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| You may kiss the bride !! |
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| Flashback to May 2011 |
1 Jun: Only two more days before packing and riding - now time to begin the packing process. Cynthia sees an echo on this blog!
31 May: And Cynthia woke up in sunburn pain after a fitful night. Her big plan for the day is an ice cold shower and a pedicure and manicure. Ron is spending the day reviewing genealogy photos, except for walking periodically, and walking with Cynthia to the salon.
30 May: We did indeed hike someplace today! We hiked again from McCormick Gap up past the microwave towers to Beagle Gap and back. Today this hike exhausted poor Cynthia, who sat in the sun too long on tractor seats atop the mountain, talking to first a solitary male through-hiker named Radio, then on the return trip, to a 63-year-old through-hiking couple from Iowa who were entransed by our lifestyle. Much fun, but too much time in the sun for Cynthia. We invite all these through-hikers to join us in Vermont at the Inn at Long Trail for a free dinner.
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| with a nice view |
29 May: OK Folks, Today is the day for a big hike! God willing, no fog, or rain, or sore feet! Ohhh! Did we have fun on our 4.1 mile hike from Beagle Gap, making new friends, Darla and Doug. They already eat as we do and joined us for sweet potato and veggie dinner at the Outback Steak House.
28 May: Hopefully a good nights sleep now, starting yesterday at 10:30. Annnnddd…. One of us is still sleepy on the 28th of May! Ron took the bike to the car wash first, then to Wayne’s Cycle Shop to have the front wheel balanced, an hour long process. Cynthia worked on her talks. Congratulations to Grand Niece Erika, who graduated Summa Cum Laude and was accepted at law school, and to Grand Nephew Kyle, a HS graduate accepted at SIUEdwardsville.
27 May: Forecast is for rain and thunderstorms all day long. We might have to resort to walking the floors of the hotel twenty times. Ron walked in installments including stairs. He called Bob's BMW and discovered no need to go there for service or trade in. Rebuilding or replacing rear shock costs more than $2,000 and takes 3 months. They have no R1250RT bikes to sell. The good news is that Ron was able to get dinner reservations for Daryl's House Club on June 19 to see the act "Music of Cream."
26 May: Today. We woke up, exercised and computered before riding the bike to hike. The fog was so thick in the mountains, a wise Smooch returned to the hotel, turned around immediately at the end of the Interstate exit. Cynthia is enjoying good light, thanks to a new higher wattage bulb and Ron. Our only exercise for the day was a five-block walk to Martin's grocery for frozen mango and pretzels.
25 May: We did it! Yay for us! We hiked McCormicks Gap to Beagle Gap and back, 5.3 miles! Did I mention we are tired and starved? We returned to the bike around 2:30 in the afternoon feeling and seeing more moisture in the air. We did meet and talk to several through hikers. I guess the bubble must be approaching. Ron is still organizing and incorporating the photos he took in North Carolina.
24 May: Everything looks very wet out the window, but the puddles are quiet. Maybe Ron should go out to wash the motorcycle. Hey, the forecast & color radar is radically changed, and we can go hiking today. Question is: How wet and muddy are the trails? Answer is that the mist and fog were still quite unpleasant despite appearances through the window. The rest of the week looks good for hiking. But !! Cynthia doesn’t do muddy trails, so she will hike tomorrow!
23 May: Today it is Ron's turn to worry: Charlotte said she'd be working this morning 7:30 to 3, but the desk is unattended. (Worrying stopped when Ron discovered Daniel hiding in a darkened office, purportedly on a conference call.) Rain is forecast for this afternoon, so we'd better dig out our rain gear. HA, we didn't need it since we began noticing rain drops as we neared the Blue Ridge Parkway. We made a U-turn and headed back down the mountain to spend the day in the hotel. The real bummer is that Outback doesn't serve lunch midweek. Ron stayed awake until 2:30 AM putting a James Anderson plat for 641 acres into his James Lea Grants and Deeds platplotter app - which conclusively confirms the location of Lawrence Bankston's earlier property on Richland Creek. (This is Waaay Exciting for those of you unfamiliar with the passion for genealogy.)
22 May, Sunday: The clock is ticking, the Rambo Reunion in June is approaching. But, we have ten days to do the exercise that we have neglected for an entire month of constant travel and research. The downside is the 90 degree temperature. The familiar guard at the National Parks entrance station asked where we have been. Our hike was delightful, but we did not find those three miles easy. Still, we did much, much better than the first time we came here in 2009. A highlight was running into 5 through hikers, names unknown. The Outback Restaurant held true to their promise to provide us with large salads and baked potatoes.
21 May: The Hampton Inn, Roxboro, NC has a delightful dining staff person who is Miss Bella, a joyful, happy woman who calls us Mr. and Mrs. Oatmeal! Love to you, Miss Bella! Ron spent the morning taking pictures of books in the Person County Library, then we enjoyed a wonderful luncheon conversation with Michael J. at Brookland Eats again. At one PM we loaded the motorcycle and transitioned to Waynesboro, VA to hike the Appalachian Trail until early June. We are elated to discover our sweet Charlotte, manager of the Comfort Inn, is well and healthy! And the Outback Restaurant has baked sweet potatoes with steamed veggies. Life is good! Our route was again simple: US 501 north out of Roxboro, turning right (east/ north) on US 29 and following that nearly to Waynesboro except for short legs on VA 6 (north & east) and US 250 west.
20 May: oofta, it is midnight:30, and Ron is now somewhat exhausted. After waking up this morning, off we went to the Person County Recorder of Deeds to look for more neighbors to the Leas and Bankstons. Then a fun lunch with Randall Lea and wife at Brookland Eats (click here), then Ron rode over to Yanceyville to look for more deeds at the Caswell Recorder of Deeds. Most peculiar (to Ron) was that the Caswell County Courthouse does not allow visitors to bring any electronic equipment into the courthouse. None. The guard said that Ron could bring a camera into the Recorder of Deeds if they allowed it. The clerk there said that she could allow it if the Sheriff allowed it. Ron then asked the guard if he could exit a different door to go to ask permission of the sheriff, whereupon the guard, a sheriff's deputy, walked in to talk with clerk and came back to tell me I could take my camera in there.
19 May: With a late checkout, we are back in the NC State Archives for the morning, followed by a meeting in Hillsborough with the County Deed Recorder at two PM, then onto Roxboro, NC Courthouse and Library. We consider our three days in Raleigh a great success. Mark, Orange County Recorder of Deeds, has been busy and sent me the link to his site that links to many Lord Granville deeds. Dinner at the Colonial Inn was less than a success. Their chef could not imagine a single thing to feed Ron without oil, butter, fat or cheese, so he bought pretzels and sourdough bread from the local grocery, Weaver Street Market (click here), highly recommended. We followed the GPS directions on nothing but tiny roads without having any idea where we were except to know that most times we were heading due north. Our route was simplicity itself: we rode south on Dawson Street to I-40, turned west and stayed on I-40 until exiting onto Old Highway 86 which turns into Churton Street and we parked right beside the Recorder of Deeds office. Mark has been busy since our last visit, and he won reelection by a 65-35 margin. We then continued N on NC 86 to R on Walnut Grove Church Road to a L on NC 157 N to R on US 158 to the Hampton Inn
18 May: The blog becomes a bit repetitious when we spend all day every day inside the North Carolina State Archives. Ron looked at another 50 wills and estate papers. Have you ever tried to read faded old handwriting and scribbles? Cynthia ran out of things to amuse herself, but at least she didn't get into the wrong elevator again. At 5 PM we again rode to Vidrio's for the identitical dinner, but this time it cost $68 instead of $41; we liked the previous waitress better.
17 May: We were a tiny bit chilly as we rode the bike the six blocks to the North Carolina State Archives, but Cynthia froze inside. Note to Cynthia, wear a sweater! We had a fun day, despite the chill. Our friend Gaye no longer works there. Bummer! Cynthia took the B elevator to the basement snack room on the second floor, and she failed to notice she was on a different elevator to return to the second floor. The elevator door closed, but the buttons would not respond to any further action. She kept pressing buttons and stood there, locked in an unresponsive elevator. Then she read a sign on the wall, Staff Only. It was key operated and dark. She finally pressed a button with an R on it that opened the door. At five, we were hungry and discovered a nice restaurant that has fed us before, Vidrio (click here). Cynthia remembered eating there as soon as she saw the decor. Ron only remembers walking upstairs. The executive chef came to talk to us and did a good job for us again. We will most likely eat there again tomorrow.
16 May: Monday we make the transition to Raleigh to stay at the Hampton Inn about a mile from the NC Archives. Oh, joy! We found a Ruby Tuesdays restaurant only 14 miles from Raleigh. Delightedly full, we left the restaurant despite a forecast of an imminent severe thunderstorm, rode straight towards an ugly black turbulent sky, and turned before finding raindrops to arrive dry at the Hampton Inn Downtown. The rain came within minutes after we unloaded our luggage. Wish us luck at the archives on Tueday. Ron still needs to figure out what to look for while we are there. At least he compiled a list of names to look for wills. Our route included a missed turn. We left Myrtle beach by the route that Hans had suggested, N on Harrison Rd to E on Grissom Parkway, L on US 501 N to R on SC 31 N to L on SC 9 N to L on US 701 N L on NC 410 N, L on NC 131, L on NC 87 .4 mi to R on Tar Heel Ferry Rd 1.3 mi to L on River Road (rough) -> Tabor Church Road to L on NC 53 (missed a turn) and got onto I-95 for the last 20 miles.
15 May, Sunday: We had a fabulous day at Brookgreen Gardens created from an original 48,000 acre rice plantation, eventually turned into four plantations by 1932, when a sculptor named Anna Hyatt Huntington purchased all four as a home for her life size sculptures. Tomorrow we ride to Raleigh. Ron still needs to prioritize his research interests there.
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| Springmaid pier in moon light |
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| Same view during daylight |
14 May: We are scheduled to visit Hans and Audrey after breakfast until about 3 PM, when Cynthia gets her cure - manicure. It took nearly an hour riding to US 501 west (N on Harrison Rd to E on Grissom Parkway - stopping at Walmart for packaged salad) then to SC 31 N to SC 9 N to US 701 S 1 mile to Hans and Audrey's house. We enjoyed a tour of the garden and orchard - Hans has quite the green thumb. Then Audrey added some home grown lettuce, radishes and corn to our salad mix & spinach for delightful salads for all. We were sent home with the leftovers. Hans is a good storyteller and has a host of interesting experiences and stories. Two PM rolled around far too quickly, and Cynthia insisted on leaving promptly so as to get her nails done. Audrey showed me the color radar about then with lovely reds and yellows in the vicinity. We did run through one cloudburst, a veritable downpour, for a few minutes on SC 9, and the car ahead kept up speed, so we didn't run into whatever we couldn't see ahead of us. It was honestly raining so hard that all I could see was a black haze ahead of us that had been a black pickup truck before the rain started. All's well that ends well and Cynthia was on time for her manicure. Ron then shopped at Food Lion for blueberries, grapes and pretzels.
13 May: Another day just like the most other days, except that we enjoy our ocean views, ate salad at the hotel restaurant, and walked out the Springmaid pier to take a video for great grandchildren. After dinner, we enjoyed a long walk on the beach and the neighboring Myrtle Beach State Park (click here) boardwalk. Ron is making a little progress on James Lea.
12 May: Happy Annibursary to mee beloved WeeFee. Happy 75th birthday to my beloved Smooch! Isn’t love grand? Here we are eleven years later still over the moon in love! Up, exercised and oatmealed, we were almost ready to walk when Ron looked out the window to see one very wet pier. Hans and Audrey have recommended Brookgreen Gardens (click here), $18 admission for seniors, but it is too wet to enjoy a garden tour today. Next restaurant to try is Magnolias on 26th (click here), supposed to have a good salad bar although reviews are mixed. Instead we stayed inside all day and used our computers mercilessly.
11 May: Schedule has us moving to the Doubletree at Myrtle Beach for five days (including our annibursary) with an ocean view. Duncan joined us for a very pleasant hour of conversation over breakfast. Our ride was pleasant and uneventful except for a very windy ride over a very beautiful, very high bridge leaving Charleston. We simply stayed on US 17 the entire time from Charleston to Myrtle Beach and followed the GPS to the Doubletree without problem and discovered there that they did indeed have a room with a view for us. Cynthia was astounded that this one SC highway was absent the lumps and bumps she has grown weary of in SC. Ron called Hans upon arrival, and we enjoyed good conversation with Hans and Audrey and good food at Angelo's Steak and Pasta (click here) a few blocks from our hotel. And here it is too late again, another night = Goodnight.
10 May: We spent the day with Duncan, subject to a couple of interruptions. We breakfasted together at the hotel. We, Ron and Cynthia, had already eaten bowls of oatmeal in our room, so we were not too upset when the waitress brought an omelet made with egg yolks despite our repeated order for egg whites. When Cynthia asked to have the omelet redone, the cook declared the kitchen closed. Duncan was called away to take his wife for a covid test (negative) and rejoined us for lunch at Ruby Tuesday, salads all around. We then rode over to Duncan's house and met the three dogs, Woof, woof and woof, before riding with Duncan to Folly Beach (click here) for a nice long walk on the beach. Unfortunately, Cynthia's feet were not up to that length of a walk barefoot, and some of the shells became quite uncomfortable to her feet. (Ron knew his feet were too tender to walk barefoot.)
9 May: Today we transition to Charleston, SC after breakfast with Clark & Elizabeth at our Hilton Garden Inn at Harbison. First we stopped at Sam's Club and were able to fill our tires with the additional 3 lbs of air they each needed. The traffic on I-26 was not particularly obnoxious, so we stayed on it 80 miles to SC 27 W, then US 78 S but turned early onto an old version of the Orangeburg Road. After a couple of "blind" turns at T intersections, Ron stopped to put our destination address into the GPS and followed it to SC 61 which was bordered by live oaks that delightfully shaded the roadway. Middleton Place (click here), Magnolia (click here) and Drayton Plantations were all very appealing, but a Ruby Tuesday lunch was overdue for mee diabetic WeeFee. Incidentally, it was cool enough that Cynthia wore her heated gear the entire ride. If we hadn't missed the "final" turn for SC 61, we would have ridden straight to the hotel. However, the trees have grown large enough to obscure that overhead sign, so Ron rode over a couple of bridges unnecessarily, to Charleston and back. The hotel is the Riverview Cambria. The river is a mile away, so the view is a minature. Immediately after checking in to the hotel we buggied to the nearby Ruby Tuesday and stuffed ourselves full.
8 May, Sunday: Happy Mothers Day! Our last day and last Ruby Tuesday meal here in the vicinity of Columbia, SC. It was again a delight to dine with Dick, and Clark and Elizabeth. We did miss Mary and hope she is over her fever, missed Tom and Cheryl and hope they had fun whereever they vacationed, missed Grreg and Donna and hope they enjoyed Mother's Day in Minnesnowda.
7 May: Another day in Irmo, SC and another Ruby Tuesday meal is anticipated, God willing. After digesting breakfast for a bit and mending one sock, we walked across parking lots and medians to the building formerly housing Ruby Tuesday and returned. It is peculiar to see so few cars in the mall parking lots. We also came right up all six flights of stairs to our top floor room without pause (as opposed yesterday when we walked the hall after each flight of stairs). Time to go to Ruby Tuesday to meet Dick. Ron is discovering that he can eat a tremendous salad at Ruby Tuesday, but not four days in a row. And we did also join him to walk around the mall at 4:30 PM, fun, fun, fun. The mall was much, much busier at 5 PM. 5.7 miles today. We are exhausted
6 May: Again up "early," we are breakfasted, pilled and ready for more extensive exercise before Ruby Tuesday again at 1:30 PM. Outdoor temperature of 85 degrees and bright sunlight convinced us to walk the floors and stairs of the hotel three times and use the fitness center, which was surprisingly nice. It is wonderfully nice to see Dick multiple times, but also quite a disappointment that he can no longer walk well. We walked again achieving a total of 5.6 miles. Tonight we need to be abed earlier.
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| Dick, Mary, Ron, Liz & Clark |
5 May: A wonderful time was had by all the survivors at Ruby Tuesday in Lexington as shown in the picture to the left. Ron has gotten absorbed in genealogy while answering e-mails both of the last two nights.
4 May: Rock Hill, SC… Nice hotel, rude staff, and horrid breakfast. Since there is a Ruby Tuesday on the corner, we were in no hurry to get on the road and enjoyed a huge salad first. Without a computer to plan a route, Ron used his GPS to find South Carolina route 121/ 76 for many, many miles to US 176 South and eventually US 76 East through Chapin to Irmo and the Hilton Garden Inn, in Columbia SC. Ron enjoyed SC 121 thoroughly with its light traffic and few towns; Cynthia abhorred the multitude of lumps and bumps she experienced as passenger with a sensitive back. We probably traveled an extra 25 miles wandering as we did. We arrived at 4 pm and by 6 Ron was recovered enough to ride over to see Dick, then Clark before buying bananas, grapes and pretzels at Kroger.
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| Drew in foreground (enlarged) |
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| Smooch, SmoochSmooch & Falls |
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| Ron, Cynthia, Nancy & Roger |
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| Roger is looking for fish. Ron inspecting eyelids. |
2 May: Roger and Nancy drove us out NC 280 to Etowah and then US 64 to Penrose so that we could all hike the three mile loop to see the Triple Falls (click here) of the Little River in the DuPont Forest southwest of Hendersonville. Afterwards we all enjoyed terrific luncheon salads at Ruby Tuesday and then an even better dinner close to home at 131 Main (click here) in Biltmore Park.
1 May: Hurray, hurray for the 12th of May, Ron's birthday and our 11th wedding annibursary. We rode from Athens, GA to Asheville, NC to visit friends Roger and Nancy. We went for an immediate walk on one of the trails in their wooded subdivision. Route: Business 78 E 1 mile to L on Hawthorne Rd N 1.6 mi to R on US 129 S towards Winterville, exit 100 N on US 29 N 24 mi to L on GA 327 N (Bryant Park Rd) to R on GA 51 E (Starrs Bridge Rd) to L on GA 17 N (Broad St) merge onto I-85 N cross river to L on SC 11 N past Tamassee 30 m to L on SC 130 N -> NC 281 -> US 64 E through Brevard -> NC 280 to Ruby Tuesday (I missed this last turn, so we stayed straight on US 64 until we got to I-26, not a good alternative). After stuffing ourselves at Ruby Tuesday, N on I-26 3 miles to exit 37, NC 146 E then immediate R onto Schenck Pkwy/ Ramble Way, R at Promenade Dr to R on Hallett Court.
