If Eternity Is Forever, Am I There Now?
Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center After World War II, a renewed sense of optimism coupled with relatively cheap and available gasoline put Americans in their cars and on the move. Automobile designs such as the station wagon held growing families. The Blue Ridge Parkway opened the region to recreational driving as more people than ever… Continue reading Blue Ridge Parkway, NC
While in Ashland NC we toured the Biltmore Estate, built by George Vanderbilt. George’s dad, Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt started the family business by borrowing $100 from his mother and piloting a passenger boat on Staten Island in 1810. He expanded into steamboats and then went on to build railroad empire New York Central. Biltmore was the first professionally managed… Continue reading The Biltmore Estate – Ashland, NC
From Elkmont campground we drove to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I was really surprised by what we found. My expectations were based on a hodge podge clump of public education I picked up in fourth grade – “Fourteen hundred and ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue”, and then there was "One-ith by land, two-ith by sea, and… Continue reading The Gatlinburg Surprise
Hugh and Veronica also recommended Unicoi State Park as a destination. We took advantage of the Zip Line adventure, and thus another check mark was added to the bucket list. We did encounter a rattlesnake walking up Smith Creek trail. There was no way around the snake. On the left was a drop… Continue reading Unicoi State Park, GA
In March Deb drove us to St. Augustine, FL. It lays claim to being the oldest city in the U.S., and is known for its Spanish colonial architecture, as well as Atlantic Ocean beaches like sandy St. Augustine Beach and tranquil Crescent Beach. We had walked over seven miles on Crescent beach a month earlier. … Continue reading St Augustine, Florida
I’m getting lazy. Retirement just kicked in. All we do is ride bike, walk the beach, hike, dine out, kayak, hike some more, and swim with the manatee. I should have all sorts of time to post little Living in Eternity stories, but I have not done so. Yes, I’m most definitely getting lazy. Silver Springs We… Continue reading I Have Forever
There is a lot of water in Louisiana that means you need a lot of bridging. The 24-mile bridge from Mandeville to New Orleans was the longest; the Huey P. Long was the most interesting. It is the longest elevated train track in the U.S. Very impressive. We crossed “The Heuy” each time we drove from… Continue reading New Orleans – The Huey P. Long & Destrehan Plantation
We found New Orleans to be a fun tourist destination. State Parks were great, downtown was fun, and a plantation tour gave us a wonderful historic view of Napoleonic rule. We stayed (2) nights at the New Orleans KOA. The campground offers free shuttle service to downtown New Orleans. They held our mail, and several Amazon purchases… Continue reading New Orleans – Partial Review
Bourbon Street is not all that. We found it obnoxious, very loud, with many kids banging out drum corps rhythms on five-gallon plastic pales. It can be heard from blocks away. The Hop-On Hop-Off City Tour circles the city points of interest. That worked out well for us. Heading towards New Orleans invariably a fellow camper… Continue reading Nurse Mary and the Vets
