The Highlands of North Carolina and Georgia

Tired of living out of a suitcase during this summer's series of hotel stops and Airbnb stays, Tim and I decided we needed five days of staying in place before reporting to work in Americus, Georgia.

When we looked at the map, we noticed Nantahala National Forest, near the southern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains, was not far out of our way.

Hoping to find relief from the South's hot and humid summer temperatures by heading to a higher elevation, we searched for a cabin in the woods.  And we found it in Warne, North Carolina.


A.  Warne, NC
B.  Fires Creek Recreation Area
C.  Lake Chatuge
D.  Highlands, NC
E.  Crane Creek Winery
F.  Hightower Creek Winery

I'd never before been to this neck of the woods where the corners of Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia converge in close proximity, but it is beautiful.

We spent several days hiking at Fires Creek Recreation Area and near the shores of Lake Chatuge, a reservoir created by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Lake Chatuge

Across the state line in Georgia is the Dahlonega Plateau, designated as an American Viticultural Area by the U. S. Department of the Treasury.  Judiciously and on two separate days (we know our limits!), we visited two of the seven wineries on the scenic and well-established Dahlonega Wine Trail.

When we wanted to venture further afield, our hostess Lori told us that if you like the feel of rubber fighting for a grip on a curvy mountain road, then you absolutely must make the drive from Franklin to Highlands, North Carolina, allowing plenty of time to stop at a waterfall or two along the way.  So we did!  And it was incredible!

Dry Falls so named because one stays dry when walking behind it.

When we finally threw our suitcases back in the Jeep's trunk, it was with the refreshed attitudes we gained in this beautiful place.

Asheville's Grove Park Inn

E. W. Grove envisioned the building of a resort in the restful atmosphere of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  He pictured "a big home...with all the old-fashioned qualities of genuineness with no Sham,"  Perhaps that last qualifier was his reaction to the Biltmore, the over-the-top lavish home of his Asheville contemporaries, the Vanderbilts.

This image is from one of the resort's postcards.

Searching for a cure to chronic bronchitis, Grove, a pharmaceutical magnate from Tennessee, arrived in Asheville, North Carolina in 1896, just a year after the Vanderbilts completed their grandiose home.

When we first visited Asheville several years ago, Tim and I toured the Biltmore.  This time we were drawn to the top of Sunset Mountain where Grove's dream became a reality once the legendary Inn opened its doors in 1913.  Grove's concept of the resort was influenced by his visit to the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park.  Grove's son-in-law, Fred Seely who also became the inn's first manager, oversaw its construction.  With instructions that every visible stone should reveal its most time-worn face, Italian stonemasons and hundreds of local laborers used boulders taken from the mountain to build the inn.

Passing through its portals, you enter into the Great Hall where it's hard to say what first impresses you:  the view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the west-facing windows or--

the two massive fireplaces at each end of the Great Hall.

The last are famous for the original 1913 Otis elevators cleverly hidden within their chimneys, put there to conceal the noise of the machinery.  One of these elevators is still in use.  I enjoyed reading quotations from notable authors and philosophers like Ralph Waldo Emerson engraved on the lobby's stone walls.

Over the past 100 plus years, ten U. S. Presidents and countless celebrities have made their way to the Inn.

Now with the $25 million renovation completed after Omni Hotels & Resorts purchased the property in 2013, even more guests may stay in the two wings of rooms added to the original structure.

Guests can enjoy such amenties as the championship tennis complex, the 18-hole golf course and the subterranean spa built below the ground to keep the hotel's views of the mountains unobstructed.

Author F. Scott Fitzgerald might take the prize for the most extended stay.  Fitzgerald's wife Zelda became ill and was admitted to Asheville's Highland Hospital.

Fitzgerald resided in Rooms 441 and 443 for a whole summer of 1936 to be close to her.

Now Tim and I can say we were guests at the Inn, too.

Backroads To Beaches

Leaving Charleston via the Arthur Ravenel Bridge

Instead of hopping on Interstate 26 and then Interstate 95 from Charleston, SC, Tim and I took the backroads to return to Washington, D.C.  It's been a month since my cochlear implant surgery.  Now that the swelling has decreased, it's time to turn on the implant and see if it works.

But first, the beach!  By taking the backroads, we added Myrtle Beach, Nags Head and Virginia Beach to our itinerary.  Three beaches in three different states--South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia!  If that doesn't make us beach bums, I don't know what will.

Myrtle Beach is the most popular destination along the Grand Strand, an arc of beaches that stretches 60 miles along the South Carolina coast, and a new experience for us.

Unbelievably, we scored a campsite at the end of a row in Myrtle Beach Travel Park, giving us an amazing view of the ocean from inside our RV, the Dawntreader.  

At lower left, Tim gazes at the moon.

Perfect for viewing the sunrise and later soaking up the sun!  We were reluctant to leave, but more beaches beckoned.

Jennette's Pier in Nags Head

So we figuratively pulled up anchor on the Dawntreader and sailed north to Nags Head.  Not only did we wish to experience the beach there, but we also wanted to pay homage to the Wright brothers who proved that flight was possible at Kitty Hawk.

The Wright Brothers' Memorial

Hailing from Kansas, I know what windy days are like, but the gusts of the Outer Banks could certainly match or exceed them.  The wind, the isolation and the sand made it easy to see why Wilbur and Orville picked this place to perfect their planes.  The winds provided lift, the isolation meant privacy from newspaper reporters and the sand softened their landings. 

From upper left: Replicas of the makeshift buildings used by the Wrights,
the park ranger, Tim & I at Memorial Rock,  the marker of the final flight's distance

In his talk, the park ranger at the National Park Service Wright Brothers Memorial brought the enormity of what these two brothers who never graduated from high school achieved.  These two co-owners of a Dayton, Ohio bicycle shop used what they observed of birds in flight and what they knew of balance from their familiarity with bicycles to solve a question that man has wondered about since the beginning of time.  Can man fly?  The Wrights turned that impossibility into absolutely possible.

Rain moved in on Sunday and the temperatures dropped so after attending church, we visited nearby Fort Raleigh, thus ticking off another National Park Service property from the list.  

Fort Raleigh is named for Sir Walter Raleigh who in 1584 was granted a charter by Queen Elizabeth to explore and establish an English settlement in the New World.  Although he never stepped foot on North America, he sent others to found Roanoke Colony, a colony that became known the Lost Colony when all trace of the settlement and its people disappeared.

Lost is also what happened to us when we made our way to Virginia Beach.  The GPS sent us through a maze of backroads that had us trapped before a bridge whose weight limit was 13 tons.  Yikes!  The Dawntreader weighs twice that.  But with cars lined up behind us, there was no alternative except to move forward.  Thank goodness, the bridge held but this is not an experience I wish to repeat.

Pam, Cindy, Tim and  Randy

Despite the chilly rainy days, we had a warm time with friends in Virginia Beach and Williamsburg.

Randy and Pam gave a a tour of the Navy ships in port at Norfolk; 

Then, they took us to a favorite waterfront restaurant for supper.  

Yas, Cindy, Tim and Ralph

Ralph and Yas, longtime friends from Washington, D.C. cooked dinner for us, giving us the chance to share life's journeys with one another.

Would we take the backroads again?  Absolutely!