Picnic on the Skyline

Our last stop before hitting the highway back to Washington DC. We were only about 34 miles from the epicentre of an earthquake that struck the East coast at our closest point but didn't feel a thing! Unfortunately it has caused quite a bit of damage around the area and the Washington Monument is now closed as a four foot crack has opened up near the observation deck. The cathedral has also suffered quite a bit of damage. Now there is a hurricane on the way. What is going on?

Natural Bridge

We found this overnight stop more by accident than design but were amazed to find this natural bridge. George Washington had carved his initials on the face of the bridge! It was really beautiful and quite peaceful.

The Blue Ridge Parkway

Returning from Atlanta we took the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains. The views were incredible at the numerous stopping points and the temperatures much cooler as we were 3000 feet above sea level at the highest point. Didn't see much wildlife but the wild flowers were very pretty.

The Swan House by Elizabeth Musser

This novel is set in Atlanta and takes as its base the Paris air crash in 62, I think, which killed over 100 Atlantans who had been in Paris on an art trip. Many were artists themselves and this Rodin statue outside the High Museum of Art in in memory of those who died. The novel then weaves a story around one young girl who has lost her mother and how she uncovers the secret identity of the painter of three lost paintings.

It was good to visit the places that had been mentioned in the book and see them for myself.

The High Museum of Art

I had read about this museum in a novel recently and wanted to visit, more on that later. I loved these giant peaches and pears set out on a tea towel with a knife, all about the same size as me.

CNN Newsroom

After filling ourselves up with free soda at the Coca Cola Experience we set off for a studio tour of CNN. Here we rode the world's longest unsupported escalator which took us up eight floors of this massive building. Once reunited with Mark at the top, who had taken the elevator, we were given a tour of the newsrooms where CNN produces its programmes. As we were a small group we actually got to go into the newsroom rather than to watch what was going on from behind glass panels. It was all surprisingly calm and the studios where we watched a live programme going out from seemed much smaller than they do on the TV. It was really odd to see the newsreader doing her job in the studio and at the same time see what people were actually watching at home.

Two Pharmacists in a Pharmacy!

John S Pemberton, a pharmacist, invented the orginal secret recipe for Coca Cola, to sell as a tonic in his pharmacy. He sold the recipe for $2300 to a second pharmacist, who then went on to develop the multi million pound brand that we know today. Part of our tour included a mock up of the orginal soda fountain that Coca Cola was delivered from and a display of some pharmaceutical items and paperwork related to the time when the popular drink was first made and sold. Now all we need is for these two pharmacists to come up with a multi million pound idea for a new soft drink!

Coca Cola Capital

Atlanta is the home of Coca Cola and where else in the world could you go to sample 106 different types of soda drink from around the world under one roof?! We made many restroom stops! We watched the world's slowest bottling production line in action, enjoyed a 4d movie and studied adverts and art work throughout the 125 year history of the company. Then I hit the gift shop where if you could get the Coca Cola logo on it you could buy it!

Sailing Away

We spent a wonderful afternoon on Lake Allatoona sailing in a Thistle with Diane and Dave. The sun was shining, the wind came and went, we ate lamb and tuna on the beach from the grill, we drank wine from the cooler and no-one fell in!

Guess what this is!

This was a metal cannister with a locking door a few ventilation holes and a light on the top, last used in the 1800's.

Steven our tour guide told us it was a police box which was used to hold one prisoner until the police cart came along to take them to the local jail! Unfortunately in the Atlantan summers sometimes the prisoner went in alive and if he wasn't picked up quickly didn't make it as far as the jail.

Electric Car Tour

Can you believe it, there wasn't a trolley tour for us to do in Atlanta?! But we tried something new, an electric cart tour seating only five with a great guide Steven, who being a student in the city, really seemed to know his town, especially good eating and drinking spots!

We were taken through the neighbourhood where Martin Luther King was born, brought up and lived. It was amazing to see his local area and the house where he was born and his final resting place.

Olympics through the Ages.

This was rather a cool sculpture in the Olympic Park showing three athletes through the ages of the games straddling a giant fan shape.

Centennial Park

Our first stop on our Atlanta sight seeing tour was Centennial Park created for the 1996 Atlanta Oylmpics. This fountain is the world's largest interactive water fountain but I resisted the temptation to run through the jets with Mark in the wheelchair! From a little higher up you can see that the jets and the coloured brickwork make up the five olympic rings. Watch out for a recurring theme of the world's largest, longest, deepest etc through my Atlanta blogs, it's becoming a bit of a joke on our sightseeing!

On the way to Atlanta

We left Savannah by mid morning and after 5 hours driving we arrived in Atlanta. Along the way we found what must be the quaintest reststop on the highway manned by two "lil' ole ladies" from the South. We were welcomed into their log cabin built in 1845 which was donated and moved to this position by the orginal family who built it. We weren't allowed to leave without signing the guest book making it quite clear for their managers that we were all the way from England.

Bonaventure Cemetery

Slightly out of town in Thunderbolt you will find the Bonaventure Cemetery which has an interesting Victorian section. With thunder rumbling above us and a slight steam rising from the paths as the rain evaporated in the heat we toured some of the more famous graves! With only an hour before closure we headed to the grave of Grace Watson, a six year old who died of yellow fever, with a haunting sculpture above the grave. Also saw the final resting place of Johnny Mercer. When a drop of water fell through the sun roof and hit my arm scaring the life out of me we knew it was time to leave!

Savannah's Cathedral

St. John the Baptist Cathedral was truly beautiful inside having undergone a recent restoration project which has restored the colour and splendor to the building. We lit candles "for the Grannies" and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the atmosphere while a thunderstorm raged outside.

Savannah Queen River Cruise

Today we took the Savannah Queen up and down the Savannah River while eating brunch! What is it about ships and a totally endless supply of food? It's now nearly 11pm and we are still not hungry!

Telephone Box

For those of you following since Alaska this red telephone box in Savannah is to be added to the London bus!

Ten Grey Pelicans sitting on a wall.

Sing to the tune of Ten Green Bottles! Okay there are only six but there were lots more out of shot! These birds were amazing as I watched them dive for fish into the water. They can hold up to 2 to 3 gallons of water in their beak and pouch!

Dolphin Magic

Knowing that the afternoon thunderstorms tend to strike at about five o'clock (in fact one is going on now as I write!) we took a lunch time boat ride to see dolphins about 40 minutes down the river towards the ocean. We were lucky to find a shrimp boat fishing and enjoying a free feed a pod of dolphins including this baby who is about 15 months old. These dolphins tend not to migrate and are known as locals. They are slightly paler than their Atlantic counterparts who tend to "tan" a bit more in the lighter ocean water. Here the water is rich with plankton which tends to provide some protection from the sun! Now my American nature watch is really complete as we can also add pelicans to the wonderful wildlife we have seen.

Lafayette Square

This is typical of the 24 squares that you can find in Savannah and was a perfect, cool spot for us to stop and have a drink after visiting the cathedral and nearby Colonial Park Cemetery. Spanish moss draped the live oaks and the water tinkled in the background as we cooled down and looked forward to our dolphin tour down the river and out to the ocean.

Lady and Sons Restaurant

If you come to Savannah you have to eat here. Owned by Paula Deen, who is a famous local chef with TV programmes, books, magazines and a range of food stuff to her name, this is Southern hospitality at its best, or so the guide book boasts. We had a fantastic meal and came away feeling we had really tasted some proper Southern fare. Also felt we had consumed a whole weeks worth of calories in one sitting. Apparantly she likes her butter!

Savannah

We arrived in Savannah with the car temperature guage reading 106! That's the hottest it has been, an all time record!

Savannah has a different feel to Charleston, first it appears larger and this time we are staying on the waterfront. The architecture is even more impressive as the town is arranged around 24 beautiful squares complete with live oaks draped with Spanish moss, iron fountains and wrought iron railings decorating the space. Designed by English colonist James Oglethorpe, Savannah is rich in architectual history and beauty.

On the trolley tour we saw houses owned by the founder of the American Girl Scouts and Jim Williams, the antique dealer who murdered his lover, whose story features in the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. This book put Savannah firmly on the tourist map about 17 years ago.

Albino Alligator

With the temperatures up in the high 90's by early afternoon the aquarium offered some relief from the heat after our walk through the market and down the shopping street. This alligator is one of only 50 albino alligators in North America and although I thought he looked rather sad and bored in his tank he would not survive in the wild because he has no camoflage and would burn badly in the sun.

Sea Grass Baskets

Driving into Charleston we noticed at least a dozen of roadside stalls selling baskets and wall decorations made out of seagrass. There were more in the market in Charleston and some were very ornate with woven swirls and whirls and beautiful wavy handles. Not knowing how to get one home, although tempted, I left them on the market stall!

Doin' the Charleston Tour

Not so much a trolley tour as an air conditioned mini bus with music and TV screen which matched pictures from days gone by with the view you could see from the bus. The architecture is very pretty and varied as the town has been partially destroyed by earthquake, fire and of course Hurricane Hugo through the years. The Charleston dance actually orginated from a boys home whose benefactor believed no child's education was complete without the ability to play a musical instrument. They started a band and developed a different style of music which also demanded a different style of dance and thus the Charleston was born.

Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston

We scored ourselves a jammy deal again here at THE historic hotel in downtown Charleston. Within walking distance of the historic district we were well placed to explore the shops, restaurants, market and the water front.

Guess what this is!

Another one for my YLF, (Youngest Loyal Fan), it involves toilets so look away now if you are of a sensitive deposition! This is the lead lining from Blackbeard's toilet from the main cabin on the Queen Anne's Revenge! It is the only artifact in the musuem that they can say with certainty was touched by Blackbeard. Which part of him you really don't want to imagine even if you are seven!

Blackbeard's Bell

A shipwreck has been found off the coast of Beaufort that is probably the Queen Anne's Revenge, Blackbeard's pirate ship. The local musuem has some recently restored items from the wreck though there is still much more to be discovered. This is the ship's bell, over 300 years old, can you imagine it being rung by those terrifying pirates?

A dismal end

Despite receiving his freedom from the King, Blackbeard returned to his pirating ways and was eventually captured and beheaded at Ocracoke near this spot in 1718. Robert Maynard attached his head to the front of his ship as he sailed inland as a warning to any other pirates hanging around! That would do it for me I think!

Blackbeard the Pirate!

For my youngest "Loyal Fan" in Spalding here is the infamous pirate Blackbeard
whose real name may have been Edward Teach. He marauded along the coastline of North Carolina looting treasure and saleable goods from the unfortunate ships that crossed his path. All over 300 years ago!

A slightly longer North Carolina Cruise!

This is the Ocracoke/Cedar Island ferry which in just over two hours cruising took us to Cedar Island and then via road bridge back to the mainland. It was a wet and windy journey which cost us the grand total of $15. No Cruise Ship facilities or calories again but we took a very British picnic and slept in the car for some of the time! Leaving the ferry we drove through some quite unsual marshland before arriving at Beaufort late afternoon.

British War Graves, Ocracoke

In 1942 a German U Boat sank HMS Bedfordshire which was on loan from Winston Churchill to America to patrol the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Thirty six British sailors were on board and only four bodies were ever washed up at Ocracoke. The local coastguard buried them here and look after the graves which now have Commonwealth grave stones marking them. The original stone crosses erected by Ocracoke residents have been erected to one side of the graves recently, having been in the Preservation Museum for some years. For ten minutes or so we were stood on British soil again.

Lighthouse Tour Part Three

Are you an expert yet on North Carolina Lighthouses? This one lacked the black stripes of the other two and was quite a bit smaller. It's the last one I promise!

Silver Creek Inn and Motel, Ocracoke

When you are staying in the village where Blackbeard rampaged the waters and was eventually beheaded you really should stay somewhere with that sea shanty feel. This was the Silver Creek Inn where we felt like we were in a pirate ship cabin!

Back on a Boat

Not quite a cruise ship but a ferry that took us to Ocracoke Island in about 30 minutes. Remarkable thing was it was free and no Cruise Ship Calories! There was no passenger lounge so we stood in the sunshine watching the water go by and the seagulls hovering above the ferry. This is Mark far too close to the flimsy barrier for my liking pretending to dive in. For those of you who have seen him fall over this was not funny.

Lighthouse Tour Part Two

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in North America at 208 feet tall. It guards the dreaded "Graveyard of the Atlantic" waters where hundreds of ships have met their end. Note the spiral bands in black. This one you could climb but at 12 stories high in temperatures of over 100 I wasn't going to try!

Lighthouse Tour Part One

This is the Bodie Lighthouse which was built in 1872. Note the horizontal bands, (will be important for later enrty!). The tower stands 156 feet tall and has a light which is visable from up to 20 miles away. You cannot climb this one so we just admired it from a distance!

Driving through the Outer Banks

The Outer Banks from north to south are very different in character from each other. In the north Kitty Hawk and Nags Head are large seaside resorts from what we saw spread out along a six lane highway filled with many, many seaside shops. The large wooden clad houses sat high up on the sandbanks looking out on the ocean if you were lucky enough to be on the front row.

A short 30 minute ferry ride took us across to Ocracoke Island about 16 miles long. The village was smaller, quainter and more like an old fashioned English seaside town. Blackbeard was killed here but it is also famous for its ponies! We stayed the night and Mark had seafood at The Flying Melon!

Mel's Diner

A proper American diner that we found on our way back from Duck. Still can't get over how funny that sounds! We filled up on flounder (Mark) and I had spaghetti and meatballs and then made our way back to Elizabeth City for the night. By the time we arrived the temperature had finally dropped below 90 degrees and it felt positively chilly!

The Outer Banks (Part One)

I'm going to give up buying tacky souvenirs and just collect weird place names! Today we have driven through Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills and the best of all Duck!

Edenton Trolley Tour

Edenton is particularly proud of its historic area with houses going back to 1750, most of them still in private ownership. We enjoyed a trolley ride round the area with a very, very detailed talk about the various houses and buildings. Also saw the site, (which is now a parking lot), of the house where Harriet Ann Jacobs, a slave, hid from her "owners" for seven years in a small hidden space in her Grandmother's house. She then made her way to New York disguised as a sailor and once free wrote her memoirs which I'm reading at the moment.

Once we had soaked up the history we headed for the Outer Banks.

Edenton

Historic Edenton was the first capital of colonial North Carolina. The first Europeans to view the site of the present day Edenton were probably members of Sir Walter Raleigh's expeditions in the 1580's. Permenant settlements were established by Englishmen from Virginia in 1650. We seem to get everywhere round here and it's getting a bit embarassing! We walked along the waterfront enjoying the light breeze coming off the Albemarle Sound.

Elizabeth City NC

Not really your usual holiday destination but a convenient stop after a long drive through Virginia into North Carolina. Founded in 1793 it was once a busy seaport with four-masted ships carrying goods to and from the new world. Blackbeard sailed these waters and the Wright brothers stopped here for provisions on their way to the Outer Banks to make the first air flight, which lasted for all of 12 seconds!

The edge of the Dismal Swamp

Completely covered with bug spray we ventured out in the 100 degree heat to walk along the Dismal Swamp boardwalk! The water was really quite pretty covered with bright green weed but the heat and humidity was too much after 10 minutes. We survived just long enough to take the photos. Can't imagine living here back in the 1750's with no air con and heavy Georgian clothing. Maybe that's where it got the name.

The Dismal Swamp

Could you resist visiting such a place if you saw it marked on the map? It wasn't dismal at all rather pretty in fact, though very, very hot and humid.
They even had souvenir tee-shirts, pencils and patches, just about to sew my patch on my rucksack now!

Heading South

We headed south to Elizabeth city in North Carolina in our latest great upgrade from Hertz. Loyal fans will notice it is the same as the big red bus but white, hence to be known as the polar bear! But this one is even better, it has in built GPS.

Spent a lot of time on I95 but then took a road suggested by James which went a little more cross country through peanut fields and Virginian civil war sites. It's hot, ranging from 85 degrees to 100 and the humidity is high as well.