Boys at the Playground

I took these pictures near Kate's home in South Carolina.

Frank, Justin, and Austin

Driving to Atlanta

I planned our trip to Atlanta as a two-day drive with a scenic interlude on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Briefly, we drove south on I-81 to I-77 toward North Carolina, exiting the interstate at Fancy Gap, VA and taking the Parkway southward.

We spent the night at a Best Western in Boone, NC where we had the view pictured here. In the morning we got back on the Parkway, stopped a number of times to look at the scenery, had lunch at Crabtree Meadows and made our way to US 221 South and (eventually) I-85 west to Atlanta, getting there around dinner time.

It was a long drive and I wished I had allowed more time to enjoy the sights.

Nothing Fresh at the Snack Bar

I've loved the Blue Ridge Parkway since I was a child. It's a beautiful place, with fine views and a gracefully curving road.

I noticed a change this time that I didn't like: the snack bars no longer serve fresh food. This is bad news for those of us with food allergies! The sandwiches are pre-made and packaged in a factory, so there is no way to get a wheat-free version (also known as a small salad).

I was really hungry when we got to the snack bar in Crabtree Meadows which is still listed as a "restaurant" in some publications. After seeing that there was nothing allergy-safe for me to buy there, I was glad that I had an emergency food supply in the car. I wound up feeding myself three ounces of canned tuna, some rice crackers, and applesauce. Frank also decided against the refrigerated sandwiches because they looked unappetizing and bought candy instead.

Along the Trail at Linn Cove

There's a trail at the Linn Cove Visitor Center that you can follow to view the viaduct up close. I took some pictures of the trail and wildflowers. That flash of blue in the upper photo is on a butterfly's wing.

This is at milepost 304.4 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.

Link: Nature-Talk page about the viaduct.

Grandfather Mountain

Seen from the Blue Ridge Parkway

Bridging Linn Cove

I wanted to show Frank the Linn Cove Viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It had really impressed me when I first saw it but it did not have much effect on him. But of course, he does not share my memories of driving around Grandfather Mountain back in the old days before the viaduct existed.

The old road snaked around the mountain in a series of sharp curves that felt endless as you slowly made your way back and forth, up and down. At some of the turns you'd see roadside stands where vendors sold honey or other local products.

Now the Parkway skips all that and you zip past the mountain with little effort. There's a visitors center with exhibits showing how the viaduct was built.

Link: Balcony of the Blue Ridge

Along the BRP

1. Price Lake

2. Mountain Ridges South of Fancy Gap

3. Stone Mountain, NC

See other photos of the Parkway from June 2009 and July 2008.

Frampton Plantation

In South Carolina, we saw a billboard advertising Frampton Plantation along I-95 and decided to take a look. It's just off the highway at exit 33 and serves as a (free) visitors center for the "Low Country" region.

The original house was burned during the Civil War and rebuilt in 1868. I just read that it was donated in 1993 to the Lowcountry Tourism Commission by Columbia developer Wymann Boozer.

The property features some marvelous old live oaks and signs for the Revolutionary War Trail (tracing the travels of Loyalist surgeon Uzal Johnson) and the Civil War's Frampton Line (see below).

I purchased a book in the gift shop called Civil War Tours of the Low Country: Beaufort, Hilton Head, and Charleston, South Carolina. I liked the fact that it had plenty of large photos of the various sites.

The Frampton Line

Earthworks at the Frampton Line, South Carolina

Although Frampton Plantation was just off I-95 at US 17, it turned out to have a Civil War site and a sign which reads:

The Frampton Line

A large "earthwork," over 100 yards in length was raised on this site by General Robert E. Lee's troops c. 1862. This fortification was a fall-back position from which to defend the Charleston to Savannah Railroad, an important supply line for the Confederate Army.
The rail line is located about one mile north of this site.

Frampton Line on Historical Marker Database

Visiting South Carolina's Low Country

Room at the Inn

On our way back from our Carolina trip, I wanted to spend a little time on the Blue Ridge Parkway. So we left I-77 at Elkin, NC and drove up US 21 to the Parkway. We then headed south a short distance and had a nice dinner at the Bluffs Lodge Restaurant (Milepost 241).

There was one room left at the nearby lodge, but after inspecting it we decided not to take it. It was too musty and a bit small. A nice woman who works there said to try the High Meadows Inn in nearby Roaring Gap.

We returned to US 21 and located the lodge. It needed paint and looked a bit run-down on the outside, but we were getting tired and decided to at least look at a room. We chose an upstairs suite

and it was clean inside and looked very nice.

I imagine this was once a really nice hotel. Probably it was quite busy before I-77 opened and rerouted most tourist traffic to Fancy Gap.

We did not have wireless internet but that was not essential for a one-night stay. I was glad to have a usable kitchen space in which to fix breakfast. The adjoining restaurant was not open.

Garden Sculpture in Roaring Gap

	Concrete Garden Decor at a pond which was once a motel swimming pool
	At High Meadow Inn on US 21, Roaring Gap, NC

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Bennett Farm, Where Joe Johnston Surrendered

The American Civil War did not end at Appomattox, although it was the beginning of the end.

BENNETT PLACE Farm home of James Bennett, where Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrendered his army to Gen. William T. Sherman, April 26, 1865. Johnston’s surrender followed Lee’s at Appomattox by 17 days and ended the Civil War in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. See a related marker at HMdb.org: The End of War - Carolinas Campaign

Having recently been to Appomattox, I wanted to visit the Bennett Farm on the outskirts of Durham. Driving there via Lynchburg and Danville, I felt an appreciation for the distance between Lee's army and Johnston's. It was considerable but if Lee had been able to utilize the railroads, he could have quickly joined up with Johnston... except that the Union army got in the way. The Bennett's reconstructed farmhouse is modest. A visitors center has a worthwhile film and interesting exhibits. I learned that Bennett was also spelled Bennitt at the time of the war. One of their sons left to join the Confederate army and died of disease in a Winchester (Virginia) hospital.

Sherman and Johnston became friends after the war and when Sherman died in 1891, Johnston served as a pallbearer at his funeral. Note: Bennett Place Historic Site is looking for portraits and information on soldiers who were at (or near) the surrender at Bennett Place. They are preparing an exhibit memorializing soldiers who served in the armies of William T. Sherman and Joseph E. Johnston.

Wildflowers at Bennett Place, NC

Queen Anne's Lace at the Bennett Farm

I like wildflowers. I added a filter in Photoshop (Poster Edge) to emphasize them.

Bennett Place Historic Site, Durham, NC

In the Aquarium Building

At the Aquarium Reptile Complex, Riverbanks Zoo, Columbia, SC

I took a bunch of photos at the zoo, but would not have attempted any aquarium shots except that Austin was successfully taking some using his cell phone. (He had just gotten one for his "Fifth Grade Graduation" present.) 

Since I turned off the flash and didn't have a tripod, most of the aquarium shots were blurred. But these looked nice. I looked for spots where the light was brightest.

Giraffe at the Zoo

Not all zoo animals are pretty

Well, the crab is kind of pretty. Especially to another crab!

Fancy-looking Birds at the Zoo

Above: Flamingos at Riverbanks Zoo

Left: East African Crowned Crane

(The above links will take you to fact sheets posted on the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens web site.)

Aftermath of a Gorilla Escape

When Katie's sons heard that a gorilla had escaped from their local zoo the day before, they were anxious to go to the zoo. After all, maybe he would escape again and they could see it!

The gorillas were not allowed outside that day though. One of them stared forlornly out a window. 

	No animals escaped while we were there. However, plenty of people were at the zoo and interest in the gorillas was high. We saw a zoo employee being interviewed by a news person.
We also saw some handsome gorilla sculptures inside the gorilla house.  News article:  Riverbanks Zoo gorilla escapes, shoves man, returns to exhibit

Lorikeet

Visitors to the Riverbanks Zoo are encouraged to feed these colorful birds. 

In order to keep the green feathers from blending into the green background, I applied a Poster Edge filter in Photoshop.

Rainbow Lorikeet

More Zoo Photographs

	At the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC: Above we see the lion cubs enjoying their "birthday cake." Left: Visitors have a chance to feed nectar to  birds. Below: An elephant shows off his wide ears.