Monday April 5th
We traveled to Myrtle Beach and got set up in the KOA campground. The Hills joined us for a barbecue dinner to celebrate Kelley’s birthday. Gretchen baked a cake but when it was time to light the candles, we had no matches! We could sing happy birthday but Kelley could not blow out the candles!
Tuesday
We checked out two bike trails in Myrtle Beach but decided not to ride them. Both were on sidewalks along busy streets. We did get to go to Savannah’s playground! After supper at the Hills, we sang happy birthday to Kelley again and she did get to blow out the candles!
Kelley is doing great during her 43rd year! She has lost 50 pounds with diet and exercise, loves substitute teaching and has a very positive attitude! Great job Kelley!
Wednesday
Maggie biked the Waccamaw Neck River Bike Trail with us today and helped us film a Bent on Bike Trails video. She rode 6.6 miles, her personal best! Grandma and Maggie got flowers for the planter she got for Christmas on which she painted her original design!
Kelley cooked a super seafood dinner with local shrimp and crab cakes. What a treat!!
Thursday
We went to Hunting Beach SP to see the new nature center and then we hiked Kelley’s favorite trail.
Kelley and Maggie came to the campground for dinner. Then we gave each other good bye hugs. We’re finally at the point in the pandemic where we can give family hugs! It was great spending time with the Hills. Seth, we’re glad your company has not been affected by the pandemic! I think posting videos of your jobs on the Gravity Electric website is a great idea. Love you all!
Friday
We packed up the camper and headed to the Jones Station RV Park in Mebane. While I finished setting up camp, Gretchen went to pick up Audrey and Henry. We ate dinner at the campground, then took them home. Katie is working this weekend.
Saturday
Grandpa helped Henry mount the camera on his skateboard helmet and we figured out how to get movies from the camera onto Henry’s iPad.
Audrey showed us the design she painted on the planter she got for Christmas. The rest of the day, the kids played in the neighborhood with their friends. When Katie got home we all ate dinner together.
Sunday
We took a hike with Nick and the kids at Eno River SP and of course, the kids had to test the water!
Monday
Audrey and Henry had school so we picked them up when they were finished and went for ice cream.
Katie, Nick, Will and Emma joined us for a picnic at the campground. We grilled hamburgers!
Tuesday
When Katie got home from work, we broke out the badminton set for a game. Later we ate dinner around a campfire set in the Solo Stove on the driveway. It was great to see the Alexanders and Hancocks this week, we had fun but our time here is at an end. We gave each other good bye hugs and headed back to the campground. Love you all!
Wednesday
We left Mebane and went to Travelers Rest just north of Greenville, SC. We camped at the TR KOA, a really unique campground in a long narrow valley! Once we set up camp, we toured Travelers Rest and found the Swamp Rabbit Trail.
Thursday/Friday
We rode the Swamp Rabbit trail from Travelers Rest to Southernside Brewery and back on Thursday; then from the Brewery to downtown Greenville and back on Friday. Two highlights along the trail are a beautiful suspension bridge across the Reedy River and a unique cancer awareness garden!
We absolutely loved the Swamp Rabbit Grocery which is a popular place right on the trail. It is a farm to table operation that supports local farmers.
Saturday
How could you resist riding the Doodle Trail? We could not, so today we biked the trail from Easley to Pickens; a great experience! Why is it called the Doodle Trail? Well, it is named after doodle bugs which only walk backwards. The train could only run forward in one direction. When it got to its destination, it could not turn around, so it had to run backward to its town of origin!
After completing our ride, we drove west about 20 miles to Sassafrass Mountain, the highest point in SC reaching 3,563 feet. Gretchen got to straddle two states!
Sunday
Last night we were having a glass of wine sitting outside when I noticed a screw in one of the trailer tires. Luckily, it did not create a leak even though it was totally embedded! Today we changed the tire and tried to find a place to get it repaired with no luck. However, we did go back to the Swamp Rabbit Grocery to get some more goodies to take to Gatlinburg!
Monday
I found catching a flight is not the only reason I’ll get up early and move into action! Today, I was at the tire store the KOA manager recommended when it opened this morning to get the tire fixed! Then we got on the road to Greenbrier Campground in Gatlinburg. Gary and Laurel arrived later in the afternoon. We had dinner and plotted our activities for the week.
Tuesday
Today we biked the Maryville Alcoa Greenway, a beautiful paved trail that is handicapped by a lack of signage. However, thanks to several friendly locals we found our way!
Later in the afternoon, we toured Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountain NP, where we saw several black bears! Gary reminisced about biking the Cove on his cross country national park trek and I had fond memories of being here with Kelley and Katie (27 plus years ago).
Wednesday
Today we drove around the southern half of the GSMNP. In Townsend, we got on the Foothills Parkway which took us over the mountains on the south side of the park. Then we drove the famed Tail of the Dragon motorcycle route to Fontana Dam. Laurel reminisced about hiking over the dam on her AT hike!
Bryson City was our next stop where we had to find the Road to Nowhere! The TVA promised to build a road along the western edge of the Fontana Dam for people who were being displaced from there homes to visit cemeteries and other places close to their hearts. However 7 miles into the construction, the project was halted due to environmental factors. So today the road just ends after the first tunnel in the middle of nowhere!
On the way back over the mountains from Cherokee, we saw hoar frost around Newfound Gap. We hoped it would still be in the area tomorrow!
Thursday
Of all the hikes to water falls in GSMNP, how could we pass up Laurel Falls? So this morning we hiked to the falls where, of course we photographed Laurel!
Following a picnic lunch, we headed back up the mountains to Clingmans Dome; the hoar frost was still there!
It was a gorgeous day and a beautiful hike to the top. To see all the trees covered in hoar frost was a special event!
On the way back to our campground, we took a detour so Gary and Laurel could see Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg in all their glory. Let’s just say the last 30 years of city planning has been a complete failure in the region!
Friday
In the early morning we said goodbye to Gary and Laurel. It was so great you guys decided to come and join us in the Smoky Mountains. We had a great time!
Later, we checked out the Crosby Campground where the girls and I stayed. Then we drove the road our campground tells everyone NOT to take from Interstate 40. Well, it starts off like any two lane road, then it narrows, later it has turns you could not get a trailer around, it slaloms around the mountains, finally turning to dirt before reaching the interstate! The campground staff gives good advice!
Next we went around the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, a one lane winding road in the park adjacent to Gatlinburg. Gretchen earned her GREAT DRIVING AWARD winding the truck around the sharp curves, over hills you could only see trees until the truck was over the top and through tight spots at trail heads with folks parked on each side…not entirely off the road!
Finally, we went to Kelley and Katie’s favorite restaurant, Applewood Farms. We got a chicken dinner for one; 4 pieces of fried chicken, vegetable soup, fried okra, green beans, apple fritters, apple butter, a salad and apple cobbler. We could have gotten apple sauce and stewed apples instead of the vegetables like the girls would have! The only thing they do not include in take out is the apple julip! So the menu has not changed a lot in 25 years!
Saturday
We drove the Art Road to Douglas Dam, another TVA project built to supply power to the plant in Alcoa making aluminum for WWII planes. We came back through Sieverville….just as tacky as Pigeon Forge!
Sunday
We drove in the park to Tremont to see the GSM Institute but we could not enter since there was a conference in session. It’s a nonprofit that promotes environmental education including a summer camp for kids. Further up the Tremont road we hiked along the Little River as it cascades over a mile down the mountain…beautiful!
Finally, we drove the loop to Townsend, Wears Valley and back over mountains into the park. We did take the small, one lane dirt road (not one way) up to the old Greenbrier School. It was so tense, we did not even tour the school. We just turned around and headed back down the mountain hoping we would not run into anyone coming up. We made it, the first car we saw was at the entrance! Gretchen says I deserve a driving award!
Monday
Alas, our trip is at an end and it is time to head home but without a touch of drama. When we hooked up the trailer, Gretchen tried to start the truck but the steering wheel and key were totally locked. We had to call Pinkerton to get someone who could tell us how to unlock the wheel. The second person we talked to was successful and we were on our way!
