Home again, Home again, Jiggety-jog!

 PART 2

Ward and I took a driving vacation last week. Here is part 2 of the highlights.

Day 5

We spent the next day exploring the area with our friends. This area is home
 to numerous waterfalls and state parks. First up was Whitewater Falls, North Carolina.

Next, we saw Kings Creek Falls in South Carolina. The weather was
perfect for hiking down to the falls with temperatures in the 50s.

After the waterfall hikes, we visited Stumphouse Tunnel.
Stumphouse Tunnel was dug/chiseled for the Blue Ridge Railroad.
Work began in 1855 and stopped in 1859 when the legislature
stopped funding. Clemson University acquired the tunnel in 1951,
and they used it for several years to cure blue cheese.

Day 6

We left our B&B the next morning to begin our trip home. In addition to running a B&B, the owners had several animals, including goats, miniature horses, and a llama. Here is the barn cat.

Our first stop was in Johnson City, Tennesee, to walk on the Tweetsie Railroad Rail Trail.

We had a pleasant 2-mile walk before continuing onto the final leg of our trip for the day.

We spent the night in Salem, Virginia. After dinner, we took a walk
along the Roanoke River Greenway.

DAY 7

Today was the final leg of our trip home. We stopped at the Strasburg, Virginia, Visitor Center for a break.

Among other things, the visitor's center had a museum chronicling important Civil War battles that took place in the area.

After a good trip, we came home to cats who let us know in no uncertain terms,
that we had some petting to make up for.

Home again, home again jiggety-jig!

PART 1

Ward and I are back from our driving trip south. It was a good trip with good weather, good visits, and good scenery. I had hoped to post a travelog along the way, but the internet was spotty to nonexistent. In fact, at last night's hotel, there was an internet outage in the neighborhood, and nothing was working to the point where we couldn't get into our room without an employee going with us to let us in. (They couldn't program key cards.)

When we got home, we were giving Theo the details of our trip, and I was already confused about what we had done over the past week. So we'll see how it goes posting here. I hope the pictures will help me remember. Not that you are interested in the details of my trip, but I might be sometime in the future and will be happy to at least have a framework.

DAY 1

Our first stop was in New Market, VA, for lunch.
New Market is a historic little town that we explored
after we ate at the Southern Kitchen.

The next stop was Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. Ward went to undergraduate and graduate school here. We met when I transferred there for grad school. It's been a long time since we've been back, and a lot has changed, but we still found many familiar old haunts.

DAY 2

After spending the night in Wytheville, VA, our next stop was a welcome center in North Carolina. It was one of the nicest welcome centers we've been to. 

Much of our drive down and back was through the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. 

And the hillsides were full of blooming redbud and dogwood (not shown here).

The next time we stretched our legs was in Ashville, NC, where we visited The Botanical Gardens at Ashville. They focus on native plants, and we were lucky to see many spring wildflowers blooming. Pictured-Toadshade trillium.

We reached our destination in Georgia just in time for dinner with my cousin and his wife.
(Virginia bluebells from Ashville Botanical Garden)

DAY 3

The next morning, we went into downtown Atlanta to visit the Georgia Aquarium. It was crowded, but we could still see everything we wanted.

DAY 4

We left Georgia the next morning and followed this Chips Ahoy truck
through Atlanta. Ward's grandmother always had a jar full of Chips Ahoy,
so we thought this was a sign. Not sure what kind of sign,
but it was fun thinking about it.

Our first stop of the day was at another visitor's center. Again, the famous southern hospitality shone through. We particularly enjoyed the swings they had.

In the afternoon, we checked into the B&B, where we stayed for the next two nights.

Then we visited with friends, who took us on a boat ride
 exploring the lake they live on.

But wait! There's more! Tune in next time to see just what that might be. :)