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Jamestown Settlement

July 30, 2009
The gate at James Fort in Jamestown Settlement. June 20, 2007.

The gate at James Fort in Jamestown Settlement. June 20, 2007.

We’ve had rain off and on for the past couple of days, so I’ve been able to get more work done on some of my back-logged photos.  If we had enough rain for me to completely catch up, I think we would all need arks.

The picture above is the entrance to James Fort at Jamestown Settlement in Virginia.  Betsy and I went there in 2007 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the settling of Jamestown.  Jamestown Settlement is a living-history museum on the road leading to the National Park, so we stopped there first.

Jamestown Settlement includes a film about the first two decades of the Jamestown colony and several galleries of artifacts from both English settlers and Powhatan Indians.  The Settlement also includes a re-created Powhatan Indian Village, replicas of the three ships which brought the English settlers to Virginia, and a full-scale replica of the fort built by the settlers.

You can see more of our pictures from Jamestown Settlement HERE.

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Yorktown Victory Center

July 25, 2009
Yorktown Victory Center, Yorktown, Virginia. June 19, 2009.

Yorktown Victory Center, Yorktown, Virginia. June 19, 2007.

I’ve had a chance to work on photos over the past several days and came across pictures that were taken when Betsy and I visited Virginia in 2007.  We went to celebrate our anniversary and to visit Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown.

The first place we visited when we got to the Colonial National Historical Park was the Yorktown Victory Center.  The Victory Center is a living-history museum that helps bring the American Revolution to life.   In addition to a film about the Siege of Yorktown, there are re-enactors in a Continental Army encampment who help bring that period to life.

We enjoyed our time at the Victory Center and found it to be very interesting.  Afterwards we saw a little of the riverfront in the town of Yorktown.  It was a very nice beginning of our historical vacation.

If you would like to see more pictures from the Yorktown Victory Center, click HERE.

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How the Other Half Lives

July 18, 2009
The runway at Mountain Air, North Carolina. July 11, 2009.

The runway at Mountain Air, North Carolina. July 11, 2009.

When Betsy and I visited with my son last weekend, we stayed at a condo in Mountain Air, North Carolina, owned by the parents of my son’s girlfriend.  Mountain Air gets in name in part from the private air strip shown in the picture above.  The air strip is on top of the mountain and runs through the golf course.  Do you want to spend a weekend in the mountains?  Hop on your plane and fly in.  If you enlarge the picture your can see a few planes parked to the right of the runway near the ridge line.

The Mountain Air golf course.

The Mountain Air golf course. July 11, 2009.

Crossville calls itself the Golf Capital of Tennessee, and the Glade, where we live, has five golf courses.  But none of our courses have holes quite as dramatic as the course at Mountain Air.  Can you spot the two golfers on the tee to the left of center in this photo.  That’s the runway in the lower right-hand corner.

A home in Mountain Air, North Carolina. July 11, 2009.

A home in Mountain Air, North Carolina. July 11, 2009.

I will admit that the architecture of the homes we saw did a marvelous job of blending with the environment.  But some of the houses were huge.  I think several of the houses on our street would fit inside this one house.

But Mountain Air is a beautiful part of the country, and we were very happy to be able to visit there.

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Tallulah Gorge

June 27, 2009
The southern end of Tallulah Gorge. Oceana Falls is in the foreground.

The southern end of Tallulah Gorge. Oceana Falls is in the foreground.

Yesterday I talked about my adventure (or misadventure) on the steps leading to the Hurricane Falls Observation Deck in Tallulah Gorge State Park.  Today I would like to share a little about the gorge itself.

Tallulah Gorge is one of the most spectacular canyons in the eastern U. S.  It is approximately two miles long and nearly 1,000 feet deep.  As I mentioned yesterday the gorge contains six waterfalls which are collectively known as Tallulah Falls.  Until 1913 the Tallulah River ran freely through the gorge and the falls were considered the “Niagara of the South”.  In 1913 a dam was completed just above the gorge, diverting most of the water for power generation.

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The Tallulah Gorge Dam. June 23, 2009.

Tallulah Gorge was designated a state park in 1992 and is operated by a public-private partnership with Georgia Power Company, the owners of the dam.  This arrangement allows for aesthetic releases of water several times a year, which approximate what the river looked like before the dam was built.  There are also whitewater releases which allow kayakers to shoot the falls.

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An Anniversary Feast

June 25, 2009
Betsy at The Dillard House. June 23, 2009.

Betsy at The Dillard House. June 23, 2009.

Betsy and I got back home from northern Georgia late yesterday afternoon.  We had good but warm weather, did some hiking, and saw some neat waterfalls.  We also had a fabulous anniversary dinner on Tuesday evening.

I mentioned that we were going to have dinner at the Dillard House in Dillard, Georgia.  The Dillard House serves their meals family style — they bring the food to your table and you help yourself to what you would like.  Betsy and I were able to get a table for two by the window.  The table was very nice and we thought it was very roomy — until our server brought the food.  As you can see from the picture above, the table suddenly became quite crowded.  And dessert had yet to come!

Everything was very good and we enjoyed our meal a great deal.  It was made even better by the ‘doggie boxes’ that we were able to bring home.  The meal was also made memorable by the strawberry cobbler we had for dessert.

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I took this picture of the menu board as a reminder of all the dishes that we had as we celebrated our eighth anniversary.  If you are ever hungry in northeastern Georgia you might consider giving the Dillard House a try.  I don’t think you’ll leave hungry!

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An Anniversary Trip

June 22, 2009
Minihaha Falls, Rabun County, Georgia

Minihaha Falls, Rabun County, Georgia

Betsy and I  are going to be traveling again.  Our eighth wedding anniversary is Tuesday and we’re going to northern Georgia to search for waterfalls.  I don’t know if we’ll get back to Minihaha Falls (pictured above), but we will be in that general area.

It’s been so hot and miserable here over the past few days that we’ve planned a trip that won’t involve hiking long distances.  Most of the hikes we’ll be taking are only a mile or so.

We’ll be celebrating Tuesday evening by having dinner at the Dillard House.  We’ve eaten there a time or two and it really is an experience.  It’s a family-style restaurant  that specializes in Southern cooking with lots of food.  Needless to say, we’ll hike before eating not afterward.

We plan on being back home Wednesday evening.  Until then have a great week.

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Mountain Laurel

June 11, 2009
Mountain Laurel near Otto, North Carolina. May 29, 2009.

Mountain Laurel near Otto, North Carolina. May 29, 2009.

When we visited our friends Judy and Charlie at their cabin in the western North Carolina mountains, we were treated to a magnificent display of mountain laurel in bloom.  One afternoon we walked up the road  past their cabin and were treated to the view you see in the picture above.  The blossoms  were mostly white and pink,  but there were subtle differences between the different flowers.

Unfortunately no picture can do justice to such a marvelous scene.  But in spite of this I still can’t resist the temptation to post a close up of these beautiful blossoms.

Mountain Laurel blossoms. May 29, 2009.

Mountain Laurel blossoms. May 29, 2009.

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Fontana Lake

June 8, 2009
Fontana Lake, North Carolina. May 30, 2009.

Fontana Lake, North Carolina. May 30, 2009.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a wonderful place to visit.  Most people visit the Tennessee side of the park since that’s where the towns of Gatlinburg and Sevierville are located.

The North Carolina side of the park is more remote and doesn’t have as many visitors, but it also has many gems.  Last month Betsy and I drove through the park from North Carolina to Tennessee, stopping at just about every overlook we passed.

The picture above was taken at one of those overlooks.  The lake is Fontana Lake, which is one of the deepest lakes in the region.  In some places it is over 400 feet deep.  The lake is roughly 30 miles long and is at an elevation of about 1700 feet.  Nestled in the mountains, Fontana Lake offers boating, fishing, hiking, and camping.  It may be remote, but it is well worth a visit for anyone who enjoys the great outdoors.

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Changes in Little River

May 14, 2009
The Little River, South Carolina, waterfront, May 7, 2009.

The Little River, South Carolina, waterfront, May 7, 2009.

I lived in Little River, South Carolina, from November, 1997 until  November, 2000. Most of the time while I lived there Little River could best (charitably) be described as a quiet fishing village.  There were fishing boats moored along the waterfront, along with a very few pleasure craft.  The buildings along the waterfront contained a couple of restaurants (definitely blue collar) and seafood markets that sold the catches brought in by the boats.

The picture above was taken last week while we were on vacation.  The two boats in the foreground are charter fishing boats which will take fishermen out to sea for a day or half-day of fishing.  But what is that large boat in the background?

A casino boat docked at Little River. May 7, 2007.

A casino boat docked at Little River. May 7, 2007.

Casino boats came to Little River  in 1999.  At first there was only one, but now there are two.  While this second picture isn’t from a very good angle, it does give some indication of the size of one of the casino boats.  This particular boat holds up to 600 passengers and makes two cruises daily.

So what changes have been brought to Little River?  There are definitely more people around than there used to be.  Many of the seafood markets have been replaced by bars or parking lots.  Little River now has a traffic problem.  Does that qualify as progress?

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We’re Off to Texas

April 16, 2009
Texas Welcome Center. April 17, 2008.

Texas Welcome Center. April 17, 2008.

Betsy and I are leaving a little later this morning for Texas.  We’re going down to see our (Betsy’s) two granddaughters play softball.  They are both excellent athletes and have been playing softball for several years.

We were in Texas last year, but neither girl had a game while we were there.  They both have games scheduled for the coming weekend so we’re hoping the weather will cooperate so we can see them play.

We’ll hopefully be back next Wednesday.  I don’t think we’ll find any waterfalls on this trip, but if we get on some back roads you never can tell.

I hope all of you have a great week.  We’ll catch up with you when we get back.

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