had done everything, it would have cost $80 each. Ridiculous!! The gardens were nice (but only marginally worth $20) and they had several peacocks roaming around as well as ponies and a small zoo that we arrived too late to visit, when they closed it an hour before the rest of the grounds closed. The next day, we used our Let’s Roam app for a guided walk to see the main sights of Charleston. We did the boardwalk, saw the old churches and prison, then strolled the French Quarter. The Charleston City Market was a series of buildings that mainly contain souvenir and gift type stuff, definitely not a farmer’s market. (while we were wandering we came across a pretty unique business. Pounce Cat Café and Wine Bar. They of course sell wine by the glass but while you are drinking it you get to play with a number of cats and if you happen to fall in love, all of the cats are available for adoption. They charge by the hour and by the glass)
Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, mainly warranted a stop due to its proximity to Congaree National Park (our 1st national park of 2021). We planned a route to ride our bikes around town to view the street art and the capital building and as soon as we started out we came across a musical group about to perform. We hung around to watch, when it started to rain and the rain quickly turned into a downpour. Everyone went running for cover and the concert was cancelled after about 15 minutes of waiting for the rain to subside. After half an hour of standing under a bridge watching a couple of teenage girls posing for selfies, the rain slowed enough for us to head back to the truck.
We attempted the ride again the next day with more success. To my surprise they actually let me into the State Capital building, but otherwise Columbia had little to offer and the same was (even more) true of Congaree. It was free to get in which was the first clue and besides a pretty nice boardwalk that was necessary to avoid the muck, it was a pretty boring national park. The park is all bottomland (swamp) with huge cypress trees that put up thousands of knees,small knobby wood growths that rise around the trunk’s base. The local legend is that they are really wood elves who come to life at night to dance through the forest (we weren’t there at night but I have my doubts). We spotted several strange bugs and a pair of red headed woodpeckers, but none of the larger animals that live in the park. They host lightning bug viewings each year but we just missed that window by a few days.
Continuing north was Charlotte, North Carolina. I had a mental picture that all of the places we planned to visit along the lower east coast would be charming little southern towns and I guess Savannah came the closest, because the rest have really not lived up to my expectations. We played golf a couple of times and went for a motorcycle ride one day. While the towns are not that charming, I did see lots of beautiful farm houses with wrap around porches surrounded by forest and green fields. Almost all homes here in the southeast are built with siding rather than brick like in Texas and I really like the way they look so much better (I’m thinking it helps to be in a location that has trees even though today very little siding is actually wood). In town we chose to walk to see the sights rather than get the bikes out. Big mistake! (It wasn’t that hot, compared to a Texas summer but the humidity was ‘unpleasant‘). For lunch we planned to go to Optimist Hall, a kind of upscale food court. Bill said it was a mile, but we walked and walked and walked, and the area got pretty shady. I finally checked my phone and we had gone more than a mile and a half so he lied… (embellished the truth at most) then we missed our turn and had to double back and then the road we were supposed to walk up was closed for construction and there was no way to even walk to it. The work around would have added another mile. By this time, I was hangry (and that is not an embellishment), so we turned around and walked all the way back, finally getting lunch right where we started out. Always an adventure! Three miles is not a terrible walk…unless you are hot and hungry (and taking it out on your wonderful, caring, supportive husband). Accurate information is recommended!
The Outer Banks is a 200-mile-long string of barrier islands that stretches from North Carolina to Virginia, so lots of beach towns that are very popular for summer vacations. We stayed on Roanoke Island, which is the site of England’s first settlement in the New World. Kitty Hawk is one of the towns in the chain, where we visited the Wright Brothers National Memorial. They have a replica of the plane, the sheds they lived and worked in, and markers that show how far they made it on each attempt at powered flight. We took in the Bodie Island Lighthouse and Jeanette’s Pier and enjoyed the seafood.
Murphy Peterson Wildlife Drive looked interesting on the Google list of things to do, so we headed out to see the wildlife, that supposedly included bears. After being very confused because we couldn’t find the drive, Bill figured out that we were already on it. It was a preserve with a grid of gravel roads through it, and after about 45 minutes of cruising around and only seeing turtles, we gave up. We left the preserve proper and headed to a visitor center about 15 minutes away. The guide directed us to the “most beautiful” hike in the area. They obviously don’t have great hikes, since it was a group of ponds fully covered in bright green algae. Bill did at least spot a snake and there were dragonflies everywhere.
Virginia Beach is a Navy town through and through, even the street art is navy themed. We went to see the Cape Henry Lighthouse and thought we were in the wrong place when we arrived at the guarded gate to Fort Story (US Army). We almost turned around thinking Google maps had screwed up again but sure enough they allowed us in and directed us to a shuttle that took us out to the lighthouse. After taking our drivers license to hold till we returned, and giving us a stern lecture about what were allowed and not allowed to photograph, we were on the bus.
There were two lighthouses, one the typical black and white (currently in operation by the coast guard) and the other is an 18th century brick structure that is no longer in use. We skipped the $14 each to climb up the older brick lighthouse and roamed around checking out the grounds. Back in town, the boardwalk has an impressive bronze King Neptune sculpture that is 34 feet tall and a monument to Naval Aviation, that includes several sculptures and plaques honoring naval history (including a plaque to the first pilot to fly off a ship. He couldn’t swim and wore 2 bicycle tire inner tubes wrapped around his chest as a life preserver). The Norwegian Lady, a gift from Norway, stands looking out to sea, as a memorial to “The Dictator”, a Norwegian bark that sank offshore during a storm in 1891. In Moss, Norway an identical Lady stands on the shore looking back across the ocean at her.
Richmond is the capital of Virginia, and was featured on TV when BLM protestors tore down several monuments after George Floyd was killed. All of the other monuments were removed by order of the mayor except for Robert E Lee. We drove down monument avenue where the pedestals remain to see Lee. It was surrounded by a ten-foot fence, concrete barriers and covered in graffiti. When you see it, you realize just how dangerous it would have been to topple one of these since it must weigh many tons. Two weeks after we took our photos Lee was also removed. After our irritating walk around Charlotte, we decided to hop on Lime Scooters to do our sightseeing in downtown Richmond. After a bit of a learning curve, it was pretty fun, but there wasn’t much very interesting to see. After a couple of hours of scooting around they just stopped, built in for people that forget to stop the timer when they get off, and we discovered that scooters are $15 an hour. Geez, it cost $60 bucks for our two hour rides. I guess we will get the bicycles out next time. Maymont Mansion and Gardens is a 100-acre estate completed in 1893 by James and Sallie Dooley. With no children or heirs, they bequeathed the property to the City of Richmond, and it is now a museum and very nice public park. In addition to the mansion and gardens, they have a carriage collection, a small zoo, ponds, breezeways, bridges, a staircase fountain, and a waterfall (and it was much nicer than the Magnolia Plantation. I would have paid the $20 each to visit this place but it was free).
Next up, we’re heading into Washington for July 4th and then will continue our travels north on the way to hopefully get into Canada to visit Bill’s family (and attend my Niece’s wedding).
Hope you are all enjoying your summers,
Dessa & Bill
You can the rest of find our photos here
Great! I wish I will be able to visit Canada soon too. Stay safe.