Back to the Coast

Sheila is a great story teller

Our uneventful trip across North Carolina found our first destination to be the little town of Brevard. That evening we had a good time listening to some true-blue, authentic Blue Ridge story tellin' and music by Michael Reno Harrell and Sheila Kay Adams. They related whimsical stories from their past about Christmas that were both very funny and touching. Shelia is a National Heritage Fellowship award winner and Michael has won the Recording Industry Association of America Platinum award. But sitting with them and listening to their tales was almost like casually being in a country kitchen or sitting around a fire – trying to discern just where the facts were buried beneath the BS er, ...fiction. It was very entertaining!

Andrew & me

The following morning we drove the short distance to Laurel Park (near Hendersonville) to see my ol' dear college sailing friend Andrew. While there, over the next 6 days, we enjoyed many wonderful family Christmas traditions with him, his wife Teresa and daughter Michelle. I also enjoyed the attending the rehearsal and performance of their church's youth Christmas program. Andrew volunteers as the driver for a bunch of lively kids who probably wouldn't attend church without the ride. The rehearsal was a little rough with shepherds dozing, angels wiggling and little lambs racing around, but they pulled it together for the big performance and did a great job telling the story of the birth of Jesus.

I probably won't get the rest of the events in order but we did a variety of other fine and festive things, including visiting Carl Sandburg's home. Nowadays, the Nat. Park Service continues to breed and raise the goats that Mrs. Sandburg became famous for. She took a very scientific approach, concentrating on three types of goats, and was mainly interested in improving milk production and quality – eventually  breeding goats that produced record quantities of milk. The estate now covers about 200 acres and is still very beautiful.

Eating was a main theme at Andrew's

While at Andrew's, we replaced the Rialta's house batteries, which sounds easy but really wasn't. The old batteries were getting a bit tired and we had purchased some new ones a few days earlier. The replacement batteries are a just teeny bit longer than the old one and Thayer had to do some delicate "modifications" with a BIG hammer and hacksaw to get them in. It is so nice to have such skilled technical staff traveling along! Now we can play on our computers and run our lights for much, much longer – important when we're confined inside on dark, rainy days & nights.

We did all the good Christmas gift stuff and, of course, the eating part. The Thompsons' follow a Danish tradition of making lots of cookies, appetizers, munchies and candies and then browsing all day long on Christmas, thus eliminating the thankless job of preparing a giant meal. But we also did that too on the following day when we were invited over to their friend Charlene's house. We had a wonderful meal followed by exchanging and receiving gifts. I was also happy to learn that the Thompsons enjoy reading Patrick McManus as much as the Sykes family, and we had some spirited reading and laughter that only comes with good old Pat and his gang of frightened wieners.

The Biltmore really is built more!

Edible bears

Andrew and Teresa took us out one day to show us the sights around Asheville, most notably a peek at the Rockefeller estate, the very grand Biltmore, but with a $45 entry fee we limited ourselves to the visitor information center and the video. We continued on to the Grove Park Inn, a massive hotel built of large, rough hewn granite boulders. We wandered the lobbies, admiring fantastical and prize winning gingerbread houses (and Pandas) on display. Entries to the annual contest and constructed by people of all ages, I don't know how anyone could single out the "best" one as there were so many stunning creations.

Near the inn are some historic buildings that showcase the crafts of the city. Ashville was once known for their fine woolen fabrics and had a booming weaving industry. Several of the building were stores carrying beautiful hand crafted glass art, pottery, fabric and paper arts, and amazing fine crafted wooden furniture. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Andrew and his family and were a bit sorry to be moving on.

Congaree swamp

Traveling eastward again, we stopped at Congaree N.P., learning about the amazing swampland ecosystem of the Congaree River that covers a beautiful 26,000  acres. It was nearly destroyed by early logging, but the swampland was too difficult to manage and had so it had a better chance for preservation. It is the largest area of old growth bottomland hardwoods in the US and there are at least 80 species of trees, some towering 170 above the swamp. The seasonal flooding is the heartbeat of this unique park, bringing nutrients to the plants and animals of the swamp.

Farther  down the road, a short visit to the Charles Pinckney N.H.S., homestead of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence;  and to Fort Moultrie, which gave us a look at yet another fort. I think we're becoming experts on early America forts. Just ask me a question!

Grits are good for you!

It is hard to pick out a favorite

We rode our bikes around historic Charleston, NC, and found easy parking on the southern waterfront. It is a lovely city just drenched with beautiful homes, colorful streets and interesting historical sites. Spending some time in the crafts market, I especially enjoyed watching men and women weaving beautiful baskets. The Hominy Cafe was recommended by a gentleman we'd met earlier, so we enjoyed a good southern cooked meal. The next day we found a local swimming pool and took full advantage of a long swim and a longer shower for only $2, ...a darn good deal by our standards!

We then "quietly" spent our New Years in Savannah, GA. The town had a street blocked off with some live music and lots of fun people to watch. We both mingled with the Georgian partygoers 'till about 10:30, and then retreated to a dark Walmart for a very quiet night.

My first attempt at Gumbo

Inspired by a book I just finished that included a gumbo recipe, I began gathering the ingredients and advice necessary to give it a try. I even had to ask a woman in the store to identify okra for me because I had no idea what it looked like. She gave me some good advice and during the next day, which was rainy and dreary, I gave it my best shot. I included shrimp and sausage for the meat, and lots of vegetables. The spices I'd bought previously in Charleston gave it a delightful spicy taste. Not bad for a beginner, and voted 'two-thumbs-up' by everyone who tasted it!

Cape Canaveral

Next up as we worked our way down into Florida was Canaveral National Seashore. Sadly, it was raining sideways during our brief visit. I was happy to learn that they'd had a banner year for the number of sea turtles nesting in the park, almost double the usual number of nests were laid. That adds up to almost 8000 nests! I explored around an old Native American shell midden, which is a large hill of shells shucked from 1000's of years of oyster feasts. The midden has created a lovely little ecosystem that provides habitat for all kinds of plants and animals. I also discovered a tree just loaded with large, just-out-of-reach, oranges! Dang!

The next day we continued through the Merritt Island N.W.R., observing thousands of birds and a whole lot of wetlands. These parks were created after the land was gobbled up by NASA for Cape Canaveral and then given back as a wildlife refuge. They've done good things with the land, making a multitude of environments supporting an incredible amount of wildlife. There are so many opportunities to see birds wintering over here in Florida that I may just skip over the details.

We also had nice visits with a shirt tail relative (Cindy Sykes' cousin), and Mark and Beverly, a Stuart, FL. boondocker couple. Mark is an auto tech teacher at a high school and is both very accommodating AND a good cook! We are still hitting 100% with the boondocker crowd, and have yet to met one we haven't hit it off with instantly. A pretty good average, we think!