The campground at Myrtle Beach State Park is a great campground with a six minute walk to the beach.

We cannot says as much for Myrtle Beach, the city. It is huge, has its own international airport, and miles and miles of hotels, entertainment, and restaurants. It is like Las Vegas with less neon.

Drove down to Charleston. After setting up camp at a KOA campground — not our cup of tea, but the best available near Charleston— we took a two hour guided van tour of Charleston. Excellent tour guide.

Charleston(started as Charles Town after King Charles II) was established in 1670. Since then it has burned and been rebuilt five times. Most of the town is built on reclaimed swamp land. 

Charleston was originally the center of the slave trade and rice plantations. The Citadel is a public military college established in 1842 in Charleston with about 2300 cadets. Although about 30% of the graduates earn a commission into the US Armed Forces, it is not connected to any of the branches.

Gullah is the language and culture developed by the enslaved population around Charleston in the 1700s. KumBi Yah is a Gullah spiritual.

Thanks to an active preservation organization, much of the Charleston architecture has been saved and enhanced. I took way too many pictures.

Charleston seems to have an upbeat vibe. There was a concert in the park, people in costumes heading to Halloween festivities, and lots of people dressed up for dinner or the several weddings we saw.

We woke to beautiful warm weather. After a walk around the campground, we headed to the town of Carolina Beach.

Carolina Beach is a quintessential southeast beach town with houses in every pastel hue and a big, long, wide beach. Steve jumped into the ocean to swim— the first time in the Atlantic Ocean.

After our time on the beach, we went to this really nice little fish restaurant, The Sandspur. Great food, great vibe.

We really liked Carolina Beach and could see spending a laid back week here sometime.

Left Lake Norman State Park in North Carolina. It was a very nice campground. Would’ve liked to stay longer to explore the beautiful lake surrounded by very nice houses dotting the shore.

We spent the rest of the day driving to Carolina Beach State Park on the stretch of land below Wilmington, North Carolina.

Since there is not a lot to report on or any more pictures, I wanted to share some of the unique regional foods.

Boise, Idaho—finger steaks; like chicken tenders only beef

Minnesota—sugar waffle; a fluffy, hand held waffle dusted with sugar.

Wisconsin—their butter is the best I have ever had. Version bacon which is less greasy than pork bacon.

Ontario, Canada— maple balsamic cheese curds with gravy and fries. Defies description but delicious.

Adirondacks—hot apple cider with just the right amount of spice.

Vermont—1. Warm brussel sprout salad. 2. Apple cider doughnuts. 3. Blueberry lemon biscuits

Maine—1. Steamers—local clams; I like clams but did not care for these. 2. Local oysters were big and delicious. 3. Lobster roll which is a hoagie roll filled with lobster salad; we did not care for it. 4. Potato doughnuts. 5. Haddock—we really like this tasty white fish; better than cod. Steve had the best fish and chips he had ever had made with haddock.

Cherokee NC—trout medallions

Needless to say with all this eating, Steve will need to hit the pool and I will need to get to the gym when we return to Lafayette.

We spent the morning exploring more of the Great Smoky Mountain Natl Park on our way out to North Carolina. We took a short half mile hike up to the top of Clingman’s Dome at 6,653 feet above sea level—the highest mountain in the Smokies. Because it straddles the boundary line between two states, it is the highest peak in Tennessee and North Carolina. It is also the highest point of the Appalachia Trail.

On the east side of GSMNP is the town of Cherokee, North Carolina. It is the center of the Cherokee Nation Reservation. It appears to be a big tourist site much like Gatlinburg, but smaller and with a different feel. We had a great lunch at a local Cherokee owned café and then a stop at The Museum of the Cherokee People. A nice museum with lots of information on the history of the Cherokee nation. 

Tonight we are at Lake Norman State Park in North Carolina. Weather is warmer; it was cold in the Great Smokies.

Yesterday we found out one of the reasons the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is popular, besides its extreme beauty and miles of roads and hiking trail trails. Gatlinburg is at the entrance of the park. Gatlinburg is a South Lake Tahoe on steroids or a smaller version of Las Vegas. Lots of big hotels, restaurants, stores, Ripley’s believe it or not museums, a tram to the mountain top,and hundreds of people.

We are in Cade’s Cove campground, which is very nice. A “cove” is a flat space between mountains or ridges. Cade’s Cove was home to about 125 families in the mid 1800s and there are houses, churches, and farms from that period. We, plus many other cars, drove the Cade’s Cove loop today to see the historic sites. Much of it was slow bumper-to-bumper going. We felt like we were on Disney’s Jungle Cruise ride, but the slow pace allowed us to enjoy and appreciate the park’s beauty. 

Mr. “I have to drive remote, obscure roads” Reilly had us on a bumpy dirt road through the forest. No traffic 😂 and the fall colors were spectacular.

The weather has been a combination of bright, clear, skies, some rain, and very cold mornings. We have been surprised by the number of people in the campgrounds in mid October with many in tents. The national park campgrounds are usually totally full with the state and county campgrounds fairly full. Lots of retirees, but also some families and younger couples. In a few campgrounds, we did have last minute reservations but other times we just showed up and we were able to get a campsite first come first serve.

Yesterday we drove south through Shenandoah NP and southern Virginia to Warriors Path campground in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Had a great lunch at 7 Dogs Brew Pub in Wytheville, VA—good food, delightful waitperson, and fun atmosphere.

Steve was ready to move into the campground in Kingsport TN—pretty spot, lake, golf course, hiking and mountain biking trails, tennis and basketball courts. All for $36 a night.

We are currently traveling through Tennessee to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Apparently it is the most visited national park in the USA.

Highways to Great Smoky Mountains

Not sure if we will have service while in the Great Smokys.

It is so beautiful and peaceful here. We decided to spend 3 nights here; the last 2 nights on Loft Mountain.

This morning we hiked about 3 miles of the 2,200 mile Appalachian Trail which stretches from Maine to Georgia. It is the world’s longest hiking-only trail.

Here are photos from our hike:

This evening and last night watched the sun set over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Yesterday we were looking for a grocery store on our way to Connie‘s. We just guessed on the freeway exit and ended up in the part of Lakewood where there is a large Hasidic Jewish community. So many of the families were walking around in their finest traditional clothes. Not only was it charming and fascinating, but another reminder of the diversity of our country.

We left Connie‘s headed to George Washington‘s Mount Vernon site. I was indifferent about stopping at the site because although George Washington was a great military leader, our first president, an inventor and farmer, he owned slaves. We did stop and it was beautiful to walkaround. There were renovations going on so we did not see much of the interiors. The views of the Potomac River were beautiful. We did learn that George Washington released all his slaves upon his death. He also owned 1200 books! His business enterprises were extensive—8,000 acre farm, distillery, and a fishery.

To get to Mount Vernon we drove through Delaware and around the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and through to Virginia. We left Mount Vernon headed to Shenandoah National Park. Drove through Alexandria with all its beautiful brick homes. Lots of brick buildings on the East Coast—less concern about earthquakes.

The drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Shenandoah National Park is stunning with views of the valleys 2000 to 3000 feet below along with the fall foliage.

We woke up to cold weather(mid 30s) in Shenandoah and decided to walk to the lodge near the campground for a hot breakfast and to use the Wi-Fi.

We did drive down the Hudson River Valley. It rained the whole day, but it was a pleasant drive through the land of Rip Van Winkle, the Headless Horseman, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

We stopped in Hyde Park. The buildings at the Franklin Roosevelt historical site were closed due to the federal shut down but the grounds were open. Steve and Jasper wandered around; too cold for me.

Drove through Poughkeepsie, home of Vassar College. Had the best chili burgers there.

We camped at Turkey Swamp Campground. Actually a very nice place even if the name doesn’t sound inviting.

We spent a delightful evening at our cousin, Connie Reilly’s home. Her daughter Maureen joined us for dinner. So much fun!

Every evening or morning we spend at least an hour mapping our route for the next day and identifying our next campground. We have only made reservations at the popular National Parks. The rest of the time, we just show up and have been able to get good campsites.

New Jersey has very expensive toll roads, U-turn and left turn lanes on the right side of the freeways that loop around, and signs that say “drive friendly— it could save lives”. Steve would rather pay higher gasoline prices and drive on “free”ways than the toll roads. He found it a “real pain in the butt”.

As we drove through all the small villages in most of the states, many house porches are decorated with lots and lots of pumpkins. Nurseries have hundreds of pumpkins to sell.

Maryland is so green. We drove along part of the Chesapeake Bay with its coves and inlets.

We spent the last three days with Kim, Mike, and Charlotte Reilly in Cohasset, Massachusetts. What a super charming town with friendly people. It was so rejuvenating to spend time with Kim and Mike in their gorgeous home. We toured around and ate incredible food. Here are a few pictures from the last few days

Our next destination is Connie Reilly’s in New Jersey. Instead of going south along the coast and through New York City, we have headed west across Massachusetts. We stopped at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. What an artist!

Tomorrow we are heading to the Hudson River Valley to go south towards New Jersey.