2000 Mile Road Trip South -...

South Carolina

Our first night in the wilderness was on a Forest road near Rt 15, where, to my surprise, most trees were marked with "Private Property - no tresspassing" signs. We found a small alcove where the signs were posted further in and stayed there.... It turned out to be a most interesting experience, to say the least. We killed at least 30 mosquitoes between the two of us, and missed even more, and in the morning we discovered that we stayed in a swamp... near something called "The Hampton Plantation". In the morning we took a little excursion into forbidden land and found the now-familiar hunting artifacts - wildlife feeders and tree ladders. All seemed deserted, and we soon returned it to its quiet, normal, abandoned state.





Charleston offers some views of water/piers/bridges and even an active aircraft carrier (which you can only see if the fog lets up... or are thy generating fog on the ship to cloak it?).
After a little tourisming, we (now leisurely) drove on South. At this point, while the commercial surroundings didn't seem too much different from any other strip-mall suburban areas you may find in New Jersey, there was one major difference - palm trees! They have palm trees. They also have warm(er) weather, but whatever. By the time we were nearing Georgia I suddenly developed major allergies (which I thought was a cold), and this incapacitated me a bit, but caused me to discover that Savannah has its variety of Nature Stores where a full complement of naturopathic remedies/vitamins and even organic food can be found.

Georgia

We also gave in and stayed in a hotel in Savannah, which may have contributed to a very fond memory I now have of the area - I really liked Georgia. Weather-wise it was very mild and pleasant, but there was something more to it - it's just very relaxed and free - and not heavy on the population density (which would contribute to a relaxed attitude, I suppose). Here are some funny stories about the region:


After we drove out of Savannah and headed North-West (and hence inland) we started seeing fewer and fewer people, and at times we'd drive on a road with a 50-55 mph speed limit for 40 miles without seeing a single car! At one point we came to an intersection with a 4-way stop, and a single gas station, complete with the attendant (in denim overalls), standing motionless outside the door, staring straight ahead. It was a scene I thought was entirely artificial in movies about the midwest, created for comic relief - but it was real here. We laughed and drove onwards, with windows open and warm breeze blowing by. I am simply happy that it's mid-December and I'm wearing shorts.
As night closed in (and it's the downside of travel in the winter - short days), I thought about staying in a campground (not sure why, exactly - maybe in hopes of having a shower?), so I tried calling the local listings (I have Google Maps on my Blackberry)... but the call would not last long enough to hear the person tell me if the campground is open. I figured, let's drive there and see. We found the campground, and drove into the only open gate (turned out to be open by accident). Everything was closed, and I once again tried calling, and this time I could hear the man on the other end both through my phone and in real life - though I couldn't tell which building he was in. He told me that I couldn't get a campsite and hung up... (I thought people were super nice in Georgia?) In the meantime, I heard a suspicious noise behind me... the gate was now locked, and we were locked in! I drove around, and the old man (who seemed to appear out of nowhere... who was he... caretaker?) who just locked the gate was kind enough to unlock it and let me out. On a whim I thought I'd ask him: "Do you know of a forest road or something we can park on overnight?". The response was: ".....(pause)..... Yeah!". End of response. He paused some more and gave us directions to a trailhead parking lot a few miles away, by the Georgia Power plant in the Oconnee State Forest. "Nobody will bother you there" - he added. He was right.

The spot was perfect - not too close to the road, came complete with not only a garbage can but recycling for both plastic and metal! Also this was a trailhead for a nature trail, complete with information plaques describing the types of rattlesnakes, birds, animals and plants that are present in this area. The animals include bobcats and armadillos, as well as the only marsupials in North America (opossums). Speaking of nature, one thing that puzzles me about the south (since I'm from the North) is why the deciduous trees lose their leaves here... Seems like there is no need since it doesn't appear to get that cold... But I'm sure that there are other reasons to replace leaves.

We took a hike through the local trails and saw some interesting man-made objects - like a disabled-hunter-accessible area! There is also a wooden tower/outpost one can climb up to to (presumably) hunt ducks, though we couldn't figure out how disabled hunters would get up the wooden stairs. Being from the North/metro area, the idea of hunting did not sit too well with either one of us, but the numerous signs and posters along the trail regaled the benefits and "achievements" of hunters in maintaining and bettering the local ecosystem. Hey, an ecosystem is a complex thing, perhaps there is some method to what seems like madness to us.

North Carolina

After Georgia our next major destination (if we can call it that) was the Blue Ridge Parkway. I've travelled it before, from the North, but we were now below it - approaching the Great Smoky Mountains from the South. We chose to skip this park entirely, it is described as very touristy, and that I wasn't in the mood for. We stopped for a short hike above Tallulah Falls and took some photos. We made it to Blue Ridge towards sundown, and entered the Parkway just above Boulder (there was a road closure so we began just north of that).

It was now dark so my plan was to find a dirt road and get off the Parkway for the night - so we're not disturbed by cars. I took a road titled "Bear Den Rd", and it just kept going down in sharp switchbacks... which made us both somewhat uncomfortable... I mean, there must be a reason why you'd name a road that, right? So we drove back up and found a nice overlook to stay on (with quite a view of lights below, in the dark). In the morning we discovered two things about our choice: first of all, the overlook was called "Bear Den Overlook". Second: basically no cars travelled the parkway at night.


In the morning we took a small excursion into some trails along the Parkway... including one that overlooks Grandfather Mountain and offers nice views... We then drove to Grandfather Mountain itself and paid $14 each to enter.... (or was it $28?)... and got to see the Mile High Bridge (I would have called it "The Singing Bridge") after driving up a fairly steep road (which would probably unnerve some drivers). All in all, I'd say that the free view of the area (from the Parkway) was just as good, but the singing bridge was interesting - the metal construction is such that the intense winds (which were in the 40mph range that day) cause it to emit multiple chords, in fact - I thought that someone installed speakers and there was music playing there for some reason. I walked on the bridge, took some photos from the peak and we headed out.

Virginia

Before we left Staunton, VA (and we are only here at a hotel off the interstate) we headed into (historic) downtown for some breakfast - and the only place open before 11am on a Saturday was Beverley Restaurant (12 E Beverley St), which was of course packed. We, as foreigners, got served last (everybody else knew each other, so much so that I actually recognized patron's faces on business cards positioned at checkout), but they served us good food, even if it took 45 minutes to get it (25 just to order). We found out what grits are, and apparently "Hotcakes" are pancakes in this part of America.

We were done. Some of us were getting pretty sick with the flu or something similar, and so we decided to end the trip and head straight home after Staunton. We experienced Georgia where the temperature was around 75°, then the Blue Ridge where it was about 55, then next morning - Staunton, VA (42° in the morning), and when we got home it was 24° and there was ice and snow everywhere. What a contrast.

Well, I guess that's the trip.

Totals

Mileage 2036
Time 7 days
Driving Time 36 hours
Fuel Economy 13mpg
Fuel Cost under $300 ($1.70/gallon average)
Hotel Cost $100 + tax (2 nights, 3 star, Priceline'd )
Food Cost $300 (3-4 restaurant visits + shopping at organic/natural stores)
Tolls Cost $27.10 (based on EZ-Pass).