... due to a good tail-wind, I visited South and North Carolina. More South than North. Left home much too early in Friday morning, hoping to get on the far side of Atlanta before traffic got snarled, at the peak of chaos in the rush to work/school.
I try to get up to SC about once a month to visit/spend the day with my pen pal. The letter-writing, pen and paper part of our relationship pretty much one-sided, as he claims his handwriting has gotten so shaky he does not correspond any more than necessary. We had a nice day, ate tomato sandwiches for lunch. I walked in the door with my road map, asking him about the best way to get from Greenville to Brevard. So he took me on a tour, showing me the best route, working our way across town, around by Bob Jones U., because you know we all navigate by landmarks before searching for street signs and highway numbers.
I spent the night in Simpsonville, just south of Greenville with my cousin. We had a good visit, but fell into bed pretty early due to plans for early-rising on Saturday morning. I only had to make two U-turns to get out of town and on my way north on Saturday... a pretty good average in my opinion.
He said it would take me about 90 minutes to get to Brevard, and I allowed another half hour, to get waylaid, traverse winding mountain roads, detour for sightseeing. A pretty drive up through the Blue Ridge Mountains on twisting two lane highways. I passed a place where there were several cars pulled off, parked in a graveled area. Slowing, and looking out to the right, I could see a wide, treeless area, fairly smooth, rocky overlook, that I guess would be called a 'bald'. Possibly rock-climbers, or just sightseers who came with blankets and coffee for early morning view. I should have allotted much more time for stopping to gawk.
Passed a sign that said 'Asbury Retreat', and had to make a U-turn (#3) for that. Could not get into the Retreat area due to a locked gate. So I turned around and took the other arm of the 'Y' in the road. A pretty little isolated community of cottages, reminding me of Montreat houses, places that have been sitting there so long in the woods and weeds they look like they have 'taken root'. Under low-hanging trees, surrounded by undergrowth and ferns, with moss growing on the roofing, almost an 'enchanted' air about them.Wide screened-in porches to catch cool breezes, for kids to play board games, adults to sit late at night conversing sugar-sweetened iced tea from a glass dripping condensation, in an era long before television, electronics, internet. Twisting narrow, gravelled roads, with houses up on the hillside, back ends dug into the mountain, or hanging over on pilings at precarious angles. At the lowest point of this grouping was a small clear lake, obviously much frequented by summer residents,when they would 'resort' to the mountains.
Got over the mountains, and upon crossing from South to North Carolina, I discover I just passed over the Eastern Continental Divide. And into Transylvania County. I'd planned to meet my friend from north North Carolina at 9:00 and visit a bit, maybe find a coffee shop. We did all that, plus a craft show in the Masonic Lodge, and farmer's market in the parking lot. Roamed the streets, ate at Mayberry Sandwich Shop.
I was hoping to be back in Decatur by 2:00, not allowing for late-leaving in NC, or twisting roads coming down out of mountains with top speed of 25 mph. So it was right at 4:00 before I got to Atlanta. But safe and sound nonetheless.
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