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We're chronicling our travels around the states on this blog. Check it out, if you're bored and sitting on an apple box (you can also check it out from home or the office).

Filtering by Category: Drive

The long and winding road to the Smokies

April 06, 2014Whitney Lea

Holy cow! The past few days have been a jam-packed whirlwind and we have a lot of catching up to do on here.

On April 3, after blogging about Asheville for hours at a little coffee shop on the edge of town, we loaded into the car and set out with the Great Smoky Mountain National Park as our final destination. We hadn't given too much thought to this park or this drive but after consulting the roadtrip binder we decided to head straight for Clingman's Dome and then on to Elkmont camp ground to stay the night.

The road heading to the park was initially populated by various motels, activities and souvenir shops for families who take their summer vacations down there. It was a little odd to see welcoming signs and bright flowers with empty lots until we saw a sign that said "season start: April 5" and realized that we were driving through two days too early. Shucks!

Realizing we were in "local tourist" country, I told Sam to keep an eye out for signs for boiled peanuts. Not thirty seconds after I said that, we saw The Peanut King and the parking lot was full! We were going to get a chance to try boiled peanuts!

...but they were boiling them right there in front of our hungry eyes...

After we parked we hopped out and asked the people at the stand for some boiled peanuts only to discover they too wouldn't be open until Saturday.

We got back on the road and what a road it was. We had entered a Cherokee reservation and I was driving blind switchbacks down a narrow road on a mountain for twenty minutes with two cars tailgating (I'm sure they were just interested in seeing the twitter handle on our wheel cover...) because I was mostly observing the 30mph speed limit signs.

My only solace was a little wooden canoe-shaped sign that appeared every quarter mile or so, listing such lovely things as "homemade pork rinds", "jam", " Indian crafts", and most importantly "boiled peanuts". I knew once we got to Bearmeats Indian Den I would have my boiled peanuts and Sam would have the wheel back in his hands.

Sam drove the rest of the way to Clingman's Dome because I think my brain would have melted if I attempted to drive on the winding hairpin turns for so long. He stopped once to take some gorgeous pictures of a creek that ran along the road as well as the street signs in both English and Cherokee.

Once we entered the actual park we stopped by the visitor's center to get a stamp for our national park passport as well as a park map.

Clingman's Dome was about an hour into the park with increasingly amazing views around every curve. At some point the radio lost all signal and we switched to AM which worked out just fine. We got to the parking lot and hiked the steep but easy sidewalk to the lookout tower. I am so glad it was a clear day. It felt like we could see nearly 100 miles in every direction and it definitely felt very far from anything I knew on the east coast.

We snagged postcards on the way back down, I managed to lose my sunglasses, and we hightailed it to Elkmont so we could make camp and a fire before dark.

After an easy tent pitch, a flaky fire, and a not very tasty dinner thrown together by yours truly we debated going straight to bed. We knew we would need to wake up and take the tent down before morning light in order to get to Nashville in time on Friday. But then we started stargazing and I said, "we're going to have to get some really good long exposures done on this trip." Sam, being the man of action that he is, stood up and dug the tripod out of the trunk and started messing with settings.

After a bunch of shots where the silhouettes of the trees were soft because of the gentle breeze I thought out loud, "wouldn't it be cool to do live-action dodging and burning with a flashlight?" And as I tried to explain I got carried away with excitement and showed Sam what I meant. I completely forgot that the shutter was open!

Luckily, the result was really neat and we started a whole series of photos where we played with our flashlights.

Although it was a long day there were lots of nice creative moments which always help both of us to re-energize. And this time they lead to a good night's sleep with the wind moving through the trees in the Smokies.

categories Drive
tags National Park, North Carolina, Tennesse, Camping, Boiled Peanuts

Heading Southwest towards North Carolina

April 01, 2014Samuel Herbig

After yesterday's cakewalk, we knew that today we'd be in for some serious driving and decided that it would really be best if we left by 9am.

We woke up to the howl of Ed and Debbie's dog, Ella. We got up, sorted our things, some of which we had moved into their house to make a little but more room in the car for the Massies Mill trip, went to the recommended breakfast spot Lumpkin's (they're recommended: they got my over medium eggs order right) and shopped for some camping supplies. Punctually at 10:15am we got underway.

Whitney's making me call this "Lumpkin's big rooster"

Up until now neither of us really had felt like we were really out on the road yet: We're still in Virginia. We're staying with family. We're sleeping in a bed. All that just didn't give us that whole, "oh right, we're not going home for three months" feeling. As a matter of fact that reminds me of hanging out with Brian and Shannon on Thursday night, when Brian said, "once you've been going down I-81 for a couple of hours, that's when you'll really feel like you're out of here." Brian was pretty much right. I think once we were passed Blacksburg, actually it was really once we were driving along I-77 that I felt like that I was in unchartered territory.

Now mind you, this wasn't an earth shattering realization, but it was still interesting to notice that change. I wasn't looking for familiarity in things I was seeing to the left and right of the highway but for the unknowns. This is really starting to become fun and exiting!

Anyway, I mentioned Blacksburg earlier, because it was a way point today. Whitney's father, Bob, went to Virginia Tech, so as a little girl Whitney's family would go down to Blacksburg for the Forth of July, go tubing on the New River and eat at Macado's ("...where he'd always get a Pina Colada, or a Virgin Colada. I can't remember anymore."). So we too stopped at Macado's for a lunch sandwich. To be honest, rolling up to the joint I was a little bit disappointed. It looked like little more than another strip mall comfort food restaurant.

Once inside however, I was in for an exquisite treat in kitsch and elaborate decorations. I'm talking 50's cars in the ceiling, a 10 foot gorilla, model airplanes, signed photographs, puppets, fake palm trees, Marilyn Monroe posters . . . you name it they had it displayed. 5-year old Sammy would have been so damn jealous of me!

Before skipping town we grabbed some ice cream at Frosty Parrot. The excuse was, "it's so warm out!", in reality Whitney just knows me really well. So I had cookies 'n' cream, pomegranate, and vanilla mousse ice cream with berries and chocolate chips on top. I'm sure Whitney's was good, too ;-). We sat down on a bench in the sun and enjoyed our ice cream before heading back out on the road.

Back on the highway the time really flew by. That was mainly because of the worst idiot driver in the whole damned universe driving in that red car. When he was behind me, he was reading my inspection sticker and once I let him pass he lost track of the accelerator. Mein lieber Scholli, we almost had to stop for more ice cream.

Anyway, I-81 turned into I-77, and that in turn became I-40 and just as the sun was starting to disappear behind the trees we pulled into the campground in the Lake James State Park. We were warmly greeted by Eliza and Mitch*, the hosts, paid our fee and took our (well tested!) tent and camping gear to our site. On Mitch's recommendation we chose site #4. As soon as we got down to the site we knew why he had recommended it: it was right above the edge of the lake with a beautiful view across the still water surface. As we settled in and started to prepare our dinner the sun light quietly slipped away.

We ate our dinner consisting of the delicious Lenten Dinner prepared by the ladies and gentlemen at the Byzantine Catholic Church in Annandale (procured by Sue, thanks!) next to a small camp fire while the water of the lake was gently lapping against the shore just feet away. The combination of kielbasa, pierogi and avocado fried in a skillet turned out to be excellent! Dessert was courtesy of Debbie who had packed us a bag full of her delicious chocolate chip cookies with other magic ingredients. Yum!

Anyway, I think Whitney's waiting for me to be done with this so we can read "Wonder" together. Good night!

*These names are completely made up. I can't possible be held responsible for anyone rolling up there and asking for Eliza or Mitch.

categories Drive
tags Blacksburg, Camping, Macado's, Lake James

Esmont & Massies Mill

March 31, 2014Samuel Herbig

Sam already posted about the bad weather we had in the early hours of our trip. Luckily we outran the storm after about 90 minutes on the road. We left Northern Virginia after a quick breakfast with my mom and headed out on I-66 to catch Virginia state route 29 (Lee Highway).

We took 29 most of the way to Esmont, initially encountering ice pellets mixed with powerful winds, but soon the weather cleared out to reveal gorgeous colors with a lovely overcast sky, perfect picture-taking light.

We made Esmont or first stop because my Uncle Ed and Aunt Deb live in a lovely house there on a quiet country road. The house was filled with light and my uncle's paintings, musical instruments, and delicious smells that foreshadowed delicious food.

They had lots of great ideas for things we could do today but this painting that hung in their living room inspired us to take an impromptu trip out to Nelson County, Virginia.

Painting by Ed Lyle (accompanying artwork by Dante, Deb and Ed's grandson)

My grandmother (and Ed's mom), from here on known as Mom-mom, grew up in a little town in Nelson county called Massies Mill. Realizing that we were just an hour away and that Ed would be a very knowledgeable tour guide, we hopped in the Omimobile and got on our way to see Massies Mill as well as the site of the painting in the living room, Durham's Run.

Mom-mom's family, the Mahones, owned a general store in Massies Mill and then in August 1969 the majority of town was washed away when Hurricane Camille hit. My great grandmother's store was lost in the storm, but the church Mom-mom attended as a child and married my Pop-pop (read: grandpa) in still stands.

Before we started the trip Mom-mom told us where we would be able to find the key to unlock the church door so we could look inside. Believe it or not, the key was hidden in the exact spot that she told us to look and we snuck in.

Views: Nelson County, VA by Samuel Herbig

The church is very small, with a capacity of maybe 120 people if they squeezed in really tight, but as you can see the stained glass is inspiring.

Our next stop was a twenty minute drive up a mountain to a spot at the north fork of the Tye river where my family has gone camping for generations. We parked the car and began a leisurely hike up a private road that follows Durham's Run. There was still a dusting of snow on the ground, but luckily it was 50°F or so.

There has been so much rain and snow recently that all of the creeks we've seen in Virginia are running high and this one was no different. The big difference came when we came to a part of the road that's clearly meant to cross over the creek. Instead, Durham decided to Run right over the road. After attempting to rock-hop across the first melding of road and run, we rounded a bend and were faced with another flooded intersection. Sam and I attempted to find a better spot to cross the creek while Ed rock hopped again and Deb decided the best option would be to just Wade across. In the end, that was by far the best solution.

A few hundred steps later we reached our destination: a swimming hole that was vertically sandwiched between two waterfalls. It looked exactly like Ed's painting.

On the road home we visited the cemetery where my great grandparents are buried with a gorgeous view of the mountains.

Back at Esmont we were treated to the aforementioned delicious smelling food: a slow-cooked chicken soup with orange zest and saffron, followed by Deb's tasty customized chocolate chip cookies that she made while we sat together for kitchen table chats.

Miscellaneous statistics from the road: Day 1

Bad weather is not permanent. Freezing rain can transform into blue skies a lot faster if you're driving in the right direction. This almost sounds like a metaphor.

Unresolved "You were right" banter for the day:
Is a court an exact synonym for cul-de-sac or can a court (in the sense of a road) mean another kind of street?

Yellow Sexy Count, below the Mason-Dixon rules apply:
Whitney: 3
Sam: -1 (better luck tomorrow!)

Tasty beer of the day: Starr Hill Grateful Pale Ale

Artistic inspiration of the day:
W: Seeing Ed's large scale landscape paintings.
S: The drive into the Blue Ridge mountains (they are called that for a reason). More shots needed. "There's always tomorrow."

Signing off!
Whit

categories Drive, Hike
tags Esmont, Massies Mill

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