Sunday 30 October

Another busy day today, we did:

National Museum of Air and Space (Wright Flyer),

Lunch from the numerous food trucks parked on the Mall,

Coffee in the National Sculpture Garden (watched by a friendly, cheeky albino squirrel),

National Museum of Natural History,

Ford's Theatre (museum, theatre and talk by a NPS ranger, and Peterson House across the street where they took Lincoln after he was shot in 1865),

Another hour in the National Museum of Natural History.

Back to Alexandria on the Metro and dinner before returning to hotel. Really looked forward to putting my feet up tonight.

Saturday 29 October

We left early this morning as we had a 4-1/2 hour drive to Washington D.C. We had a few stops along the way, the traffic built up the nearer we got to Alexandria, Va. where we were staying. We arrived just after one and left the car at the hotel and took the metro into the city. It was a short, easy journey and a nice sunny afternoon so we spent it strolling around, sometimes taking the DC Circulator bus. We saw the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the conservatory at the Botanical Gardens, the U.S. Capitol building and Union Station. We got the metro back to Alexandria and then took the free trolley that runs along King St. We found an Irish Pub and had a fish and chip dinner before heading back to the hotel, we were ready to put our feet up!

Friday 28 October

Today was a busy day, we were on the road at 7:30 (10 minutes after sunrise). We wanted to drive south 56 miles to Cape Hatteras lighthouse (the tallest in the U.S.), then work our way back through the day. 

Some parts of The Banks are quite isolated, with sand dunes and scrub land the only thing between the road and the water (one both sides). Other areas are so commercial, with houses, condos, hotels and businesses filling every space. Rarely do you see the ocean, unless you stop and walk over the dunes to reach the beach, even most of the homes have a sand dune between them and the ocean. Apparently these are placed so as to protect the homes and to keep the sea back. The sand blows across the road like our snow does.

After that we stopped at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge for a walk. Quite a lot of birds here but it was tough to get close to them.

Next up was Bodie Island lighthouse where they had a nice boardwalk through a marsh area, and a viewing platform in the water.

Our next stop was at the Wright Brothers National Memorial where there is a visitor centre (due to be closed and rebuilt shortly), replicas of a 1903 hangar and quarters/workshop, a bronze and steel sculpture recreating the historic flight, and monument.

Our final stop was at the Jockey's Ridge State Park which is the tallest natural sand dune system in the U.S.

Thursday 27 October

This morning we visited the Tryon Palace, which was only a few minutes drive from our hotel. The original palace was built in 1770 and was NC's first state Capitol, it was the home of Governor Tryon. The Capitol was moved to Raleigh in 1794 and the palace burnt down in 1798 - wonder if it was an insurance job?

In the 1930's it was decided that the palace would be reconstructed, after the original plans were found. There was a highway on top of the original site but once excavated they found the old foundations and it has been rebuilt on them. Building took place between 1952-9; furniture, household items and books were all purchased in England over many years. There are two other homes close by, all had guided tours, also a museum, and all for a one ticket price. 

We left about 2:15 but easily could have spent the rest of the day there. We needed to hit the road again and get to the Outer Banks for our two night stay at Kitty Hawk, by the ocean. We passed a couple of surprises on our drive, one was loads of fields of cotton, the other fields of solar panels.

We finally got a seafood dinner tonight - North Carolina Flounder. Very good.

Wednesday 26 October

We set off about 8 this morning and headed for Charleston and over the bridge to Mount Pleasant. The traffic wasn't bad so Ian was happy. Our first stop was at the Charles Pinckney National Historic site, a former rice and indigo plantation. The current house was built over the original in about 1820. 

We continued on and stopped at Wilmington, NC for a break and a walk along the river (Cape Fear area), then continued on to New Bern. Our hotel is located near a marina and next door is an Outback Steakhouse which made dinner an easy choice.

Tuesday 25 October

We got the bus into Charleston this morning and spent the day exploring. We started at the visitor centre, which was a two minute walk from the bus terminus, they showed a 40 minute movie about the city and its history. We then walked to the Aiken-Rhett house which was built about 1820 and the house and it's outbuildings (stables, coach house, kitchen, slave quarters) have been preserved. The house remained in the same family until 1975.

Next we took a trolley ride to Broad St. There are three different routes, they run often, and are free. This is meant to keep cars out of town, seems to do the job. We then visited the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon (1771), where there is a tour and exhibits. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking and looking at the old buildings and streets, it's an interesting place. Trolley and bus back to the hotel, traffic was bad and the crawl took an extra half-hour. We walked to the Early Bird Diner for dinner, mostly southern food. I had fried chicken and collard greens, nothing like KFC! Very tasty.

Monday 24 October

Jon had already left for work by the time I got up this morning. I was just about ready to head downstairs when Cuba (one of the dogs) came to say hi and see if I was getting up!

We ended up hitting the road again after 9, it is mostly straight highway down to Charleston, an easy ride. We visited Drayton Hall Plantation (which is about half an hour before the city) and we pulled into the drive and got out of the car to pay, it was all under trees and we got swarmed by mosquitos, guess it was lunchtime! They were biting so we drenched ourselves with bug spray. Luckily, out in the nice hot sun they didn't bother us. We took a guided tour of the house, we also had another tour that talked about the slave workforce, their lives and where they'd come from. The house hasn't been restored, it has been stabilised - no furniture or other items, an interesting place. It was only another 20 minutes to the hotel.

Sunday 23 October

We had a lazy Sunday today, had Brekkie and took the dogs for a walk.

Went for a drive and another walk in the afternoon. Jon & Michele took us to a riverside walk to show us where they go kayaking on the Catawba River.

We got back around mid afternoon so Jon could fire up the BBQ and cook us some ribs, sausage and beans, southern style. He did a nice job - they were very good. We relaxed in the garden and had a cold beer while we waited for dinner. Another nice day.

Saturday 22 October

We had an easy morning today. We took the dogs for a walk around the neighbourhood in the morning, then we had coffee.

Went out for a drive to Latta Plantation for a house tour and walk around the grounds. It has been sunny all day but cooler - had to wear my hoodie! We headed to Big Ben, an English pub for a late lunch/early dinner. There was a spice shop next door so we popped in and bought some hot chilli powder, which will come in handy next time I make a pot of chilli (a staple of Canadian winter's). We got home and have tuned in to Match of the Day, for Liverpool's earlier game, we know they won so no disappointment to come.

Friday 21 October

Here we are in the Appalachian mountains, and it's raining again. What a lovely spot it would be if the sun was out and the sky was blue. We travelled half an hour and stopped at the New River Gorge visitor centre. We watched a short movie for some info. about the area. Over the years there has been a lot of coal mining, and once the railway was built there was an influx of people from around the world. The new bridge was built in 1977, and at 876 feet it is the third largest in the country. Apparently, it takes 45 seconds to cross, before the bridge it took 45 minutes.

We continued on and early afternoon it got warmer and the sun peeped thru, by the time we arrived in South Carolina, and my brother Jon's place it was sunny and 23. We all had a nice dinner and stayed up chatting until almost midnight.

Thursday 20 October 2016

Well this morning started well . . Ian WOKE ME UP at 6:45 to say don't rush getting up as we had bouncing down rain and we could wait a bit before setting off!  Men!

Set off just before 8, rain had eased off. Stopped at the last Timmy's before the border for a loo and a coffee. Didn't take too long to cross border, only 15 mins. Still raining but almost stopped.

Wasn't long before we got on our first toll road (makes you appreciate Ontario's free highways). 

No sightseeing stops today, but we did visit an outlet mall at Grove City, Pennsylvania. Bought a couple of quick dry tops that will come in handy when we are travelling.

Continued on for three more hours to reach our hotel in Summersville, West Virginia. Passed thru a lightning storm just before we arrived, impressive but didn't last long. We walked to a Mexican place for dinner and a couple of welcome beers. It has been a warm day, up to 25.