Chimney Rock State Park - 03/23/12

We were watching the Weather Channel this morning and learned the weather conditions were changing here in Asheville, North Carolina, with rain showers forecast for Saturday and Sunday. The forecast for Monday is sunny with temperatures in the low 70’s. We decided we would extend our stay in Asheville by one more night and visit Biltmore on Monday, March 26. So back we go to the Biltmore ticket office to reschedule our visit from Saturday to Monday. No problem, we are now set to visit Biltmore on Monday with no group tour restrictions. We can tour the inside of the mansion by ourselves as often as we want to.

We were returning to our campground, which is west of Asheville on I-40. I had made a mistake and was heading east on I-40 instead of west. I took the next exit to find a place to turn around. We soon discovered we were southbound on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We came upon a highway exit sign that stated "Chimney Rock State Park" was 25 miles ahead on route NC-74A at the next exit. We had read about this park earlier in the Asheville area travel brochure. Our urge to explore could not be contained, so off we go!

This turned out to be an exciting road trip, consisting of 15 to 25 mph switchbacks rising to ever-higher elevations on a narrow two-lane road. There were short curvy sections of the road posted at 35 mph, but for our size vehicle, a Ford E150 Van, we considered 30 mph was a more prudent speed. Being courteous tourists, we would pull over at the infrequent turnouts along the road to allow the locals to pass us and zip around those mountain roads at what we considered to be nerve-racking speeds.

About 20 miles into our trip we reached an elevation of 2,880 feet. A sign posted there stated this was the highest elevation for route NC-74A in this geographical area of North Carolina. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. The entire mountain road runs parallel to a wide shallow creek with crystal clear water rapidly surging around massive boulders that line the creek bed. Brilliant dark green shrubs and majestic evergreen trees were interspersed with lavender colored flowers and rust colored vegetation that formed a scenic backdrop on either side of the creek.

The approach into Chimney Rock State Park is hidden by a large hill and holds a pleasant surprise for visitors upon arrival. As we made our approach over the hill we were rewarded with a wonderful view of the small, quaint town of Chimney Rock. It is located deep within a valley surrounded by massive mountains on all sides. The mountains displayed their abundant variety of colorful trees and their beautiful early spring foliage and flowers of multiple colors. The town is comprised of several boutique shops that offer a variety of locally made products and natural gemstones from the area.

About one-quarter of the way into town is the entrance to Chimney Rock State Park. Chimney Rock is a 535-million-year-old towering monolith with sweeping panoramic 75-mile views from its summit. It has been an iconic focal point in the Western Carolina mountains for well over a century. It is located about one mile from the entrance and is devoid of any trees or vegetation on one side. This side is available for rock climbers to tackle the 400-foot vertical face of the mountain. There is a viewing platform at the summit for those who are physically fit for the challenging hike on the trail and a subsequent stairway climb to reach it. Unfortunately, we are no longer physically able to undertake strenuous hikes of this magnitude anymore. We must now be content to view the magnificence of Mother Nature from ground level.

The same creek that we had followed on the road through the mountains flowed through town. There was a developed pathway alongside of the creek that ran the length of the town. Colorful wild flowers and dark green vegetation hugged the shoreline on both sides of the creek. Massive boulders were dispersed throughout the creek as far as the eye could see. Colorful songbirds filled the surrounding mountains with their haunting melodies. A perfect ending to another most excellent adventure.

Tomorrow, another new adventure begins!

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Asheville, North Carolina - 03/22/12

We departed the Rest Area on I-26, 12 miles southeast of Asheville, North Carolina at 8:30 a.m. We arrived at the Bear Creek Campground in Asheville at 9:00 a.m.

Earlier in the week we had made reservations at Bear Creek for four nights. It is conveniently located within 5 minutes of the Biltmore Estate and about 10 minutes to downtown Ashville. The campground sits high up on a hill with a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.

The cost for a campsite with full hookups is $40.00 per night.

Since we arrived in Asheville earlier than we had originally planned to, we decided we would visit Biltmore Estates on Saturday, March 24 instead of Thursday, March 29. We were prepared to pay the $10.00 increase per ticket for the earlier visit. Much to our surprise, the ticket office personnel accommodated our request for the Saturday visit with no increase in price. However, because weekends draw the most visitors, they provide visitors on weekends with a tour group number. There is a 30 minute time interval between the group tours to minimize congestion within the Biltmore mansion. We were assigned a number that started the group tour at 11:30 a.m.

Tomorrow, another new adventure begins!

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North Carolina - 03/21/12

We awoke this morning at 6:30 a.m. This is our last morning of camping here at Edisto Beach State Park in Edisto Island, South Carolina. Our mission is to view the sunrise that is forecast to occur at 7:22 a.m. We gathered up our camping chairs and headed to the beach on the Atlantic Ocean.

We were surrounded in total darkness when we arrived at the beach. We sat in our chairs watching the Atlantic Ocean surf roll in and scour the beach with a thunderous roar. As each minute elapsed the darkness very slowly transitioned to lightness until the sun started to appear over the horizon. What a breath-taking sight! The camera I’m using allowed me to view all the magnificence and brilliance of the sun through the camera’s display as I was taking the pictures. That morning, on that beach, Sharon and I shared another magical moment in our journey through life together.

We departed Edisto Beach State Park at 12:30 p.m. Our destination today is Asheville, North Carolina to visit the Biltmore Estate. Our original plan was to camp in National Forest campgrounds in North Carolina on our way to Asheville. Unfortunately, the campgrounds were either closed for renovation or did not open until April 1, so we drove straight through to Asheville.

While on the Internet last night, I discovered there is a significant cost savings if I book admission tickets for Biltmore online before March 31, and seven days in advance of our visit. The regular admission price is $45.00 per adult from January 2 through March 31, 2012 and did not include a tour of the fourth floor. There was an additional charge of $10.00 per adult for the audio tour. Our online price was $35.00 per adult and included the audio tour and the tour of the fourth floor. We purchased admission tickets for a visit seven days in advance, for Thursday, March 29.

We arrived at a Rest Area on I-26, 12 miles southeast of Asheville at 9:20 p.m. This would be our home for the night.

Total miles traveled today: 309

Tomorrow, another new adventure begins!

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Charleston, South Carolina - 03/20/12

We toured the old section of Charleston, South Carolina today. Charleston is a beautiful city full of old southern charm and hospitality. It is also very tourist friendly. It offers free trolley service throughout the historic downtown section and very reasonable parking. We parked in a parking garage across the street from the Visitor Center for about five hours and paid $5.00 for parking.

We topped off our visit with a late lunch at Hyman's Seafood Restaurant, established in 1895.

It is owned and operated by the fourth generation of Hyman’s. The owners, Eli Hyman and Brad Gena are very attentive to their customers. They personally visit each table to solicit their diners comments on the quality of the service and the meal preparation. The walls are lined with plates signed by Hollywood celebrities. Each table has four metal nameplates with the name of the celebrity that had a meal at that table. Any celebrity or sports figure you can think of most likely had a meal at Hyman’s. What a meal! We started with their Carolina Seafood appetizer, which consisted of a crab cake topped with scallops, bacon bits, and cheese and smothered with a rich creamy sauce. Our main entrée was grilled grouper stuffed with a crab cake mixture. We opted to walk, rather than take the free trolley back to the parking garage!

We returned to our campsite in Edisto Beach State Park, and those pesky mosquitoes, at 7:30 p.m. This is our last night here and we will be glad to be rid of mosquitoes at our next destination.

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South Carolina - 03/19/12

We departed the Ocean Pond campground in the Osceola National Forest today at 10:30 a.m. Our destination is Edisto Beach State Park. This state park is located in Edisto Island, South Carolina.

We arrived at the Edisto Beach State Park, at 4:15 p.m. This park is located within walking distance of the Atlantic Ocean and is located approximately 40 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina.

There are two campgrounds to choose from: Ocean-Side and Salt Marsh. Ocean-Side is located a short walk from the beach on the Atlantic Ocean and does nor provide much privacy between campsites. Salt Marsh is located within a wooded area, about one-half mile from the beach and provides more privacy between campsites. We selected a campsite at the Salt Marsh Campground.

Most annoying are the mosquitoes. There are swarms of them throughout the area. The only area we were not bothered by them was on the beach by the ocean. Fortunately, we are only spending two nights here before we move on.

The cost for a campsite with electric and water hookups is $31.75 per night.

Tomorrow, another new adventure begins!

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Ocean Pond Campground - 03/13/12

We are still here at the Ocean Pond Campground in the Osceola National Forest. We arrived here on March 1, and were planning to depart on March 11, but we have so enjoyed the quiet, relaxed atmosphere and scenery here that we extended our stay through March 18. We will now depart for Charleston, South Carolina on March 19.

We are enjoying newfound friendships with folks from Michigan, New York, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin. The couple from Michigan provide a campfire each night for the enjoyment of any other campers who care to gather around the campfire and socialize with one another. Most of them spend the month of March in Ocean Pond, so we will probably see them again in March 2013.

Tomorrow, another new adventure begins!

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Osceola National Forest - 03/01/12

We departed the Alexander Springs Campground in the Ocala National Forest at 11:40 a.m. today. Our destination is a return visit to the Ocean Pond Campground in the Osceola National Forest near Lake City, Florida.

We arrived at Ocean Pond at 6:15 p.m. and were fortunate to get the last campsite available in the electric and water hookup section of the campground. We plan to spend 10 nights here before we depart for a campground close to Charleston, South Carolina.

The Ocean Pond Campground is a very scenic area overlooking a lake. It has paved roads and paved parking pads which is very nice for those of us campers who like to be pampered on occasion. There are three separate sections to this campground. There are 19 sites with electric and water hookups in one section. There are several sites with water hookups, no electric, in another section and there are several primitive sites with no water or electric. We opted for one of the water only sites, since we have a generator and solar panel to create our own electricity. We were able to access the Internet at this campground tethering our Smartphone to our laptop computer.

A nice added feature of this campground is it has very nice flush toilet and shower facilities. The showers are isolated from one another with their own locking door, affording one their own individual privacy while taking a shower.

The cost for a campsite with an electric and water hookup is $12.00 per night with our Golden Age Passport.

Total miles traveled today: 232

Tomorrow, another new adventure begins!

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