teardroptravelin'

After a cooler, cloudy night, the breeze had freshened this morning.  Breakfast was followed by camp-breaking tidying up and seasoned by the adventure of taking down our new REI canopy for the first time.  We managed to do it without flying off in the breeze and without any leftover pieces.

Diana rode her bike to the beach for one last, lingering look while I scampered around getting things ready to go.

We both decided that after four days camping in heat and humidity in a campground with only cold-water showers, it’s time for a night or two with a hot shower in the vicinity.  Accommodations await us in Nag’s Head.

We drove up the Banks with all the windows open, enjoying the wind washing over us.  We wondered if the winds had already arrived from the front that caused the horrible tornado in Joplin, MO.  

A brief stop at the Hatteras lighthouse gained us another teardrop admirer and several other lingering looks.  When we’re towing the teardrop, we never lack for interested parties and descriptive conversations.

We checked into our room, both took long, delightful showers, dined at chez Taco Bell, and then headed for Roanoke Island and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.  This is where the ill-fated Roanoke Colony was founded.  The visitor’s center is being renovated so the actual amount of information and displays were pretty sparse.  We walked through beautiful woods to the actual site and then stuck our noses into the entrance of the nearby Elizabethan Gardens but decided $8 a pop for a late-in-the-day entrance fee was a bit steep.

We also checked out Celebration Island’s offerings.  Diana went in and around the place, I didn’t feel like it was worth the price of admission.  She’ll tell you more about what she saw.  The best thing there was a small ship (barque) reproduction called the Elizabeth II.  They say that in the summers they have taken it out on short trips.  In the small park the people answer questions while in costume and character.  There is a blacksmith, carpenter, Indian “village” etc.  The blacksmith made me a pretty nail with a rose faceted top when I told him my ggrandfather was a blacksmith and a McFarland.  I get the impression that this park may be on the block for closure.  That would be too bad.

Lightning-sparked fires on the mainland grasslands and peat bogs are filling the air with heavy smoke at times.  According to the ranger at Fort Raleigh, this will continue until heavy rains finally put it out.  Evidently peat fires are notoriously difficult to snuff out.

Back at the motel we relaxed and enjoyed being clean.  Tomorrow we’ll take a look at the location where the world’s first heavier-than-air flight took place.

Hattaras lighthouse and Camp-Inn Teardrop

Today the “balmy” weather has really kicked it up a notch to really hot and humid.

We finally found the pier this morning, but it was a little disappointing.  It had been badly damaged from the last hurricane, and nothing has been done to repair it.  Since the storm the sea had constantly gnawed at it and it now has the appearance of a very ramshackle, totally unusable structure.  We did find that the shade underneath it provided a delicious respite from the dazzling sun.

After our ocean visit, we decided it was time to venture further south.  We took the free ferry (40 minutes each way) from Hatteras to the northern tip of Ocracoke Island and then drove 13 miles to the town of Ocracoke itself.  We treated ourselves to lunch at Howard’s Pub and had genuine home-made peach ice cream from a vender along the road.    The island reminds us a little of Hawaii and a little of the Mexican Island Isla Mujeres–in other words charming.  We checked out the shops and small museum and even got a call from Kit as we were viewing the wares available at the Ocracoke Ragpicker store.

The ride over and back on the little ferry was fun, and the cool breeze off the ocean was delectable.  Back at camp we decided it was time to continue the journey, so tomorrow it’s off to Nag’s Head and points northerner!

Ferry Coming, Ferry Going

This day was mostly spent resting and relaxing, reading and lounging, and taking it easy in the “balmy” temperatures of the Outer Banks.

In the morning we tried to find the Hatteras pier without success, but found another place down the road with access to the beach.  We felt a little uncomfortable leaving our car filled with stuff in the parking lot because of all the warning signs there promising terrible things would happen if we left our vehicle alone with goodies in plain view or even if it was just unattended.  After an uneasy half hour, we returned to our safer and more secure almost empty campground.

In the afternoon, Diana decided to take another excursion to the beach, but I was unwilling to accompany her.  I had told her there was a close access point to the beach at the bottom of the little hill below our campsite.  She didn’t see anything there and set off on a two-hour+ trek, accessing the beach at the same spot we did yesterday.  She came back with a sore foot from walking in the water for 2 hours, and was all ready to pointedly question my geographic accuracy but as she approached the road below our campsite, she discovered the access point had I recommended.  Since she hurt her foot, I found this to be a rather empty victory.

After a gourmet dinner of vegetarian hot dogs, canned beans and potato salad, we drifted off to sleep with vivid flashes of lightning from a very vigorous storm somewhere far off the coast lighting the night sky for hours.  It was the biggest lightening  show I’ve ever seen.  It looked more like a battle at sea.  I’ve read about the Outer Banks (OBX) better known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic.  Hundreds of ships have been lost due to the changing sandbars and rough weather. Stories about the people who dedicated their lives to saving people are many.  One, a man named Midgett, saved seven men by riding his horse out in deep water and bringing them in one by one.  Many streets and businesses are named after him.  Many streets and areas are named for the lost ships, too.

Big Surf On The Outter Banks!

We rested well in our cozy home-away-from-home, courtesy of Camp-Inn.  If you like our little teardrop trailer, take a look at the builder’s Website – www.tinycamper.com – and see all of their excellent offerings.  We have had this trailer for over six years now, and couldn’t be happier with the comfort, convenience and reliability it provides.  (The previous product endorsement  was provided without benefit of compensation — except for the pleasure we have had through direct experience!)

We lounged around our campsite after breakfast, and then drove to the campground entrance, and hiked down a short boardwalk and over the dunes to the ocean.  Diana wandered the beach looking for shells while I enjoyed the easy set up of our dandy, new “Lightspeed” beach shelter and relished the shade it provided.

After sufficient beachcombing, we did a pb&j lunch and then drove the short distance to Hatteras where we investigated the contents of the Graveyard of the Atlantic museum.  There was interesting information on Blackbeard and his nasty antics in the area as well as items recovered from the wreck of his ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge.  Along with fully revealed items like coins, pistols and bits of gold, they are still removing the encrustations from other things like cannonballs, and rigging from the ship itself.

There was also photos and descriptions of Billy Mitchell’s famous demonstration of air power which took place off of Hatteras.  His ability to destroy battleships with aircraft changed the future of war, and clearly set the stage for the creation of the air force as a separate branch of the services.

After all this serious data acquisition, we returned to our campground retreat for another night filled with bird song, a star-bejeweled sky, and the sweet lullaby of the Atlantic whispering in our ears.

Frisco Campsite With New Canopy

Today we decided we were going to see the Atlantic Ocean.  It’s been more than six weeks folks, and it’s time.  So we were up fairly early for us, and heading east.

We past through many interesting places, but didn’t stop except in Waverly, Virginia where we succumbed to the lure of the Adams Peanuts store along the General Mahone Highway.  Peanuts?  This place had every kind of peanut you could think of.  Cooked up in a surprisingly wide range of ways, roasted, fried, double-dipped in chocolate, dry-roasted, toffee covered, salted-in-the-shell, raw, and boiled.  We also discovered a “delicacy” which must be unique to the south because we had never heard of it.  And quite frankly, we kinda wish we hadn’t.  Check out the picture at the bottom of this blog to discover what it was.

We skirted the southern edges of Norfolk and Portsmouth and Chesapeake, passed through Hickory and Barco (!) and CoinJock, and finally, just south of Harbinger, we made a big left turn, drove up and over the Wright Memorial bridge and turned right onto Highway 12 on the Outer Banks!

We passed Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills, drove through the touristy offerings of Nags Head, and south of Whalebone Junction we stopped at the Oregon Inlet campground.  We spoke with the helpful ranger there and decided to press on further south to Frisco Campground just beyond Buxton.  The AAA book said Oregon campground lacked shade.  It is flat grass, more like a KOA than we like.

The Frisco campground was probably 20% full, and we had our pick of many nice sites, but we opted for space C-2 on a little rise with a sand dune beside it and several pine trees surrounding it.  Later we discovered our site is one of the biggest.  We even have a table hidden by trees and a short path.  We set up camp, fixed supper, and enjoyed the sound of the sea.

After over 5,300 miles and more than six weeks, we have reached the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and the Atlantic Ocean.  Woo Hoo!!  (Stay tuned, there’s more to come!)

We're not in California any more...

Today we were treated to another great breakfast, complements of our hostess — Shirley.  We devoured the freshly made biscuits, vegetarian country gravy and cheese-scrambled eggs she had made with little prompting.  It was delicious and another tangible reminder that we are in the south and receiving full-on 1st class southern hospitality!

We reluctantly began taking our things down from the loft and stowing them in our car and trailer.  It’s still raining, but we must answer the call of the tumbleweeds we are and head east once again.  The long-range forecast calls for sunshine starting on Saturday, and we want to get to the beach and see if the prediction is accurate.

Before we left, David dropped by and gave us directions to a place Shirley had told us about last night:  Burke’s Garden.  We’ll include it on today’s itinerary.

After much handshaking, hugging and kissing, we finally drove away from the Breaks.  It was hard.  We had such a good time, enjoyed every minute, and deeply appreciate all the time and attention we received.  We also realize how precious this time has been and how lucky we are to have shared a few days in the presence of such wonderful folks.  We are, once again, blest!

We followed Highway 460 as David recommended, topped off the gas tank in Richlands, and turned off on Highway 61 at Tazewell for our side trip to Burke’s Garden.   In the 1700’s James Burke was part of a survey party which entered the area.  He threw away some potato peelings on the trip and when he returned the following year he found that the peelings he had dug into the rich soil near their campfire had grown into a  “fine crop of potatoes.”  Hence the name for this intriguing little valley.  If you take a look at Burke’s Garden, Virginia on the Google Maps satellite view, you will see a very  regular oval shaped valley which looks like a meteor crater; locally  it is known as  the “fingerprint of God.”  There is only one road in and out, and the land until recently has been closely held by local residents.  It is a perfect valley.  John Wayne even owned part of it.  Amish families built lovely homes and lived there until they wanted more Amish company and moved north recently. There is no place to stay, no restaurants or glaring gas stations.  It is made up of farms with cows, sheep and horses backing up to the Appalachian Trail and bike path.

In fact, George Washington Vanderbilt came there in the 1880’s wanting to purchase the valley to build his mansion.  No one would sell this southern “Shangri La” to him, so he had to put the Biltmore house on land which was his second choice, near Asheville, NC.

Google it — it’s interesting reading!

Diana and I drove up and over the lip of the valley and down into it with growing anticipation.  David had told us we might see a Bald Eagle’s nest if we were lucky.  We stopped at the Burke’s Garden General Store to wet our whistles and learned more about the valley and the eagles from the woman behind the counter.  She told us to drive closer to the trees where the nest was, but it looked like a private road, and we chickened out.  We did continue driving around the valley and enjoyed looking at the houses, farms and livestock nestled in this lush location.

Finally we drove back up and over, hopped back onto Route 460 and continued our eastward journey with the road carrying us through a small corner of West Virginia before returning us to Virginia.

In between rain showers we actually caught sight of some blue sky, a promising omen of the days ahead.

We stopped for dinner in Blacksburg, the proud home of Virginia Tech, before driving on to Salem where we stopped for the night.

Tomorrow we will try to get all the way to the Atlantic ocean.  If we’re lucky, we’ll see you there!

The view from a Burke's Garden General Store window.

Again, we allowed ourselves to sleep in since this coincides nicely with Ernest & Shirley’s schedule.  Breakfast was predictably delicious and soon after, David joined us.  His daily visits and thoughtful assistance to his parents are obviously deeply appreciated.  He and Susan live fairly close by, and provide E&S with a substantial lifeline for daily as well as special needs.  By all measures he is a loyal and loving son.

He is also an expert birdwatcher, and has been giving Diana and me great insights on each of his visits, identifying bird calls, pointing out birds in the surrounding woods, and even a robin’s nest full of babies in a bush outside E&S’s dining room window.

We had been looking forward to a VIP birding tour which David had promised us, but the weather just won’t cooperate.  It has been raining off and on day and night.  The skies continue to be gray and threatening without an end in sight.

We reluctantly decided that a bird-walk with the “Birdman of the Breaks” was not to be, but David has given us great suggestions on what to do and where to stay at our next destination, The Outer Banks of North Carolina.  His knowledge of nature and especially of birds is vast and we really appreciated him taking the time to enlighten a couple of birding neophytes.

This afternoon, Ernest really wanted to take a walk along the river, in spite of the rain.  We took their car and the four of us drove across the state line into Kentucky to the town of ElkHorn.  At Ernest’s urging, I drove their very nice Buick down a gravel road and onto a slightly soggy riverbank.  Shirley stayed with the car while the three of us walked several blocks along the Russell Fork of the Big Sandy river.  When we encountered a bevy of ducks and one goose who thought he/she was a duck, I retrieved  Shirley and the car so she could also enjoy the sight.

We drove back through the rain with more good memories and an even greater admiration for Ernest, his surprising energy, and his great love of nature and the land he lives on.  Shirley is a perfect complement to him, and it’s fun to watch and listen to the two of them burnish a relationship that has lasted over 60 years.

We had a relaxing evening, with more interesting conversations and retired to the loft grateful that we have been able to share a few days in the beautiful Breaks with our adopted family, the Raines!

Ernest listens to his "good" angel!

Forty days on the road, and we’re waking up fashionably late today for a special breakfast complements of Ernest and Shirley Raines, AKA Mamaw & Papaw (according to reliable sources).  We were given the “loft” which is built above the garage and separate from the house.  So when we entered their home, we were greeted by wonderful aromas and much bustling in the kitchen area.

Soon we were dining on Shirley’s special Sunday breakfast delights — pancakes made with a super-duper waffle batter.  They were rich, and fluffy and chock full of pecans.  YUM!  Then the piéce de résistance: Apples à la Ernest!  He peels and cooks the apples until they are tender and delicious and can be spooned over the aforementioned pancakes to give your tongue a great combination of sweet, tart, creamy, rich and crunchy.

Needless to say, we were unanimous in our appreciation for and rapid dispatch of, these delectable delights.  Many thanks and our complements to the chefs!

After breakfast and cleanup, we chatted a while and then were able to help out a little by taking Shirley to a doctor’s appointment in Grundy — a town about 12 miles away.

This is a town with a very interesting story — it has actually been moved to avoid flooding which has been a very real threat over the years.  You can read more about it here:  http://appvoices.org/2007/04/25/2911/

After Shirley’s appointment and a quick stop for a prescription, she took Diana and me to lunch at Bellacino’s.  This establishment creates delicious grinders.  These are big subway sandwiches which are toasted and stuffed with goodies.  This place is one of Shirley’s favorite eateries, and now we know why.

Returning to Breaks through intermittent rain (our constant companion since we arrived), we rested, talked, snacked, read and watched TV until it was time for sleep.  We  have lots of interesting conversations with Ernest and Shirley.  They’ve got loads of stories to tell from life in the Breaks, to life in Stalag 17 where he was imprisoned in WWII, to how they met and fell in love and then raised their four children.  Being with Ernest and Shirley are why we came to the Breaks–not the beautiful scenery or the weather–and being with them is wonderful!

We did have one bit of excitement.  A home which is still under construction across the street and down a couple of lots caught fire.  This brought out the fire department for an extended length of time as they sought out the source of the flames and made sure every bit was snuffed out.  We later learned that Susan had discovered and reported the fire on her way home from work.  Good job!

And good night!

"The Towers" - A distinctive, rocky formation in The Breaks Interstate Park

We were pelted by rain several times during the night, but it had stopped by the time we crawled out of our teardrop and had breakfast.  After getting the trailer ready to go, we drove around the park and liked what we saw.  The water and docking facilities are excellent, and the disc golf course was quite tempting.

Resisting the temptation, we returned to our campsite, hooked up and headed for Virginia.

The road twisted and turned as we drove north.  It also had some pretty good climbs as we worked our way into the Appalachians.  We stayed on Highway 23 until we got to Pound.  Then we turned off onto SR 83 and headed northeast toward Breaks Interstate Park.  We stopped for lunch at a combination CitGo gas station and Subway sandwich shop, near Pound.  The girl who made our sandwiches confirmed our route and soon we headed down a smaller road which was even more twisty.  We saw big trucks overflowing with coal, and trains filled with dozens of cars filled with coal, as well.

Soon we reached the familiar entrance to the park (we had been here in 2006), drove to small town of Breaks, and managed to find our host’s home with no trouble.

We were greeted by Ernest and Shirley Raines — our daughter-in-law’s grandparents — and they welcomed us warmly.  We were Christmas guests here at a family gathering five years ago and we feel like we never left.  Ernest just turned 90, and Shirley is “in the neighborhood” so it was wonderful to see them again.

We chatted and got reacquainted.  Soon their son David appeared and Ernest indicated it was time for a walk.

David drove the three of us to the park where we tried to keep up with Ernest as he strolled along, up steps and off sidewalks, enjoying the spectacular views of what is known as “the Grand Canyon of the South.”

We returned to the Raines’ house, had more good conversation, and then drove back to the park for dinner with David, his wife Susan, and their fresh-home-from-college son, Holden.

Diana and I feel so much a part of this warm, friendly, loving family.  And we feel quite fortunate because of it.  The dinner was great, the company was terrific, and we are looking forward to a day or two more to enjoy the company of this wonderful family.

Goodnight from Breaks!

Family Dinner At The Breaks Interstate Park

After a rainy night we awoke and departed Asheville.  As we drove north we were dodging very dark rain clouds.  We stopped in Johnson City, TN for lunch and to pick up supplies.  Then, after consulting our maps, we decided to try camping at a park just south of the Virginia state line near Kingsport.

As we pulled out of Johnson City, the sky was even darker ahead of us.  Diana consulted the weather app on our iPhone and found out there was a “severe weather alert” with heavy rain, hail and lightning in our path.  As we continued driving, the light rain became heavier and then a serious downpour descended on us.  Visibility decreased and soon our “freeway speed” was a brisk 20 mph.  Of course the moisture was accompanied by frequent lightning and thunder, but fortunately, no hail.  We took the turnoff for the park and stopped under an overpass until things quieted down.  After the storm passed, the sky was still cloudy, but had patches of blue scattered into the mix.

Warriors Path State Park is situated on the shores of Patrick Henry Reservoir on the Holston River.  In addition to the campground, there is a “Boundless Playground,” a golf course, a frisbee golf course, excellent biking and hiking trails, and picnic areas.

Although the campground was fairly full, we had our choice of several nice spots and selected “B29” which I thought sounded good, too.

We set up camp and had dinner.  A little later the rain came down again, so we watched an episode of “Antiques Roadshow” while sitting in the Subaru before retiring to our cozy teardrop for the night.  Tomorrow it’s on to Breaks, VA.

Space B-29, Warriors Path State Park, Kingsport, TN