Day 8

Day 8-Wednesday, April 28

 

Our first morning in Florida, waking up to the sound of surf and viewing shrimp boats in the distance is truly serene.

The view from our bedroom.

 

A leisurely morning was followed by a noontime drive to Mexico Beach which was is slowly recovering from  Hurricane Michael in October of 2018.  There are still many empty lots along the beach with nothing but a foundation remaining to remind you that someone’s dream home is no longer.  

 

We had a lunch at a food truck called Killer Seafood.  The original restaurant was a destroyed by Hurricane Michael.  Wendy and Carl have been there a lot so they knew exactly what they wanted, whereas Joni and I had a tough time choosing from among all the fabulous fried or grilled items:  shrimp, grouper, crabs, tuna, & calamari.  Three of us settled on tuna tacos, Carl opted for grouper.  All of us were very satisfied.

After lunch we headed back toward our beach house, stopping along the way near the Port St. Joe harbor where two Staten Island Ferries were being built.  Our next stop was a nature walk through the woods on St. Joseph peninsula.  This newly constructed board walk included many plaques detailing the flora and fauna.

 

We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the beach in front of our rental.  I took my first swim in the Gulf of Mexico.  The water was very comfortable, warmer than the Atlantic on the Cape in August.  I tried to do some snorkeling, but he visibility was terrible, six inches at best, due to the continually breaking waves.  

 

A ghost crab kept my attention for quite a while as he ventured out of his hole.  I placed a few Cheetos nearby, to lure him further, but the local gulls were also attracted to these orange treats and the crab retreated into his hole for the rest of the afternoon.

 

We took a break from our seafood diet for dinner, having pizza in Port St. Joe.  It was delicious. 

Day 7

 Day 7-Tuesday, April 27

This was a travel day, 400+ miles, but we both agreed that this campground is so nice that we could easily spend several days here and never leave.  

 

Knowing we had a long drive to Florida, we skipped breakfast and were on the road by 8:00 AM.  We had to drive for about an hour before we could find a Starbucks.  Yes, we’re coffee snobs, and we probably should have stopped at the Biscuit Box in Chatsworth, Ga., and had a true Southern breakfast.  Thinking back on it, I wish we had.

 

We stopped for lunch in Eufala, Alabama, a beautiful town on the Chattahoochee River.  

 

“Roll Tide!”  

 

Eufaula's location on the Chattahoochee made it a major shipping center for cotton bound for the Port of Apalachicola and, from there, to major world markets such as Liverpool and New York City.  Consequently a lot of money was made in Eufala and those wealthy cotton merchants built beautiful homes.

 

Lunch was at Phil’s Barbecue, which specializes in chopped pork.  The meal and the atmosphere couldn’t be better; typical of a Southern road house.  I loved it and it made up for skipping the Biscuit Box.

 From Eufala we had another another 180 miles to cover before arriving at my sister and brother-in-law’s rental on Cape San Blas on the Florida panhandle.  It was an easy drive, no traffic, and the thermometer kept us entertained as it gradually rose to 86°F.  

We arrived  around 4:30 PM, with 2125 more miles on our van than when we left Cape Cod seven days ago.

 

It was great to see Wendy, Carl, and their dog Jake.  We’ve been looking forward to this trip for two years, we were planning to come here last spring, but COVID….

 

For dinner we headed to Up the Creek in nearby Apalachicola.  Outdoor dining overlooking shrimp boats on the Scipio Creek.  Oysters, bay (tequila) sunrises, and fried shrimp.  

 This will be our home or the next seven days, living right on the beach is tough to beat.  From our bed I watched the super moon rising on the Gulf of Mexico and fell asleep to the sound of waves breaking on the shore.  

 Life is good.

Day 6

Day 6-Monday, April 26

 

On the road by 5:30 AM, taking the advice of the ranger, and heading to Clingman’s Dome to watch the sunrise.  It took us about 45 minutes to get there, continually climbing over very windy roads and through tunnels to the 6284 ft.  parking lot.  When we arrived we were shocked by how many people were already there, with their huge telephoto lenses and tri-pods.  We’re all hoping to capture that perfect picture.  

 

The full moon was setting in the west so we enjoyed a bonus sight, and the weather could not have been better;  31°F,  almost no breeze  and no clouds created ideal conditions that I’m sure are rare.

The views of the sunrise were incredible, and worth all the driving that we’ve done.  Once the sun was up, we made breakfast and ate in the van as we continued to enjoy the view.

Energized by the sunrise, we then took the steep ½ mile path up to the observation tower on the top of Clingman’s Dome where we were further spellbound by the 360° views.  WOW!

 

The Appalachian Trial traverses the national park from east to west and crosses the summit of Clingman’s Dome so we saw some presumed  “through hikers” who were also enjoying the spectacular views.

 

Leaving the Dome, we exited the park via the southern entrance in Cherokee, North Carolina.  From there we followed mostly two lane roads which paralleled the Ocoee River which is a rafting paradise. 

One of the many tumble down farms, many of which will have Trump signs.

Our route to our next campground took us through Chattanooga where we stopped for lunch, fried chicken on a biscuit with maple syrup.  Very yummy,  and then we continued to Fort Mountain State Park in Georgia.  We’ve stayed here before, and we both felt this is the cleanest and prettiest campground east of the Mississippi. 

DAY 5

Day 5-Sunday, April 25

 

We slept in this morning, 7:30 AM, and had breakfast at our campsite.  It rained all night, so in anticipation of a cloudy morning, we passed on the ranger’s advice and  did not attempt to catch sunrise from Clingman’s Dome, which is the highest point in the park, and at 6634 ft., one of the highest peaks east of Colorado.  

 Since it is Sunday, the day of rest, we planned only a short drive today, a 150 mile roundtrip to Oak Ridge, one of the two key cities in the Manhattan project, along with Los Alamos, New Mexico.  

On the way to Oak Ridge we drove through Dolly Parton's home town, continued on and then stopped for lunch at a family restaurant, Corner 16, that specialized in heart attacks, aka, tater tots!

Oak Ridge was a small town of three thousand residents in 1943, but in six months grew to 75,000 scientists and support staff in order to develop the uranium for the atom bomb that was dropped in Hiroshima.  Although Oak Ridge is still a thriving scientific community it does not have the same feel as Los Alamos. 

 

There are a number of historic sites that have been preserved, but due to the pandemic restrictions, almost all were closed, so most of our site seeing was in the drive by mode.  

 

The main museum for the Manhattan Project Historical Park is located in an elementary school that was built for project’s children.  The only exhibits we could see were three different interviews with some of the workers, all of whom had no idea what they were working on other than being told it was important for the war effort .

 

We were able to walk through the Peace Park which was a joint creation by both the U.S. and the Japanese governments.  In the center of the park was a huge Japanese bell which commemorated the attacks on Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the armistice that was signed in September of 1945.  

We took a much more scenic route back to the National Park, avoiding Gatlinburg, and Sevierville, where Dollywood is located, and arrived at our campsite around 3:30 PM.  

 

The Little River

Dinner was simple, cut ziti with Joni’s homemade meatballs. 

Day 4

 Saturday-April 24

Up early, coffee and cereal at our campsite, and on the road by 8:15 AM.  Last night was much warmer than the previous one; I think we’re done with the cold camping.  I must admit my hands were cold, however, as I made coffee on our picnic table.  Gloves were definitely a necessity.

 

Our final destination for today was the Elkmont Campground in the Great Smoky National Park.  Our route today took us through Mount Airy, North Carolina, the home of Andy Griffith and his inspiration for Mayberry.  We’d been there before and it’s hardly worth even a detour of five miles.

Leaving Mayberry as quickly as we could, we continued through a heavy rain and stopped in Asheville for lunch at the very funky Sunny PointCafé.  Another repeat visit and well worth the 30 minute wait in the rain for a table.  Two mimosas made the wait very tolerable, and our waffle and fried chicken thighs sandwich garnished with pimento cheese, bacon, and barbecue sauce rewarded our patience.  

It was still raining when we finished lunch so we visited the Grove Arcade, Joni purchased some stocking stuffers (yes she starts here Christmas shopping early), and I took advantage of the free WiFi and posted Day 4 of my blog, and visited the shop where I purchased a mountain dulcimer several years ago.  This time I restrained myself and bought only 5 picks.

The ride to the national park was a hilly one with the trucks passing us on the downhill slope and we passed them on the uphill.  Once off I-40, the roads got narrower and more windy, and we really got a sense of Appalachain poverty, almost to the point of feeling guilty that we were vacationing there.

To get to our campground we had to drive through  Gatlinburg.  If you’ve never visited this town I recommend you put it on your bucket list, especially if you seek crowded cities filled with tacky souvenir shops where thousands of people walk shoulder to shoulder with only maybe one person in 100 wearing a protective mask.   Any video you saw of South Beach during this year’s spring break pales in comparison.

 

We arrived at our beautiful national park campground around 6:15 PM with 310 additional miles on our vehicle.  The serenity of our campsite quickly washed away the hee-bee gee-bee’s of Gatlinburg.

 

We dined at the campsite on Irish cheddar cheese, fresh bread, and rosé wine.  Delicious, but hardly worth a photo.