Since it’s early autumn and there were no big SEC football games during the afternoon, the wife and I thought we’d spend some time in the mountains. We recently climbed the Lookout Tower at Frying Pan Mountain in the Pisgah National Forest. Black Balsam Knob Mountain is about ten miles farther south on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Skinny Dip Falls is a popular area about three miles down the valley from the mountain top.
Some days are ordinary. Other days are extraordinary. Yesterday was what I refer to as a bookmark day.
The wife and I traveled to Albany, GA last weekend for a friend’s wedding. We got to town early enough to walk through the park and trails on the riverfront and even attended a Lumberjack Show downtown. Downtown Albany seems to have a pretty good revitalization plan in effect, but they’re a long way from seeing it realized.
As I’ve mentioned before, I love driving. Most people think of driving or riding in a car as a means to an end. I think of it as an end in itself. I’m so enthralled by all the Americana out there that I always take the long way home (of course, “always” means “whenever the wife lets me”).
I traveled to Tuscaloosa, AL yesterday to take part in a funeral and reception for my Uncle Gabe, whose official and honorary pallbearers included some of the more distinguished names in Crimson Tide lore. A smallish tornado had ripped through Birmingham earlier in the morning leaving most of the towns between Moody and Bessemer without power. I caught some intermittent rain from the darkened skies, but otherwise it was a fairly typical drive. By the time the funeral started at 3:00 pm, the winds had really picked up. My uncle requested that we have a party afterwards in order to honor the way he lived, so a reception followed at his home on the waterfront just across the Black Warrior River from the hospital.
We just happened to drive by the Talladega Superspeedway yesterday about 15 minutes before the green flag fell. The tent city that surrounds the track was so big it took us about a minute to pass it all while traveling at 60 miles an hour. The wife recorded it as we passed by.
Bob Dylan was playing the arena at UNC Charlotte on Thursday night. As you know, I’m a bit of a fan. I bribed the wife into going up there with me by promising to take her sightseeing through the mountains all day on Friday. The show was great. Dylan varied the set list between his old and new material and layered a blues beat into most of the songs. We’d planned to visit several wineries the next day, but after a hefty electrical repair bill earlier in the week, we decided against it. Instead, we took back roads through the Carolinas, taking in as much Americana as we possibly could. Some of the pictures are posted below.
Last weekend, the wife and I spent a day in the mountains. Unlike most people, we both love driving in the car, especially when we have an audiobook to pass the time. We’re like the people who, at the advent of the automobile, marveled at the access and convenience it afforded. Back then, road trips were more about the journey than the destination. On a recent trip from Florida to South Carolina, we traveled almost exclusively on small highways. It took an extra few hours, but we got to see all sorts of Americana. On this trip, we drove to Silva, NC and worked our way back on scenic parkways and byways.
This weekend, the wife and I decided to take a day trip to Walhalla and nearby Stumphouse Mountain Park, which includes Stumphouse Tunnel and Issaqueena Falls. Walhalla is a small town about 20 minutes south of Clemson on Highway 11, and the park is on the other side of the highway from Sumter National Forest.
The wife and I drove up to DC recently to explore our old haunts and visit some friends. Some things looked different and some things looked the same, but the biggest change was in the Navy Yard area where the new Washington Nationals stadium was built:
We moved away from DC just before the stadium was built and were amazed by the development in the surrounding area. Although still in the early stages of gentrification, the neighborhood is much nicer and more developed than it was when I lived there.
