Friday, October 31, 2014

3000 miles later....

Wow, what a great trip!  From Biloxi, Grayton Beach, Cedar Key, Jacksonville/St Augustine, Charleston, Smoky Mountains, Ft Boonesborough to home!   Now, we need to catch up on the last leg of our journey.

Charleston, SC is a harbor town full of more history then can be packed into 4 short days!  We stayed at a KOA just about 10 miles outside of the "old town".  Easy drive into the city.  We even found a parking garage with "extra big" spaces for vehicles like ours.  We rode the free trolley, great feature by the way, down King St toward the Battery.  The Battery is the shore front.  Charleston is built on a peninsula.  We walked past several of the historic homes.  One right after the other, with magnificent architecture and gardens.  We snapped a few pictures while we were walking.  Sorry we didn't take more, I think we were just in awe of it all.

This one is decorated for Halloween, check out the witches hat!




At the park on the Battery.  This was Charleston's main line of defense.
 

Its a little hard to tell, but this is called Rainbow Row. All the houses are a different color.
 

Fountain close to the harbor.  The harbor is a very busy place with cruise ships and freight coming and going.
 
Charleston was rated #1 tourist friendly city in the US last year.  It really deserved more then the 1 day we spent there. 
 
Next day we headed to the other side of the harbor to Patriot's Point.  We toured the Yorktown, air craft carrier which was put into service in the 40's and was used up until it's last mission picking up the last Apollo mission capsule from the ocean. We went down inside a submarine, which gave me new respect for the men and women that do this now! Then we took a boat out to Ft Sumter.
 


 

I can say I've sat in a jet now.
On the flight deck of the Yorktown.


This is the sub we went on, I believe it was named the Glamora
Can you imagine trying to run through this boat?

This is the galley, some of the crew would come and go through the floor!

Big engines!

This shows what's under the skin of a submarine.  Hard to believe we were walking around inside of it.

 


 
Ft Sumter was built on a man made island to protect the harbors.  Construction was begun in 1829 and it was still unfinished in 1861, when the Civil War began. The first shots of the civil war were fired over Ft Sumter.  The confederates won that battle.
 


Portal looking out to the ocean


There were originally 4 tiers, only one remains


On the left of this picture you can see one of the armaments protruding through the brick wall.










Original flag that flew over the fort.



We really enjoyed the tour of the Ft and the ride out to it.

We had one last day left in South Carolina, we decided to head off the beaten path and go say goodbye to the ocean that we had been enjoying for the last month through many states.  We drove to Folly Beach, South Carolina.


We walked the beach one last time...
Took the last selfie...

and walked the quirky beach town of Folly.
 
Next, we went in search of the Angel Oak Tree...
 
This Live Oak is believed to be over 1500 years old.  The oldest in North America.  Over 65 feet tall and 25.5 feet in circumference.




Really amazing



We packed up and headed NW the next day.  Stopped outside of Smoky Mt National Park in Newport, Tn.  Drove part of the Blue Ridge parkway and through the park the next day and took some of these pictures.

The fall colors were pretty much done, but still beautiful.


 Trick or Treat!

Mountain stream in the National park.


Can you believe how clear the water is?

Fly fisherman

At the entrance to the Ntl Park is a historical farm.  Just thought this was a "sweet" barn.  We saw an elk here too, but couldn't get close enough to get a decent picture.  People were stopped along the roadway taking pictures of him.  The park itself was crammed with tourists.  All the trail head parking lots were overflowing.  We were hoping to take a hike, but that wasn't happening.  Too many people.
Next day it was on to Ft Boonesborough, Kentucky, our last stop before home.  This state park boasts a living fort.  The original was built by Daniel Boone and other settlers.  We were looking forward to seeing it.  Unfortunately, it wasn't open on the day we were there.  We walked around the outside of it and Rog was able to take a few shots through the walls.  Very nice state park. 


Through the gate



Fort walls.









Monument dedicated to the frontier men and women who settled in the area.  Several of which were Daniel Boone's family members.



Seems odd to say our travels are done again for a few months.  We are going to stay home for the winter.  Many have asked "Why?"  Well, snow isn't all that bad is it?  We look forward to spending time with our family and friends.  We do have a fireplace and our furnace works so everything is good.

Our next adventure is scheduled to begin next April.  We are headed west.  That trip will be a 5000+ mile trip!  Oh the places we will see and the people we will meet!

Until next time, take care everyone and keep Grabnlife!