Road Trip: Smokey Mountain National Park

Yesterday dawned bright and sunny so we decided to spend the day in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

I had forgotten how beautiful it is here in the Smoky Mountains.

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds." – Edward Abbey

Swollen brooks run down through the woods to join the Little River as it runs through the valley.

And the sights and sounds of Spring are all around us.

We were looking forward to driving the eleven mile loop road through Cades Cove.  

From the Smoky Mountains web page:

"The first European settlers arrived in Cades Cove in the early 1820s. They quickly built log homes, barns, corn cribs, smokehouses and cleared land for farming. The land was rich and fertile and provided the settlers with abundant crops, such as corn."

"When the states of Tennessee and North Carolina begin to purchase land for the creation of the national park, the first large piece of land purchased in 1927 included most of the land in the mountains north of Cades Cove. A few families welcomed the state's effort to buy land for the park; they willingly sold their land and moved out of the Cove.  Some residents signed life-leases that allowed them to live on their land for the rest of their life. As residents left the cove and the community dispersed, there was no longer a need for facilities and services. The last school in Cades Cove closed in 1944 and the post office closed in 1947."

"Today, the National Park Service manages and maintains Cades Cove as it looked in the early days of the settlers. In 1945, the National Park Service designated Cades Cove as a "historical area" and restored several of the older log cabins and barns. "

After learning about Henry Lawson on Tuesday, we weren't totally surprised to learn that the Dan Lawson family once lived at Cades Cove. DH's grandparents were farmers in rural Amelia County Virginia. Now we're even more curious about possible ancestral connections to the many Lawson families who farmed here.

When you sit quietly and look out over these mountains, you realize how well the name "Smoky Mountains" fits them. They are every shade of blue and gray.

"The Smoky Mountains are a rare jewel…Why not have a place where you can still see the stars? There is value to keeping things primitive." – James Dawson

If you look carefully, you can see mountain roads on each side of the Little River down in the valley.

Later in the afternoon, we passed yet another "Lawson" home and business; this one belonged to Paul Lawson (DH's brother;s name).

Again, DH went to the door to introduce himself. But the house was closed up with shades drawn as if no one had lived there in awhile.

DH was disappointed to think that maybe Paul Lawson was deceased as well. We would have like to say "Hello" and ask about possible relatives in Virginia.

We're so thankful for this trip and the opportunity to watch Spring arrive as we travel through the South. What a beautiful part of the country!

"You’re off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so…get on your way." 

– Dr. Seuss

Who knows what today will bring?

We're off on another Tennessee adventure!

This post is linked to:

Thursday Favorite Things at the Eclectic Red Barn
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Road Trip: The Low Country

After three days in the camper with some kind of food poisoning, DH and I finally emerged yesterday, ready to enjoy the time we have left in the low country. We're staying in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, just over the bridge from Charleston.

NOTE:  If you've ever watched "Naked and Afraid" on the Discovery Channel (a very strange show BTW), we could have starred in our own episode entitled, "Naked and Afraid in a Tiny Camper". But, we're better now and have been trying to make up for lost time.

Yesterday afternoon we visited Oakland Plantation here in Mt. Pleasant, SC. The land that our canpground sits on was once part of the plantation and, although the plantation is not open to the public, the owners do allow a tour guide from the campground to take campers through the plantation on a wagon.

Our wagon driver/tour guide was quite a character; at each wagon stop he'd tell a joke. He did not have a Southern accent either.  His was the Yorkshire accent of Northern England. DH and I spent time in Yorkshire in 2017 and that, along with the fact that my grandmother had the very same accent, made it easily recognizable. Our driver has lived in SC for 40 years after spending his youth in the UK. 

As we drove, he told the story of the enslaved young man who planted these trees; look how beautiful they are now!

The Oakland house, dating from 1750, is the oldest house in Mt Pleasant. Although it's smaller than many plantation houses, it is unique in that it is one of the few plantation houses that survived the civil war. Most were burned. Six slave families were living in this house toward the end of the war and, for that reason, the building was spared.

We passed the slave graveyard on the way out. Only a few of the graves have stone markers. Our guide noted that the rest were marked with either a shell or, more commonly, a cup, bowl, or plate that the deceased enslaved person used at his or her last meal. This practice can be traced back to Africa, where a wide variety of items used by the dead individual were placed on a grave. The area is now fenced off out of respect for the people interred there.

After our carriage ride, we finally made it to Red's Ice House, our favorite annual stop for shrimp, Margaritas, dolphin watching (and people watching!), and sunsets.

Red's is in the part of Mt. Pleasant known as Shem Creek, where a large fleet of shrimp boats are moored. We love to eat outside on the deck where you can see the creek and enjoy the dolphins and the sunset.


Dogs are allowed and the locals bring them to the bar with them. The dogs sit there patiently, in an odd variety of dogginess, as their masters share stories about them over a cold one.

We always order the "Killer Shrimp" - very spicy! They're served with french bread for dipping. This time we tried crab cakes as well; they were delicious. And of, course, Margaritas!

Today is our last day here in Mt. Pleasant. The weather continues to be perfect, sunny and in the low 70's. We decided to take an afternoon ride to Georgetown, SC, which is north of here, about halfway between Charleston and Myrtle Beach. It's the third oldest city in South Carolina. In her recent autobiography, Michelle Obama traced her roots to Jim Robinson, an enslaved man from Georgetown plantation; he was her great-great grandfather.

We stopped for lunch at the Big Fish (Big Tuna). 

We ate here a few years ago and really enjoyed the seafood . . . 

 and laid back low-country atmosphere.

Right inside the door, they have a parrot.

And he talks!

Because my sister insists that DH looks like Jimmy Buffet, I had to take a picture of him with the parrot. She's always kidding him that he aka Jimmy needs one, so, Joanne, this one's for you!

I ordered the She Crab Soup. It's a local Charleston favorite - hot, creamy, and delicious! The soup is named for the She-Crab, or female crab, as the orange crab roe is an ingredient in traditional she-crab soup. In case you'd like to try it, here's a local  recipe for She Crab Soup.

Tomorrow morning we're heading for Tennessee. We'll miss South Carolina with its live oaks, 

Palmettos, gorgeous islands and beaches, sunsets and seafood. 

Hopefully we'll be back next year!

Road Trip: Last Day in St. Augustine

Today is our last day in St. Augustine, Florida and the weather is perfect: sunny and warm. We spent the day in the Old Town and Lincolnville sections of St. Augustine with friends, Fred and Anne.

Our first stop was a return to La Herencia Cuban cafe on Aviles Street.. We'd been promised that the owner would be making a new batch of our favorite dessert, Tres Leches cake, by today.

This cake is very popular in Latin America, especially Mexico and Nicaragua. It'ss a yellow cake soaked in a mixture of three different types of milk: evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk or heavy cream. 

It's topped off with whipped creme frosting and a marischino cherry. In case you;d like to try making your own Tres Leches, here's a recipe. Delicioso!

After enjoying our fill of Tres Leches and Cuban coffee, we wandered the narrow streets of "Old Town", the oldest part of St. Augustine, first settled in 1565.

The flowers in Old Town are beautiful; walled gardens are everywhere.

I love the Spanish architecture.

The walls, and many of the homes,  in Old Town are made from Coquina, a very hard, and very old,  material formed from crushed seashells.

This old house is also on Aviles Street. Notice that the houses are built right on the edge of the narrow streets.

It actually looks as if it belongs in New England rather than Florida.

The Lincolnville Historic District is St. Augustine's most prominent historically black neighborhood and is associated with many significant events in the city's African American history. I love the little house, each with a shady front porch, that line the streets of Lincolnville.

Lincolnville was founded in 1866 by former slaves. During the Civil Rights Movement, Lincolnville was the base for activists who worked for the end of racial segregation in schools and public facilities in St. Augustine. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and activists from other parts of the country came to join local activists in non-violent protests.

The residents of Lincolnville are definitely not afraid of using color on the exteriors of their homes.

Most of them are small bungalows built on small lots covered in palms and bougainvilleas.

After an afternoon in Old Town, we drove back to North Beach to enjoy dinner and the sunset from the porch at Aunt Kate's restaurant.

Aunt Kate's is situated in a grove of live oaks on the banks of the inland waterway, adjacent to the campground. 



 Just a few steps from our campsite, it's the best place to watch the sunset while enjoying local seafood, . . . 

and maybe a Margarita!

 The sunset was absolutely beautiful. Perfect way to celebrate our last night at North Beach.

Until next year, that is!

Today we're off to Tampa for the next part of our adventure.

 Hope you'll follow along!

This post is linked to:

Best of the Weekend Party T Calypso In the Country
Saturday Sparks Link Party at Pieced Pastimes