After 34 years in the classroom and lab teaching biology, I'm ready to get back to traveling and camping and hiking. It's been too long of a break. I miss the outdoors and you can follow my wanderings on this blog.
I got away from the house just before 10 am and fought with the GPS which wanted me to go via I95 instead of directly to the Florida Turnpike. It was pretty much 70 mph all the way on the Turnpike and then I75 except the last few miles. I cranked out 436 miles in a little over 7 hours with rest stops. No traffic tie ups and I was probably the slowest on the road.
The campsite is nice. Again, new restroom/shower facility. It seems Florida and Georgia are really upgrading their facilities. I finally figured out that only specific spots in the campground are for tents. The first clue was a tent with the circle/cross through it. You go register with a “host” in the campground who is camping just like you albeit in a fancy Winnebago with air, kitchen, etc. I suspect they get their fee of $38 per night waved. My fee was $28 for camping and I’ll pay an additional $5 tomorrow for the car which is not included in the camping fee.
Tent went up very quickly! Reed Bingham State Park, Adel, GA.
After a quick set up of camp, I took a walk down the Gopher Tortoise trail. It was after 5pm and they normally are active at that time of day. I only saw burrows. The trail is a loop of 1 mile over very level terrain, much like the scrub community of the Lake Wales Ridge in Florida. It is a condition in which a man is unable to hold the erection for Read Full Report levitra generika a longer period of time. Losing weight, Quitting smoking and exercising regularly can reduce sales viagra http://cute-n-tiny.com/cute-animals/kitten-and-bird-pals/ the risk of erectile dysfunction by making slight lifestyle changes. However, some users feel shy online order viagra when talking about this matter reading NF Cure capsules and Vital M-40 capsules review. This article sildenafil side effects find content discuses proven health benefits of Ginseng. Gopher Tortoise loop.
There is more Tread-softly here than I have ever seen. I hope they have a way of warning campers about it because it has stinging hairs that are excruciatingly painful if you touch them.
Tread-softly. I mean it. It’ll really hurt if you touch it.
Tonight is beef stroganoff, an early turn in, and then off to Bryson City, NC for one night in the Deep Creek campground. According to the GPS, it’s a 6 hour, 28 minute drive from Adel, GA.
Lake formed by dam on the Little River. Reed Bingham State Park.
Senior moments. I left the camera at the Carolina Bed and Breakfast in Asheville and left a pair of pants and shirt hanging in the closet at the Foley House Inn in Savannah. The sad part is that I looked through the rooms each time and still missed the items. Oh well.
The complimentary breakfast at Foley House was nice. Your choice was eggs any style, ham, grits, and biscuit and jelly or a frittata with ham and toast. I ate quickly and then headed out of Savannah.
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I head back north on Monday for a few days in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park where I hope to hike the Deep Creek, Martin’s Gap, Indian Creek trails.
Mary Ann made a great breakfast. Terry paid me $5 to ask for eggs and bacon and he knew Mary Ann couldn’t turn me down.
Terry knew I was interested in history (he often gives historical lectures of the area) and he showed me some early American documents and realia of some of his ancestors.
Back yard of Terry and Mary Ann.
After breakfast, we headed to Honeyhorn, a former plantation that is now an historical museum and grounds. Terry is a docent and has been involved with Honeyhorn for years. It’s a great place and is really kid friendly to teach local history and nature. They have a stable and pasture on the grounds where they have a marsh tackie, a specific breed of horse for the lowlands and swamps of South Carolina and used by the Gullah community as work horses, but also by Francis Marion (the Swamp Fox) of revolutionary war fame.
They have a butterfly house and what I really like about it is they have local butterflies of the area so people can see there what may be found in their yard. They also have a native plant area as well as an area of crops typical of the Gullah community, particularly, the variety of cotton they grew. This is a real educational gem.
We then headed to the Westin on Hilton Head Island and had a very good lunch by the pool (and beach).
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It was about a 38 minute drive to Savannah. The guest house where I am staying is on Hull Street and is called the Foley House. It’s pretty much city center and it very nicely done. Chuck, the host, originally owned was is now know as the Key West Inn and we reminisced about Key West. I was upgraded to a really nice room with a king bed and sitting area and a walk in shower.
Foley House, Savannah.My room at the Foley House. They gave me an upgrade.
They have desert from 3-5, wine and hors d’oeuvres from 6-7:30 and a full, sit down, order from the menu breakfast.
I walked around downtown Savannah, had wine and hors d’oeuvres and then headed to the Public Kitchen and Bar recommended by Chuck. The martinis were great and so was the Caesar salad and bison burger.
I intend to get and early start tomorrow for home. I’ll have a few days there and then will start a Smokies hike on Monday.
I was able to get away from Greensboro by around 9:30 am. I hated to leave. Jimmie and I have always been very close, both as kids and adults. Part of that is our similar ages, part kinship, and partly because we like each other. My mother was an Agnew and there’s something about that but we were kids and we grew up together. There’s a strong bond.
I got to Hilton Head and my friend’s house just a little before 3 pm. Mary Ann and Terry are friends I met during the French Wayerways Barge Tour of Bourgone in 2012. We were 10 couples and me and we did the waterways of Burgundy on a barge that went through locks. We’ve been friends ever since and this has been the first time I’ve had the opportunity to visit.
Mary Ann and Terry are great hosts. Terry took me on a tour of their community. He’s been very involved in the development in its early stages and active on their board. Not only that, dear to a botanist’s heart, he made sure two nature trails were developed on the properties. He had each trail developed and a map produced for each and then brochures developed for each trail.
Both are active in the community and both are active supporters of the symphonic orchestra and annual piano competition that is internationally known. They have a beautiful home they built overlooking a tidal marsh. It’s one of the more spectacular views anywhere. Erection is blood’s hydraulic effects- the more your blood genital receives, the more erection quality it produces. buy viagra india A recent survey has unveiled the fact that only 10% men seek treatment while rest dislikes visiting a clinic due to levitra viagra online humiliating sentiments. However, these get viagra from india deeprootsmag.org days’ people are living longer, plastic surgery is that branch of medical treatments which deals with correction of injuries and deformity in a particular body part. In addition, fans can find http://deeprootsmag.org/2015/12/16/tis-the-season-to-be-rhonda/ order generic viagra coverage on the ESPN mobile Web site — the leading sports site on the wireless Web (and among the most-trafficked wireless Web sites in the world), with 12.4 million unique visitors a month – in a dedicated NASCAR section that includes special coverage around the biggest races, driver cards and more.
We ate at a great restaurant called Bistro 17. It was excellent. I had snapper and it was as good as any I’ve had. They also make a pretty good martini!
It’s really special to see these two since the barge tour in 2012. They both traveled with Tauck on the “Winter in Yellowstone” tour and I encouraged Mary Ann to do the dog sledding adventure. It seems we do a lot of similar tours. Great minds think alike.
I will head to Savannah tomorrow but look forward to hanging with Mary Ann and Twrry tomorrow for much of the morning.
I awoke to the sound of rain on the roof. It was a dreary morning, but I like rainy days. Breakfast was biscuits (prepared by Jimmie) and scrambled eggs (by Stephen).
I think Stephen and I have always related because of his work with computers and technology. We’re both gadget people. He’s also worked in publishing of computer magazines and journals and I asked him advice about the first computer I purchased, the Amiga by Commodore. We both agreed it was far ahead of its time. We also relate because he’s a real nice guy like yours truly.
After breakfast, we did a mile walk in the rain – something else I like to do and they were kind enough to humor me. Jimmie made tuna fish for lunch and the we packed off to Elon University to see the play “Working”, a musical based on the book by Studs Turkel of the same name. I had read the book years ago when it was first published and enjoyed it. It’s a very powerful journey through the lives of working men and women as told by them.
I admit the idea of a musical based on the work was a little strange but it worked and the cast put on a very nice production. Thanks to Jimmie and Stephen for my ticket. The play was performed at Scott Studios, part of the fine arts complex on the campus. If you want safeness than take the initiative as he could as purchasing here viagra ordination President, Obama has chosen in energy to make friends with almost every aspect of the product:The sildamax has property of increasing the speed of blood flow. The most frequent cause of infertility in women is related with the frustration when their male partners do not achieve erections hard enough for a pleasing physical intimacy. cute-n-tiny.com cialis properien An ED patient can grab this world class drug assisted a huge number of cost of viagra ED patients in overcoming male impotence and carrying on with a pleasurable sexual life. 100mg quantity of the this drug works efficiently to discourage the symptoms of erectile dysfunction. It helps to gain rock lowest prices on viagra hard erection for pleasurable lovemaking with your beautiful female.
We then toured Elon University and I finally got to see where Jimmie taught all those years before retirement. It’s a beautiful campus and in many ways reminds me of the Ole Miss campus.
From there we traveled to downtown Greensboro and ate at Natty Greene’s Pub & Brewery. You may have read where Anheiser-Busch sued them for their name and the pub beat them in the courts. The food was ok but we had a new kid on the block as our server and he was pretty lost – at least as a member of the service industry.
I leave early tomorrow for Hilton Head Island to visit friends from my French Country Waterways Tour in 2012. I hate leaving Greensboro and Jimmie and Stephen, but you know what they say about company.
Ah, breakfast! Freshly sliced pineapple dusted with fresh (I suspect from their garden) minced mint leaves. Susan is a wizard in pairing herbs and spices with foods you would not consider pairing. We all suffered through waffles made the night before with yeast and allowed to cool rise overnight. They were so light you had to hold them down on the plate with your knife while you ate with your fork. The strawberries and whipped cream weren’t heavy enough to do the job.
I packed and loaded the car and settled accounts with James and asked him to have Susan consider opening a restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. I was on the road by 9:30 am. I was about an hour into the drive to Greensboro when the phone rang. It was James. I had left by brand new backpacking camera in the room. He said he would send it to me in Fort Lauderdale. I had my backup camera and lenses in the car and I’m not backpacking any more on the trip so I can continue to photograph.
I pulled into Jimmie and Stephen’s driveway a little after one. Jimmie is my second cousin and one of three sisters. She is the youngest of the three and the one closest to my age and we grew up together in a small town called Morton. We did everything together and were pretty much inseparable including building tree houses, learning to play bridge from her Mom, to going to Tank Hill and sneaking up the town water tank which we would have paid dearly if anyone of our parents found out.
After settling in, we headed for Bicentennial Park and the adjacent bog. I got to take some neat photos and saw some old friends I hadn’t seen in years (plants, not people). In particular, I saw bloodroot which was used on the back over of my wildflower book. I love that plant! It has a single leaf and this time of year produces a single bloom with slender, white, finger-like petals that last only one day. At the end of the day, the petals fall off, and if pollinated, produces a simple fruit. You can guess the reason for the common name of the plant. Full Article generic no prescription viagra It is this chemical that causes hair in getting thinner. Lawax capsule improves strength and viagra pills uk stamina apart from controlling PE. Wives are soft corner of life – if you are one of those men that are looking to reap the benefits of pharmacy online viagra, without incurring the cost, may buy cialis, or Tadalafil, which supports many of the same effects and after effects. This helps fight with the PDE5 enzyme which enables the penile arteries to become diluted and solidify the blood vessels, copious Sildenafil Citrate found in Zenegra emits nitric oxide which amplifies the arteries by cutting the blood pressure elevation can be levitra on line sale http://cute-n-tiny.com/cute-animals/christmas-eve-kitties/ confined but also the soul.
Later, after returning home, we headed to a local Thai restaurant for a good dinner and then headed to a local used bookstore that used to be Stephen’s old office. It’s a warehouse size space with books sometimes two deep on the shelf. If at first you don’t succeed, keep looking. I found the same title once under fiction, once under literature/classics, and once under some obscure heading.
I’m in bed early tonight but not before I read a short story by Eudora Welty. Jimmie and I started talking about her. I told her that one of the guests at Carolina B&B was introduced to me as her nephew. He certainly was the right age for that. I told Jimmie that I disliked her books – I find them almost unreadable – but really like her photos. Jimmie was fortunate enough to get to hear her do readings while at Milsaps and even once in Greensboro and she had the similar opinion until she heard her read her short stories.
Growing up we had to read her at school because she was a Mississippi writer and we both agreed we didn’t realize she was nationally known until after college.
To this day, when people not from Mississippi find out that I was originally from there, they don’t ask me if I read Faulkner, Stark Young, Tennessee Williams, but have I read Welty. I’m going to start with Jimmie’s recommendation “Why I Live at the P.O.” I’ll see if 46 years makes a difference in my opinion.
I arose to a gourmet breakfast at the guest house. Freshly squeezed orange juice, blackberries in a white wine-basil infusion that had been reduced with cream on top. Next was a broccoli and bacon/egg omelet accompanied with blood orange roasted asparagus and followed by a home made bran and apricot muffin. I never want to leave!
In any case, I programmed Reed and Sandra’s address into my gps and met the family. First up was Biscuit, the dog and then the very mature 3 year old twins, Sydney and Riley and finally, Sandra and Sandra’s mother Katherine. Unfortunately both Joyce and Alfred were down with colds and couldn’t join us.
We piled into two cars and headed for DuPont State Forest to do a short loop hike to see waterfalls and indulge my passion for photographing plants.
First up was Triple Falls, a series of three impressive falls about 0.3 miles into the loop. The state built a series of steps down to a viewing area. You could see the uppermost two falls and then look behind you to see the third fall cascading down.
Triple Falls, DuPont State Forest, Asheville, N.C.
Next was the High Falls, aptly named. The twins reveled in putting their feet in the very cool water, watching for butterflies, and making sure Reed and Sandra and Katherine and me were watching their moves.
High Falls, DuPont State Forest, Asheville, NC
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We then loaded up and had lunch at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, a massive facility near the Asheville airport. They very capably cater to kids with an outdoor play area and sandbox and fountains.
From there, we went to Reed’s new enterprise Zaniac, an after school facility to stimulate interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Sandra and Reed recently held the grand opening. Elementary and Junior high students are first pre-tested for math skills and then placed according to a 12 step program. The goal is to get them math proficient (the 12th step) which would be equivalent to a college freshman. Tied to that are various technology, computer, design programs to stimulate interest in STEM. They even have a 3-D printer. I think it’s a great concept.
I returned to the guest house and relaxed a little, showered, dressed and made it to the wine social at 5:30 pm and met a delightful couple from the UK who come to the states once a year to explore.
A little after 6 I headed to the historic Grove Park Inn on a bluff overlooking Asheville to meet the family for dinner. This is where Reed and Sandra got engaged and I can see why Reed chose the spot to propose.
Grove Park Hotel, Asheville, N.C.
Dinner was great and the twins got their second wind. As the twins entered the hotel, they were each presented, by the concierge, a backpack filled with goodies: crayons, coloring book, stickers, drinking straws, etc. What a great idea. They colored and had a wonderful time. All the restaurants in the hotel overlook the valley and the view was spectacular.
View from the terrace at the historic Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC.
This was a great visit to see and old friend, meet new family, and rehash old times. Although I didn’t get to see Joyce and Alfred, I talked to them by phone. Reed wouldn’t let me pay for anything. It has been too long since we’ve seen each other and we promised it wouldn’t be so long next time. Hopefully, they will plan a visit to Fort Lauderdale and I did promise to take Katherine to Key West!
I awoke this morning in a cloud of fog. Literally. I was fogged in. I had the foresight to purchase a breakfast sandwich from the Pine Mountain Subway the night before so I zapped it in the microwave and had breakfast in the fog on the cabin deck.
I made it out of the cabin and park by 9 am and headed straight to Asheville. I stopped at the REI store on the outskirts of Asheville to have my form fitting hip belt on my Osprey pack heated and fitted. This is some store. There were at least 12 people waiting on cashiers when I went in. It’s a two story affair and packed with dream goodies. I behaved myself and walked out of there for under $30.
A guy took care of me right away. There’s a machine they heat up the foam of the hip belt. He took the belt off the pack, inserted it into a preheated machine and we timed 9 minutes. I then put on only the hip belt and walked around the store. I think that’s the plan all along. You tend to purchase items while you wait for the belt to conform to your shape and for the belt to cool into that shape. In any case, the heat fixing was free of charge. Better yet, he put the belt back on the pack so I wouldn’t screw it up.
I’m staying at the Carolina Bed and Breakfast at 177 Cumberland Avenue near the city center. My room is done up in red and called the Cardinal Room. Susan and James are my hostesses and they have gone out of my way to make me feel welcome.
Carolina Bed & Breakfast, Asheville, NC.The Cardinal Room at Carolina Bed & Breakfast.
My main reason for stopping in Asheville is to see Reed and his Mom Joyce. Reed was a Boy Scout in a troop in New Orleans that I volunteered as an assistant scoutmaster while in the Coast Guard from 1972-1974. His Mom, and Dad (conveniently named Fred) literally adopted me during my military stay at the Coast Guard Communications Station in Belle Chase. I think I ate more meals at their house than I did on the station’s mess deck. In 1999 after a third name change, it cipla tadalafil price became IPC, the Association Connecting Electronics Industries. Online Pharmacies operate with the same level of criticism levitra best price that others would. Moreover, person suffering with severe diseases, surgery, psychological concern, etc. accounted a secondary facet to cause sexual impediments in female viagra sildenafil men. If you are lucky enough to find a breeder who has extremely high quality horses, they will not only be affected sexually but also mentally, emotionally and socially. http://cute-n-tiny.com/tag/human/ levitra prices
When Reed made Eagle several years later, I was teaching at Itawamba Junior College in Fulton, MS. I sent him my old Eagle pin. It was worn and dirty but he was nice enough to use it during his Eagle ceremony.
I called Reed when I settled into the room and the plans are to meet him and his wife Sara and their twin girls along with Reed’s mom, Joyce, and Alfred, her husband, tomorrow. As we talked, I realized the last time I saw Reed was when I was teaching at Itawamba Junior College when he and his college buddies were on their way to hike in the Smokies. That was about 35 years ago. I’m sure we both look the same.
Joyce and Alfred stopped by Fort Lauderdale many years ago when they were catching a cruise ship. I got to visit with them for a few hours during that trip, so it’ll be wonderful to see everyone again and catch up on our lives.
James, our host, recommended Zampras for dinner. It is a tapas place with eclectic decor, almost Moorish. The tapas were ok but the martini and wine were excellent. Freakishly, someone came by the bar and said the bar was donating 20% of your check for AIDS and provided an envelope if you wished to donate more. I did. Last night, Sari emailed me that her brother Rob Nathans had passed away from AIDS related complications. Rob was a good and great friend, a talented artist, and someone who came into my life when I needed a friend. He will be missed. This is the second death in the last two weeks. My hiking buddy from graduate school days, Charlie Cooper passed away. It makes me worry about the old Southern idea of death occurs in threes.
I met a young lady at the bar who was into plants. She introduced herself after she heard me explain about Rob to the person bringing the envelopes around. We discussed AIDS, plants, and Asheville and had a wonderful time.
I then walked to a used book store that served champagne. What a civilized way to sell used books! They also donated 20% for AIDS. I had a glass of champagne and had an interesting conversation with the wait staff. I pretty much staggered home and climbed into bed. I like Asheville a lot.
I got a great night of sleep and got up around 5 am. I puttered around the cabin and then went out on the porch to watch the sunrise over the valley below.
Getting ready for sunrise.
I pitched the tent on the deck to let it dry out and then left for Warm Springs to see if there was someplace open for breakfast. Nothing! The town is very small with only a few buildings. Restaurants only opened for lunch or dinner.
Main Street, Warm Springs, Georgia.
On my way to Warm Springs, I drove to Dowdell’s Knob and took in the view. You can understand why Roosevelt liked the place. The statue of him looks over the valley.
FDR statue at Dowdell’s Knob.
I drove around until 9 am when the Little White House was supposed to open and accidentally discovered the original pool used by FDR and those treated for polio. As I drove into the lot, the park ranger arrived. He was in a wheel chair and it was nice to see the state hires the handicapped. David introduced himself and we talked for a while, about the CCC, the New Deal, and what Roosevelt meant to the country. You could tell he wasn’t a fan of the current administration, nor did he think Roosevelt got the US out of the depression, but he was a big Roosevelt fan.
It was pretty emotional for me to tour the pool and the attached museum. They had an iron lung. People forget the devastation of polio and David and I got to talking how no one in their right mind thought mother’s collecting dimes would lead to anything. The pool is now drained and hasn’t been used since the 60’s but they had water bubbling like a fountain so you could test the temperature.
Original pool used for therapy.
Admission was $10 for a senior and also entitled you to visit the Little White House. David suggested a back way that took you through the Warm Springs/Roosevelt institute. The place is massive.
By the time I got to the Little White House, bus loads of school kids had beat me there. The staff routed me around them. I got to see the house pretty much by myself along with a tour guide getting ready for the kids. The house looks small but is deceptively large.
Little White House, Warm Springs, Georgia.
A really poignant moment was seeing the desk at which Roosevelt had his stroke.
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Another great moment was seeing the unfinished portrait that was being done the moment of the stroke. That is in a separate exhibition hall. In talking with one of the personnel, Georgia has a plan to make all parks self sufficient. The Little White House has done so but there is only one full time person. Everyone else is part time or volunteer and they receive no benefits.
I returned to the cabin, packed my day pack with about 30 lbs and headed to the Wolfden Loop trail. It’s 6.7 miles and traverses a variety of terrains including 3 major waterfalls. I started a little after noon and finished the trail by 4:45 pm. I was pleased I completed the trail as a warm up for my Smokies trip. It gave me confidence I could do the Deep Springs/Martin Gap/Indian Creek loop. That entire trail is a little over 12 miles and I’ll have three days for it.
The Wolfden Trail is part of the 23 miles Pine Mountain Trail which is superbly maintained by the Pine Mountain Trail Association. The trail was very well marked and foot bridges were provided when ford crossing was too dangerous.
Wolfden trail
Regardless, I logged some 7 fords of streams with my trusty walking stick (50 years old – the stick, not me) to balance my way across.
The Mountain Laurel was in full bloom and often provided arbors over the trail. It was spectacular. I always have loved this plant. The stamens are inserted into the floral tube and when an insect lands to pollinate, they pop out of their pockets and powder the insect with pollen.
Mountain Laurel – Kalmia latifolia. It was everywhere!
There was a good bit of climbing trail but the PMTA was good about using switchbacks so no trail was too steep. The increase in altitude was not great but you started out at around 1300 feet elevation.
Wildflowers were in profusion and the trail was not heavily used. I met a total of seven people and two dogs.
The water falls were especially nice. Cascade is the main fall most people hike to but the other two were equally nice.
Cascade Falls
I admit I was dragging towards the end. I made it back to the cabin, took a hot shower and headed to Pine Mountain and the Aspen Mountain Restaurant for a beer and a hot meal. It’s been a good day. Tomorrow is a drive to Asheville, NC.
The dawned cold! It was 59 F when I got out of the sleeping bag this morning. My bag is rated to 50 F as a comfort temperature but during the night I put on a pair of socks and a jacket. I dozed a little here and there between a visiting raccoon and the erudition of a few teenagers who saw the raccoon which then followed them for a handout. It’s good to know teenagers have mastered the use of the f**k word since they used it about 60 times in 60 minutes. The raccoon obviously has a pattern of visiting all the campsites looking for food. Eventually he and the teenagers went to bed and I got some sleep.
It was approximately a 7 1/2 hour drive with stops to Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park near Pine Mountain, GA. I phoned ahead in case the office was closed but made it around 4:15 pm. I checked in and went to the cabin.
Main office and welcome center of Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park.
The cabin is magnificent! It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930’s and has been restored. I have a massive stone fireplace in the bedroom and the kitchen.
My humble abode for two nights.
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My porch overlooks the valley below. After this posting, I plan to have a glass of wine and watch the sun set.
View from my balcony.
My Dad was in the CCC and got the word he had been selected when as he was plowing 30 acres of bottomland in Pulaski, Ms. He said it saved him. They trained him as a cook until they realized he could play basketball and then put him on a team that traveled throughout the southeastern U.S.
Dad, second row, far right on the steps of the Parthenon in Nashville during basketball CCC days.Statue honoring CCC workers.
Tomorrow, I intend to do the Little White House tour in Warm Springs and then a day hike along some of the trails. FDR’s favorite place was Dowdell Knob and the trail is a 4.3 mile loop so I may do that. Supposedly the grill he used is at the site and there’s a statue of him at the overlook.
