Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Twists and turns, and then River's End



On a previous trip through the Nantahala River Gorge in western North Carolina, wifey and I spied a restaurant sitting on the river’s edge.

We decided on the next trip through we would stop and get something to eat there.

And that’s what we did on our September jaunt to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.



We were arriving a few days earlier than our son and his family and could afford to stop off and experience the eatery.

The River’s End offers a wide variety of foods and since wifey and I hadn’t had pizza for a number of day’s, that’s what we ordered. We both had a salad and Coke.



Not knowing what to expect, we were somewhat surprised. The pepperoni pizza (with the meat under the cheese) was delicious and the salads were exquisite.


Although it was at the end of the season, there were still a few stalwarts making their way down the river on rafts.

Many years ago, like maybe 50, my parents told me of taking a wrong turn coming out of Cherokee and ended up going through the gorge on Highway 19. All they had were bad words for the area. I guess maybe it was because they may have been going through the area in late afternoon or night.

They said the road was winding, going up and down and all around.

And that’s true. But I guess during the 1960s, the road maybe wasn’t as wide and not too inviting.

We saw parts of the old road and understood their chagrin.

But we like the drive, and it’s become one of our favorites.

And the food at the River’s End is also enticing.


Next post: Oct.7, 2014

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

We're off for another mountain adventure

Wifey and I pose for traditional picture at Great Smoky Mountains
A summer trip with relatives, that didn’t pan out, has been rescheduled for next week.

That means another trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, our third this year.

This time of year it is suppose to be a little bit cooler. Nighttime temperatures this past summer at Elkmont Campground were in the low to mid 60s.

Next week, nighttime temps are expected in the 50s, which is OK with me.

It will be more of the same kind of activities, as usual, but just being in the park is enjoyable in itself.

We’ll take our traditional picture at one of the big signs entering the park and manage to relive the same “old” things — Cades Cove, hiking trails, Gatlinburg and a visit to Townsend for ice cream.


Hopefully, downtown Gatlinburg will still have a good offering of blue grass music.

We be out of touch a lot of the time, since there is no wi-fi in the park and sometimes we can’t get to it on a good schedule outside the park. So it will be a few weeks before we'll see you again.

Next post: Sept. 29, 2014

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Second visit needed to Colonial Williamsburg



Earlier this year, Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia was on our itinerary as we traveled to the Atlantic Coast from Mississippi.

For some reason, I had pictured something different. 

But that is neither here nor there. Our visit in early June was eye-opening in that I was able to witness the village that held so much history.



Early on, we toured the Regional Visitor’s Center and got a head’s up from a former teacher and current docent on the best way to visit the area.

We spent a short while touring the center and learning about the history.

The day’s visit, or at least a visit to Chowning’s Tavern, was captured in an earlier post. There are numerous other taverns available.


Miniature layout of Colonial Williamsburg in visitor's center

We toured part of the city riding the shuttle bus, and walked up and down the main street learning about the religious preferences of our founding fathers while across the street, wifey became interested on gardening during that era.

As the day heated up, our interest diminished and we headed out after about a four-hour visit.

We plan to return, at a cooler time, and better prepared to experience more of the historic avenues that are available.


Next post: Sept. 9, 2014