On the First Day

So we made it to the mountains and then what? Why, chase waterfalls, that's what. After all Transylvania County bills themselves as the Land of Waterfalls! But first you have to get to them which generally involves some hiking on uneven ground. Oftentimes rocky, or filled with roots too.

That is my honey hiking to High Falls in Dupont State Forest, a large mountainy place formerly owned by the Dupont Corporation, where scenes from both The Hunger Games, and Last of the Mohicans were shot. The walk from the visitor center isn't really all that far, yet at times the inclines got to these folks who are accustomed to only flat walking surfaces! At any rate, you can hear the falls long before you see them, and what a magnificent sight they are.

There is a lovely spot to view them from afar but what the heck, let's get down to that rushing water and walk on the big boulders that line the shore.

 I was super keen on doing what the folks in the photo below were doing!

EXCEPT, I fell. Don't ask me how because the rocks were not slippery but I did fall on rocks rather than in the water so that was a plus! Before you worry, I merely scraped my leg a tiny bit thanks to my blue jeans which I'd worn because it was a bit cool when we left the cabin. Poor Bruce, he was ahead of me, only turning around when he heard a woman gasp at my fall.  He quickly put a stop to our exploring, meaning there would be no going around the water for us. :)

Instead, rolling up my jeans and putting my feet in the chilly mountain water, I soon felt just fine.

Bruce was laying out on another rock and when he sat up a gorgeous butterfly was right in front of his shoe, seemingly in no hurry to fly away. Naturally he called it to my attention and because my camera was in my lap, well, here you go.

Which reminds me, when I took the tumble the camera went down hard on the boulders, thankfully continuing to work like a champ. Remember when I had two cameras, neither of which fully worked? Well, I actually sent in my favorite camera, the one that died in Vancouver, and after replacing the shutter, it works beautifully. The one that won't turn off is just sitting there until I feel good about spending another $200 on getting it fixed. In the forest there were loads of lovely little wildflowers,

and super cool mushrooms. Not like I saw at Lake Davis, but some, nonetheless. I've not seen the plethora of mushrooms at LD since that one day, making me ever so glad I returned to gather them.

Up the hill and back in the car we drove the 10 or so miles into Brevard where it looks like a movie set with so many cute shops. Wouldn't it be neat to go to one of the Mountain Music festivals?

After watching most of the  Ken Burn's documentary, I am more eager than ever to hear some live bluegrass! We enjoyed the yummy lunch below at the Square Root. You just know I had to have the fried green tomatoes and the pimento cheese that the pickled okra is standing up in. Double yum!

We roamed some of the shops, spending both time and money in Starfangled Press where even the bathroom has a display.

Another neat shop that specialized in more guy-centric stuff. Loads of Florida license plates in the display, some of which we both remember.

 Heading back to the cabin on the Greenville Highway, crazy winding btw, causing you know who some anxiety, we stopped a this cute roadside market where I bought some fresh tomatoes and local corn on the cob, both of which were sensational. Bruce fashioned some corn holders from his wooden marshmallow sticks which worked great. There was a full stove top in the cabin and a small refrigerator but no oven. I didn't plan on baking anyway. :)

 So, you pull into a parking lot for the Connasstee Falls and walk about 50 yards and there you are. All flat ground was a big plus.

 We returned to the cabin in time to watch a little college football including the UCF loss, a real heartbreaker.

Falling asleep with the windows open and hearing the night sounds was a great way to end our day in the mountains.

Next morning we drove into this:

Have I mentioned no cell service? We got used to that pretty quickly as it was spotty our entire trip. Who says you don't need a paper map?

The Mostly Open Road

For many years Bruce built restaurants for Darden in New England, falling in love with both the quaintness of the towns, and the rugged beauty, especially Vermont. And of course, during those years he was able to watch the leaves change, marveling every year. We discussed going there on a road trip, however, he's got a project at the church he's managing rendering that out of the question. Instead he suggested Asheville. Looking into it, I just wasn't feeling like we were meant to go there, so I suggested a cabin in Brevard, North Carolina coupled with some camping. Sounded good to him.
We took off early, a week ago Thursday with the plan of taking state roads.

 Before we left, however, we needed a tent which we bought last week at Dick's Sporting Goods, setting it up in the back yard to check it out.

Aside from a new stove and air mattress, Bruce had all the rest of the necessary supplies from previous camping trips. Had I ever been camping before? Only once about twenty plus years ago! Heading up 441 there was some traffic, however, once we passed Lake County, well, people seem to only use the interstates because we encountered few cars. While some folks love the flat Florida landscape, we were anxious to get out of the state, in part because we were hoping for some cooler weather. I took loads of photos along the way, but this one, taken in South Georgia, might interest you the most. A field of cotton as far as the eye can see. Up close it looks just like cotton balls on plants which sounds silly but I really was thinking it would be more complicated than that. :)

Just one of the joys of a road trip, seeing where our cotton comes from! Before leaving home, I'd become acquainted with the Georgia State Parks website, creating an account and finding our first place to camp at Gordonia Alatamaha State Park, a name which does not roll easily off the tongue. Unlike tents of old, this one sets up easily in no time.

Only slightly cooler, it still was easy to sleep on our air mattress without air conditioning.

I absolutely loved cooking on our little camp stove! The first night I brought along some pulled pork made previously and fried up some cornbread, also from our freezer.

Potato salad from Houndstooth Kitchen and Eatery, Monica and David's place, and we were all set. Marshmallows toasted over the open fire goes without saying. Speaking of Monica, she's back in the hair business, thank God! Unfortunately for me she could only get me in on Wednesday afternoon before the trip which left me scrambling to get ready. While I did forget a few things, at least I have some new hair!

After a hearty camp breakfast, the tent came down, we packed everything and hit the....you guessed it, open road!

Do you see the beginning of a rise in the road? Some parts have two lanes while at other times it becomes four lanes.

Should you care to see our route, here's the map, although I use both the atlas, and the iPad to navigate our route; one for the small picture and one for the larger one. That's how we do it--Bruce drives, and I tell him where to go. It works for us!

He's super good about stopping places I find interesting...

of course it does give him time for a little nap! The buildings were colorfully painted,

with a mix of goods inside.

You cannot beat a bright red barn, white fence and hay bales in the fields for scenery.

We stopped to make a sandwich in the cute little town of Elberton before the final push to North Carolina. I love seeing the old movie theaters,

and signs painted on the back side of brick buildings.

Pecans trees beside our parking spot provided some much needed shade as it was still very warm.

Back on the road, finally we got to the corner of South Carolina we needed to cross.

Before long we crossed the Savanah River,  which flows through a dam project called Lake Hartwell. Absolutely lovely part of the state!

Oh my gosh.....here comes the mountains!!!

Bruce is a big fan of the show, Barnwood Builders, although they are in West Virginia, we saw plenty of old barns they probably could recycle.

About this time of the day, getting there is within sight, so pressing on, Bruce began the drive through the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area, an apt name. Holy Moly, the road was full of this,

and this, something we were not expecting in South Carolina.

Nerve wracking to say the least! Bruce was a champ, taking every curve as it came. I was way more nervous and could never have done it.  Finally....

The North Carolina line begins where the wilderness area ends, and it was but another twenty or so miles and we found our little slice of heaven.

A one bedroom cabin set in the woods---perfect! I'd found Ash Grove Cabins and Camping on the North Carolina website, booking it for three nights, and it was all that we hoped it would be. We found some cooler weather, enjoyed the coziness, AND on Sunday night we were able to continue watching Ken Burn's Country Music documentary which is absolutely fantastic! Did you watch it? If not, it is being re-run this weekend.

Nest up---what we did while there. I will return to my London post soon!

your friend,

Gail

Three Days in Copenhagen

When folks talk about a trip to Amsterdam, almost the first thing they mention is the bicycles and now I know why. Although there are fewer bicycles in Copenhagen, there are still over a half a million or so I've learned since we returned. Exiting the the train station to go to our hotel, it was the first thing I noticed.

Yup, that is a lot of bikes, so I was shocked when we next came upon this:

How do they get them up and down?? Everywhere you go there are people on bicycles,

made easier by dedicated bicycle lanes.

The building with the spire is the Stock Exchange building, one of the oldest in the city, learned while on our canal tour, where we saw, yet another, mode of transportation, boats and lots of them.

That same tour took us beside the "Little Mermaid", probably one of the most photographed spots in the city.

Matt thought of everything ahead of time including the brilliant move of buying us all a CopenhagenCard which we used for the canal tour among other things, including the Architectural Design Museum. But first we had lunch at a beautiful old department store, notable for me because it is while there that I learned that Scandinavians are crazy for licorice.

Although Matt is standing by some chocolates, they had several spaces devoted solely to licorice in flavors I'd never before considered. Who knew? Here's a post from a blog called Scandikitchen that ranks the top ten Danish licorice. I've heard of ranking most anything, so I should not be surprised, but still I am.

Off we went walking to the museum, passing by many places that have a door on the street that actually leads to darling courtyards.

We were greeted by Legos at the museum and lots of them, an invitation for folks to play before heading upstairs. Tom making something cool.

For us one of the neatest things about the museum was seeing the model for the Vancouver House which as you may recall, we watched being built a block from our condo.  The exhibit was sponsored by BIG, the Copenhagen architecture firm that designed the museum, as well as some fantastic buildings around the world, shown in models below.

It was while we were there that Bruce started becoming more and more uncomfortable prompting us to head back to the hotel. Some very miserable hours ensued while the apparent kidney stone was moving. Tom had some stronger pain medicine with him, allowing Bruce to get some much needed sleep.

The next morning, leaving him to rest, Matt and I went to the Natural History Museum, visiting this gorgeous glass house where we were treated to all sorts of global plants and of course the butterflies I told you about before.

Ever seen a red poison dart frog before?

The cacti were very impressive.

Later on Bruce was feeling well enough to visit a Meet the Viking exhibit at another museum. Loads to learn and see there but what really amazed me was the gold. Of course the partial Viking ship, that  preserved because it was found in bogs was very cool. A Genghis Kahn exhibit at the same museum was equally as fascinating.

I guess this is what happens when doors have been around as long as these have.

I wonder what the guns over the door signified?

How cool are these little cones I saw on a tree behind the hotel?

The first thing we did on our last day in Copenhagen, having scrapped the idea of a longer train journey because Bruce was still not his best, was visit Rosenborg Castle built by Christian 1V beginning in the 1600's. Set in the heart of the city, it is both an oasis, and an opulent example of the absolute monarchy from that time period.  Walking into the first room, well, no surface went untouched without adornment.

Bruce is texting a photo to Bill of the incredible ceiling.

The truth is, everything was incredible!

The tapestry was but one of many found throughout the spacious rooms, none more so than the Great Hall which held the thrones guarded by gold lions.

The craftsmanship, the materials, and then there were the ivory carvings and boxes. Ebony and ivory apparently were very popular with a large area devoted to the Royal collection.

Taking in all of the incredible treasures would take way more time than we had, but if you are planning a visit, it is a place we can highly recommend. Eventually we made our way to the area where they keep the crown jewels. Oh my!

After a lovely lunch on the grounds,

we walked just down the street to the National Gallery of Denmark,

where we saw, well, art. Beautiful rooms, beautiful art. You would be forgiven if you thought that Edward Munch painted only in his The Scream style, mostly because like me, you have not been exposed to his other work which I found exciting, while at the same time moving.

Here's another trio of paintings, reminding me that there is nothing new under the sun. Painted in the mid 1500s, the one with the older man and the younger woman...well, need I say more? Then too, I could not help but wonder what kind of barbering equipment was used to do the haircuts of these men.

Generally I am tempted to think most men wore their hair long in those days but clearly I am wrong.

Bruce was feeling poorly so it was back to the hotel for a rest. Later on, he revived and we walked just a few blocks to Tivoli Gardens where we were immediately charmed.

Should you care to know more, here is a neat travel story about the place. Amazingly it has been open for 176 years!!! This ride, called Time Machine was one we DID not go on. Watching the cars spin and flip was enough excitement for us!

Nor did we ride this roller coaster!

There are lovely lit gardens amongst the rides,

and a Crystal Palace which every Disney fan can appreciate. Actually it brought back memories of when Bruce's Dad was building the Contemporary and Polynesian hotels when we were in high school. We visited the property on several occasions as Disney was under construction, marveling at the notion of a Crystal Palace.

It is said that Walt Disney was most definitely influenced by his visits to Tivoli, and having seen both, there seems to be no doubt.

At the top of the above photo you can see the Matterhorn which houses a 100 year old wooden roller coaster that Matt convinced us to ride. Thrilling! When it comes to rides, I'm a bit of a wuss, however this one was a blast!

And then it was the morning of our last day and taking a brief walk around the streets near our hotel, I reluctantly said goodbye to Copenhagen.

That said, we were actually happy to get back to London because, as Tom said, we could find  better drugs for Bruce.

And we did.

Thank you for reading this long piece which I know includes so many photos. I hope made you feel as if you were there with us. That's the plan anyway!

your friend,

Gail