AirstreamTour: South Carolina to Tennessee

Ah, the joys of traveling through the countryside, coupled with the woes of little or no phone or internet service, makes this week’s entry more than a little bit late.

After leaving Savannah, we spent a few days in Charleston, South Carolina. There are many who debate as to which is the better city to visit. Both started as outposts of the British, Charleston in 1670 and Savannah in 1733. Both were hotbeds of rebellion, in both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Both are major Atlantic ports that have outlived pirates, slave trading, epidemics, earthquakes, fires, and hurricanes. Both are enchanting tourist destinations today. To quote the Chicago Tribune: “Savannah: Flowers, fountains, and even some ghosts, all wrapped up in Spanish moss. Charleston: Half a century older, a Southern Mecca for foodies, history buffs, and shoppers.”

Speaking of history, in one building alone, the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon along the Charleston waterfront, British tea was commandeered from ships in the harbor and stored, later to be sold to the French and the monies used to help fund the Revolutionary War. Later, South Carolinians met there to elect their delegates to the First Continental Congress and in 1776 papers were drawn up that made South Carolina the first of the American colonies to declare independence from Britain. Not a century later, residents would write and sign the Ordinance of Secession, making South Carolina the first state to secede from the Union - that's all in one building! And to top it off, the first shots of the Civil War were fired right offshore in 1861.

Provost Dungeon in the Old Exchange, circa 1760.

We did a lot of strolling around in the historic district where many of the houses, government buildings, and churches date back to the 1700 - 1800’s. Along the way we stopped in at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church and saw the church pew where George Washington and 70 years later, Robert E Lee, sat when they attended services.

St. Michael's Espiscopal Church

Pew used by George Washington and Robert E Lee, formerly known as the “Governor’s Pew”, until the colonists sent the British governor packing.

We wandered down to the waterfront, known as the Battery and viewed Ft. Sumter off in the harbor, trying to imagine what it must have been like to be a citizen of the city on April 12, 1861 when the Confederate gunboats began firing on the fort. In fact, it was a tiny bit eerie since we were standing there 151 years later on April 12, 2012.

Strolling along the Battery.

Along the way we met up with an old working buddy of mine that I haven’t seen for years. In talking it over we finally decided it had been around 26 years! Heather and Philip have been living in Charleston for around 20 years and filled us in on all the must see places. It was great catching up and hearing all the news about their family and travels.

But we managed to one-up them and visit the H.L. Hunley, something they hadn’t gotten around to yet. For those unfamiliar with this vessel, it was a Confederate submarine designed and built in Alabama and then transported by train to Charleston. In 1864 the Hunley sank the USS Housatonic, thus becoming the world’s first successful combat submarine. On the return voyage, the Hunley went down herself in the Charleston harbor with all eight crewmembers aboard. The sub remained missing until found by divers in 1995 and finally raised in 2000. It is now kept in a seawater tank in a research facility on the Charleston waterfront. The reasons for the sinking of the Hunley are still unknown.

Teresa in a recreated cross-section of the Hunley.

These are tight quarters for a 5'10" person - the average height of the Hunley crew members.

Facial reconstructions of Hunley crewmembers done by a

forensic artist based on remains found in the vessel.

Leaving Charleston, we headed inland and drove 3½ hours to Kings Mountain, NC. This stop was to see an old buddy of Heinz’s from his enlisted days. Bill Rice and his fiancée Jill pulled out all the stops in the hospitality barrel, starting with letting us take up the driveway with our rig for two nights. They followed up with a lot of good food, including trying to introduce us to Livermush. This is apparently a local delicacy composed of pig liver, head parts, and cornmeal, spiced with pepper and sage. It is sliced and fried and then often served for breakfast with eggs and grits. We thought briefly about it (not really, it was a no-brainer) and turned down the offer, opting instead for Jill’s delicious egg and bacon casserole.

Bill, Jill, and Heinz. Heinz and Bill kept us all entertained with stories

of their Air Force days when they were 22 and invincible.

On Sunday, they took us on a tour of the area and stopped off at Kings Mountain National Park. Neither of us remembered much Revolutionary War history, but Bill and Jill schooled us up on the Battle of Kings Mountain and its role in ending the war. By 1780, the northern campaign of the war had been fought to a stalemate and England turned its military strategy toward the south. In August of 1780 Cornwallis mounted an invasion of North Carolina and sent Major Patrick Ferguson and his militia of loyalist colonists into western North Carolina. Once there, Ferguson sent a message to the “backwater men” (known locally as the over-mountain men), threatening to kill them all if they did not submit to the Crown’s rule. Enraged, the over-mountain men vowed to finish Ferguson once and for all. On 26 September, the men gathered in western North Carolina and marched over the mountains to Cowpens in the middle of the state. On 7 October, these patriots encircled Ferguson and his militia who were camped on the top of Kings Mountain (named for a local resident, not the royal king in England). The over-mountain men overran Ferguson and his troops in little over an hour. Ferguson was killed and lost with him was Cornwallis’ entire left flank. The battle has been called the first link in a chain of events that ended in the total loss of America for the British.

Redheads rule! Teresa and Jill on Kings Mountain.

After two days of laughs and talk, it was on to Marion, North Carolina and the SKP Acre RV Rally. We met up with Pam and Buzz (friends from last year’s trip to Canada) and made several new friends. All of us (but Heinz) broke down at breakfast one morning and tried the Livermush when the cook fried us up some slices to sample. We all agreed that it was an acquired taste that we didn’t plan to acquire.

Marion is a mere 30 miles from Asheville, so of course we took in the Biltmore Estate. Wow, what a place! The Biltmore was the home of George Vanderbilt and his family, and is still the largest home in America. It was built in 1895 and had all the modern conveniences of the time, including refrigerators and electric dumbwaiters. Touring the house and gardens took most of one day.

One man’s vision of a simple summer home.

Tooling around the area was great and we really enjoyed the lilacs that were blooming everywhere you looked. Along the way we found a wonderful local restaurant in Asheville for breakfast, Early Girl. I had to try the Shrimp and Grits and boy, was I glad I did. I am definitely NOT a grits fan (even if I did grow up in the deep South), but these made you forget that you were eating grits. Big shrimp, andouille sausage, spicy sauce and creamy grits that were more like pudding than grits. YUMMY!

Lilacs along the highway.

We stopped in at One Fly Outfitters in Black Mountain, NC a couple of times while traveling to and from Asheville. It’s a small fly-fishing shop with an owner that was full of information on the “local” fishing. Susan filled Heinz in on fishing spots from Tennessee to Pennsylvania! And she talked about fishing trips out to Montana and Idaho.

After a week, the rally broke up, we said goodbye to our friends and headed west to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We’re there now, enjoying the great outdoors and kicking back. Heinz is getting in a little fly fishing (more like some fly-throwing) while I’ve been tying some flies for him. In addition, we’ve done some hiking and have taken a couple of the auto tours around the park. We’ve both had a blast playing with the cameras.

Gathering bugs from the Little river.

If I can figure out what the trout are eating, I can tell Teresa what to tie!

Roaring Creek Falls

The Great Smoky Mountains

I keep laughing that the park service has one heck of a contract with the animal union in this park. So far we’ve spotted white tail deer (multiple sightings), snakes (yes, that is plural!), centipedes, butterflies, one VERY cool-looking snail, fish, an owl being chased by a raven, turkeys, woodpeckers, cardinals, lizards, beetles, stoneflies, miscellaneous other bugs, and we are currently up to 13, count ‘em, 13 black bear sightings. One of those was a mama bear and her cub on the very trail we were hiking.

Catching up to Mama.

Now pay attention and I'll show you how to make the tourists nervous.

Yesterday we headed back into Pigeon Forge and took in Dollywood. Neither of us really expected much, but we both immensely enjoyed this park. It is relatively small as parks go, but celebrates mountain culture and history in a loving manner. Heinz talked me into riding two out of the park's four roller coasters, but that was my limit. He rode all four and rode the last one, the wooden roller coaster, three times. The wooden one was by far his favorite, reminding him of roller coasters of his childhood - not as smooth or loopy as the new ones, but with lots of bumps, grinds, tossing, turning, and lifting out of your seatbelt on the drops. Should have seen the smile on his face getting bigger and bigger with each ride!