Plantations

Well, the title is a little misleading as we've got pictures from Savannah & Charleston as well as our trip today to plantations on the James River in Virginia.

Probably too hard to recall all we did in Savannah and Charleston. Suffice it to say we did a tour in each city which gave us an overview of the area. In addition, in Charleston, we went out to Magnolia Plantation -  but you've heard all about that in the email we sent.

Houses in the south

We saw Forest Gump - run, Forest, run.

Wormsloe Plantation has a 1.5 mile oak allee

Did we mention it was Garden Week at the beach?

We saw some gardens from the water

So, on to today....

Rousted everyone out of bed for an early start. Tried to get off by 9 am and managed 9:30 which was pretty good. Started at Westover which was delightful. A family home built back about 1640 which is only open five days a year - during Virginia Garden Week in the spring. The gardens are open all year round though and we wandered around looking at the azalea, peony, dogwood, iris, and other flowers.

Then it was time for lunch. We had reserved a spot at an old house converted into the James City Tavern. Rosie and Van had lightly fried oysters and crab cake, in that order. Margaret, for some reason, eschewed the seafood and opted for ham and spinach quiche. We also had a bowl of asparagus soup to start off and Margaret also checked out the Bourbon Pecan Bread Pudding for dessert. She proclaimed it the best meal she's had so far. Glad she enjoyed it. Then off to Shirley which is currently occupied by the eleventh generation of the same family. No gardens to see, just as well as the rain began to drop whilst we were touring the house and we were glad to sink into the car seats and head for home.

The fact that Ma snuggled down and took a nap whilst we were reviewing the evening news suggests we have been running her a bit hard. That's OK as we have a bye tomorrow. Need to prepare for luncheon on Sunday. Rosie has invited about a dozen people to share lunch with us at home Easter Sunday. Usually people will head off to an expensive and crowded buffet somewhere to celebrate the day but we have decided to spend time at home with a potluckish dinner. We supply the spiral cut honey ham and wine and mimosas too..... mmmm. The other guests are all bringing something to add to the feast and we'll enjoy one another's company without noisy and intrusive strangers around us competing for the food.

Here are some more photos from down south.

See the Spanish Moss hanging from the tree...

Additional Indian Information

Hit the button too quickly and sent the blog off into the blogosphere before we had completed our entry.

So here is another of the Indian dancer who did the war dance. His feet were really flying but I had put the camera away and didn't think I could get it out in time.

Then there is a nicer photo of the other man with his painted face. His wife was with him and she was beading a necklace and his daughter was too. The daughter seemed a bit disinterested in the whole thing.

Biltmore & Cherokee

Where to start? We are staying at a charming rustic cabin only five minutes from the Biltmore estate. The cabin has a kitchen, dining area, lounge (with fireplace) and bathroom with a deck out the back. Downstairs are two bedrooms and another bathroom.

View from our deck down to one of the lakes on the property

Tuesday was a bit cold and somewhat rainy and we headed off to Biltmore to visit the 250 rooms and wander the grounds. Built for George Washington Vanderbilt (grandson of the railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt) it opened Christmas Eve 1905. Won't talk about the room with leather wallpaper or the beautiful fresh flowers in vases all over the place. You'll just have to wait to see the photos and the brochure. We had lunch in the stables and forced ourselves to check out the gift shop.

Our little summer cabin 

The formal gardens were spectacular

Headed back to the cabin and started a fire to warm our bones. In fact we have a fire again tonight (Wednesday) and it is just what the doctor ordered.

Today we drove about an hour and a half to Cherokee - named for the Indian tribe who own a large reservation there. Went in to the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and the Qualla Craft Shop. Beautiful weavings and baskets and lots of other indian crafts. The dogwood and other flowers are blooming at the lower elevations.

Rosie showing off a white dogwood

An authentic indian - tepees used by Plains Indians

Dancing - he also did a war dance for me

There are flowering cherry trees too which are just masses of blooms. Then we headed off along a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. This runs along the ridges of the Great Smoky Mountains and, being at a higher elevation, spring has not yet arrived and the dogwood are not yet in bloom. The views from the parkway demonstrate why these are called the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Only met one wild mountain man in our travels today. Fed him some ice cream for tea and he fixed steaks on the grill for himself and Rosie. I had a good salad, some fruit salad and a coffee.

Imagine meeting this on a dark night - or even high noon!

Post Wedding

OH BOY! Forget to do the blog for a couple of days and it just mounts up over you and becomes overwhelming.

Tonight (Monday, April 11) we are sleeping in a delightful little cabin in Asheville, North Carolina. Lovely deck off the main room with two bedrooms downstairs. Took some photos of a cheeky squirrel who practically DEMANDED food this afternoon - we obliged with some cookie crumbs. Also have a picture of a female cardinal - the male is bright red with a black mask but he wasn't around when I was.

Perhaps we should back up a couple of days. Arrived at our hotel in Chapel Hill on Saturday and as we pulled in to a parking space Robert and Allison pulled in beside us. They had driven from Washington, DC. Met them and moved all our luggage from the car to the room. While Rosie & Van headed for the airport to collect Chris & Juliet I got all dolled up for the Rehearsal Dinner that night. The theme was Bluegrass and Barbeque and we enjoyed the music and the pulled pork concoction - it was a buffet so lots of good stuff to choose from. Met more of Rosie's family at the party.

On Sunday they had the wedding ceremony and luncheon (to which I was NOT invited) so I slept in late (it was wonderful) and wandered down the road a couple of hundred yards to a Hardee's fast food restaurant for lunch. Got a burger and a drink and a coffee and other stuff and the young lad offered me an apple turnover (for free) and I sat and nibbled and people watched for a while. Here are Will Bryan & Laura - the newly married couple.

Got back to the motel and had a rest and Van & Rosie turned up to take me over to Duke University. Old Gothic buildings and a very large "campus" and we drove on to find the Sarah Duke Memorial Gardens which had been donated by Doris Duke. The tulips were out in full bloom and Japanese maple popping up here, there and everywhere. Headed "home" but stopped off at an Outback Steak House for supper. Great meal and a delightful waitress - left her my home address if/when she makes it to Australia.

Today (Monday) we drove for about 5 hours to get to Asheville and our charming little cabin. Will spend three nights here. I think I need a ladder to climb into my bed - will have to take a picture of it if I can manage it.

Also tonight (after I'd slipped off to bed) Van downloaded my photos to his computer. They will stay there as a backup in case something happens to the memory card or the camera between now and then. He was a naughty lad and is sending a couple of teaser pictures from the earlier part of my trip for you to enjoy. Hope he does not include the photos I took of my knee and the floor of the bus!

The Grand Canyon and the Colorado River from my helicopter

Bryce Canyon with snow on the hoodoos (those vertical towers of rock)

Heading South

Well, Thursday was a quiet day so we could prepare for our trip through the southern states. Had a lovely lunch at Olive Garden - we all had soup and salad which was delicious. Finished off the meal with a chocolate mint candy. Van explained something about his new iPhone but it was like water off the duck's back in the main.

Packed the car on Friday morning and headed down to Wilson, North Carolina - Rosie's childhood home. In fact we saw the actual house she was raised in which now houses offices for a number of public service agencies. Verandahs on three sides and tall columns holding up the porch roof.

Then we met Erwin and Bryan and checked out their house. It was wonderful. He is Rosie's older brother and they have built a beautiful place.

Spring has really arrived in the south. The dogwood look like snow covered trees under the canopy of the pine trees and underneath them all are pink, red, white, and generally gorgeous azaleas.

We got to Wilson in time to go out to Parker's to eat barbeque - eastern North Carolina style which is a vinegar based. Then we sat around the house and cogitated for a while. Later in the afternoon we went out to wander around the street and see the other houses which were all very large. Lots of them are on my camera.

Did not think we could eat another thing but were forced to go out to Pups (a steakhouse) for supper. Some people managed an entree (which, contrary to it's name is actually the main course) but the Australian company settled for salad and a tasty piece of cheesecake for dessert.

We are all ready to swear we won't eat another bite for four days but, of course, we have the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night and think it will be a lot of nibbles and drinks. Guess that means the resolution will be broken even before we think twice. Urgh! But it tastes so good.

Time for bed and a late breakfast tomorrow. Get to see both Chris and Robert and their ladies at the party. Sleep, ah sweet sleep.

Malls & Aquaria

Bad lad. No blog yesterday and nearly a repeat tonight. So, a quick rundown on the last couple of days.

Yesterday we intended going to MacArthur Mall in Norfolk and then visiting the MacArthur Memorial to check on the General. Made the first objective but it got a bit late and we did not make it to the Memorial.

One thing we did manage to do at the Mall was .... (wait for it) ..... eat. Had a fine young man as a server at Max & Erma's where we all had a Laredo steak which included salad, sliced steak and a baked potato. Really enjoyed chatting with our server, Brendan. Made Margaret pay the whole bill, including the tip. Much angst and debate over that. Did we enjoy the meal? See the photo.

Then home through evening traffic which was not too bad and thence, after a bit of a rest, to bed. Guess what else I bought at the cosmetic counter in Dillards?

Today we got up a bit earlier (8:00 am not bad) but still dithered around a bit. Did some ironing (having washed a few things yesterday) and off to the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center. Did the main building and were heading home for lunch when the car took a detour and we ended up at Rockafeller's Restaurant were we ate lunch. This was a place on the marina so you know they had lots of seafood. Rosie and Van had stuff like shrimp and crab cakes but I decided (after much soul searching) that today was not the day to break old habits and so I opted for a solid, down-to-earth burger.

Then, because we were so close, we headed back to the second of the aquarium buildings and checked out the river otters and the aviary. Also got a chance to see some snakes which, thank goodness, were behind glass and couldn't get at us. That's a lovely statue of three river otters playing behind us in the picture - but who wants to see river otters when more photogenic subjects are at hand?

The water towers have all been rather intriguing and today we managed to photograph one just before it was completely obscured by a row of trees. It was an old, tired example of the genre and not typical of the ones which previously have piqued my interest.

We were going to "doctor" the image to make it more impressive but thought that would be too much trouble so here it is in its plain state. Supper (= tea) tonight was meat loaf with mashed sweet potatoes, green peas, and a lettuce salad. Very tasty and topped off by a tiny chocolate mint washed down by just a smidgin of white wine. So to bed but not before one more photo. This is one of the cute fire plugs (hydrants) you see scattered here and there around town. Aren't they sweet? I am told that during the Bicentennial Celebrations (back in 1976) all the fire plugs were painted to look like revolutionary war soldiers - some with red coats, some blue or green and they looked just precious lining the streets.

Cape Henry & the cross

It's been a glorious day today though the winds have been a bit brisk at times. Lovely sunshine and warm weather makes everything so nice and bright. After a minor scare - thought I'd lost my money belt and passport, not a good feeling at any time - we set off for Fort Story where the first permanent English settlers first set foot in the New World. Look at a map of the USA and right on the bottom corner where the Chesapeake Bay branches off the Atlantic Ocean is where we were.

 

Had to pass through a security check to get on the Army base but that was easy. Checked out the First Landing Cross and statue of Compte de Grasse and then walked up a board walkway to look out over the Atlantic Ocean and around the corner to the Chesapeake Bay. No dolphins in the water today, rats!

Then a little drive through the bustling beach scene of the Virginia Beach oceanfront before stopping at Fire & Vine. That's a restaurant where we had a go at the salad bar and tried a Fried Green Tomato Sandwich for lunch. The waiter was very attentive, he even "carded" me when we ordered some flights of wine to sip with the meal. Lovely atmosphere and good food, complete to the chocolate chip cookies they served for dessert.

Then off home again because it was getting on in the afternoon. Saw those water towers again but still no photos. Think we'll have a chance to see a neat little grocery store later this evening. Isn't that what everyone wants to see when they're on holiday? Might get a bit of ironing done as well.

That's the Cape Henry lighthouse in the background - the old lighthouse is behind us on a bit of a sand dune. The brown/champagne/mystic sand/ car in the foreground is the Toyota Prius we've been driving around in. Hybrid fuel system - quite comfortable.

Brunch

Up a little earlier today. Had to get ready for church at 11:00. After the service we headed off to Burton's Grill for Sunday Brunch - Stuffed French Toast and a screwdriver seemed to be the best choice! There were about a dozen at our table, all church friends plus the tall lad from yesterday who's about to become engaged.

All the photos are from the lunch/brunch. Had hoped to show some of the water towers around the city but failed to photograph any of them today. After lunch we headed home, driving by the school's Rosie and Van taught at prior to retiring. Then we each chose a bed or chair in which to take a bit of a nap.

Tomorrow is projected to be a bit warmer and sunny. Think we might be doing some of the more typically tourist things around the area.

The quick way to figure out the time here compared to Adelaide is to take off one and a half hours and call it the other part of the day. So, when it is 8 pm in Adelaide it would be 6:30 am in Virginia Beach - a wee bit early for a phone call, perhaps. <grin>