Tobacco Road and the Intimidator

The Dean Smith Center - Home of the UNC Tarheels

Cameron Indoor Stadium - Home of Duke Basketball

and the Cameron Crazies!

After checking out of our hotel in Myrtle Beach we set the Navigator for Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Ron has long been a Tarheel basketball fan, and thought it would be neat to tour the campus along with nearby Duke University. Since we are also and Oregon State Beaver family we thought it would be nice doing that wearing OS apparel, Ron with a cap and Connie with her OSU Mom t-shirt. You know the old saying about best laid plans. As we went seriously west and not as much north we began to question our route. One of the bad things about having a navigation system is that you get lazy and do not check the maps. Apparently there is another little something in NC that is called Chapel Hill and we were headed for it and not the college town. Since we were too far to turn back and make anything happen that made sense we decided to drive our loop backwards from our plan. So instead of touring the college campuses Friday and heading through Charlotte we went to Charlotte first.
Once we hit Charlotte we began a redneck tour of North Carolina. By that I mean we went to Lowes Motor Speedway and then to Kannapolis. Now going to Lowes speedway might make some sense,

but Kannapolis? Only the warped mind of Ron’s or a devoted NASCAR fan would know that Kannapolis is the hometown of the Earnhart clan from NASCAR racing and that there is a tribute to Dale Earhart Sr. in the town plaza. We also made the pilgrimage to Mooresville where DEI, the racing company his widow runs, is located. We went through the tourist area and got a chance to see many of his, and his son Dale Junior’s cars and many of the trophies they had won. We then got back on the freeway and headed for UNC. Since it was dark when we arrived at Chapel Hill we made a quick loop through the campus and checked in at a nearby Days Inn. Nice place to stay, but we would like to have known about the 0700 loadout of the high school track team that was also staying there. Now to most of the working people reading this you are really feeling our pain, but we are retired! Once we got to the campus and found a visitor’s parking lot we went for a walking tour of the campus. It was nice to get out and get some walking in but….. UNC is a fairly hilly campus and we have gotten soft since we have been on the road. Fortunately we got to stop and take pictures to rest our legs. There were four major areas we wanted to see; Carmichael Auditorium, Boshamer Baseball Stadium, the Dean Smith Center and Kenan football stadium. You know who made those choices, as Carmichael is the old basketball facility

and the Smith center is the new facility. We did get to go through most of the facilities, but found the baseball stadium under construction and the Smith center closed. After finding the Smith Center closed we had to walk what seemed like the steepest hill in NC to get back to our car.
Once back in the car we made the 6 mile drive to Durham, the home of Duke University. We did a driving tour of the campus and upon turning onto Chapel Pl we were greeted by one of the most breathtaking sights we have ever seen on a college campus, the Gothic styled chapel at the university. In fact Duke has brick buildings that all appeared to have been inspired by Gothic architects. Ron remarked that it was a good thing he had not seen the Duke campus first or he could have been a Duke fan.
The only real “highlight” of the ride back to Round O was eating at our first, and last, Cracker Barrel Restaurant. Cracker Barrel is a chain of “homestyle” restaurants throughout the southeast. By homestyle we mean FATTENING comfort food. Sorry to all our friends and family, but the best part of getting back home will be to resume some sort of sanity in our dietary habits and to start pounding the pavement again. On the road is not the place to maintain any semblance of those things, especially in the south.

Wilmington NC – What did You do in the War Daddy?

Thursday, January 31st we took a day trip to Wilmington, North Carolina. In addition to being known as the hometown of Michael Jeffrey Jordan it is the home port for the now retired battleship USS North Carolina. Even though it was launched in 1940, it is still similar to the USS Maryland, the ship that Ron’s dad was on during WWII. Almost the entire ship is available for self-guided tours and we took full advantage of it.
Ron’s father was on a submarine prior to the war, and received a promotion from Baker 2nd Class to Chief Commissary Steward. It is hard to imagine, but the submarine did not have a budgeted position for another chief, so he ended up transferring to the Maryland. He was there on December 7th, 1941 and stayed on the ship until their war was ended by a series of Kamikaze planes at Okinawa.
If you have never seen a battleship, take the opportunity to visit one. They are an impressive ship with a streamlined bow and this REALLY wide midship structure. For us it was an opportunity to see what Bob Rilee did in the war. We went down to the lower decks and saw his duty station, the galley and the mess hall. As a Chief he was responsible for the ships food stores and food preparation. One of the things he started when he first went to work as a baker was to find out the birthdates of his shipmates and bake birthday cakes for them. When you are out at sea for months at a time having someone care is a major morale boost. His two nicknames in the galley were Stew Meat and Belly Robber. We also went through all the crew quarters, the infirmary and the other day to day places. It was a real special chance to see the life of a World War 2 warrior. As you can see from the above picture warriors also had to be less than modest about their bodily functions. Privacy was not something available on a ship with over 2300 crewmen.

After touring the ship and downtown Wilmington we went to the little community of Kure Beach. We were not able to find a really nice beach to walk on, but we did find an old Confederate post, Fort Fisher. It was a fort on the coastline used to protect the blockade running ships. This supply line was the last opening for supplies to reach Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. After a massive amphibious assault by Union forces Fort Fisher fell on January 15th, 1865.

There were still mounded earthworks left from the old fort. While there we also had a red fox run across the road and pose for us.

After bidding adieu to North Carolina for the first time on our trip we headed back for dinner at Margaritaville in Myrtle Beach and got ready for our next journey; a pilgrimage to Chapel Hill and Durham North Carolina. That will be coming up in our next post.

Myrtle Beach - Looking for My Lost Shaker of Salt

Wednesday we left our home base and headed for Myrtle Beach SC. Myrtle Beach is an old time resort town on the ocean that reminded us of Las Vegas without the casinos. It seemed like every block contained a beachwear store offering swimwear at discount prices and miniature golf. We saw at least a dozen miniature golf places that looked like theme parks. We saw pirate ship ones, dinosaur ones, and even one called SOS with a real plane crashing into it. The neon and the billboards were everywhere. One thing we noticed was the height of the signs. In Oregon most signs seem to be the height of a 2 story building, I am sure due to our regulations. In South Carolina these signs go up 5 or 6 stories. We stayed at The Reef, and older, but updated, hotel right on the beach. Our 6th floor room gave us an amazing view of the ocean. We are still adjusting to the Atlantic Ocean. What is ironic is the number of times that we have been to the Oregon Coast around sunset and having it obscured by the clouds, or fog. Here we are at the Atlantic and having beautiful clear evenings and there is no sunset. The concept of viewing a sunrise does not interest us that much as we have seen the sun rise over Mt. Hood while driving over the Marquam Bridge way too many times. Ron did wake up one morning and take some pictures of the sunrise.
Before checking into our hotel we needed to get a bite of lunch, so what better place than the Hard Rock Café. Although there are many places with better food, we enjoy the ambiance that takes us back to our younger years. It also allows us an opportunity to visit the store and add to our growing pile of stuff. We are going to be sending stuff home since we overpacked from the beginning.
After touring Celebrity Square at Broadway on the Beach, we decided a light dinner was in order. We decided on Margaritaville of Jimmy Buffet fame. Although not qualifying of that odd American specie know as the “Parrotthead”, we have been Buffet fans since the early 70s. Margaritaville is quite an experience, and something to try if you have the chance. We decided to split a nacho since any sort of Mexican food has been in short supply on this trip. A clue should have been the Volcano Nacho name on the menu. We could have had this for a family holiday dinner and still had some left over. This thing was the size of a large pot roast. We waged a good fight but could not even finish half of it. Again we closed out a meal with a visit to the gift shop.
We had a great time wandering around Myrtle Beach and even tried our first breakfast at a Waffle House restaurant there. It is another place on our trip that would be nice to visit an d explore more completely in the future. The winter rates are great, but not everything is open during this time.

A Visit to Parris and the Old Sheldon Church

On Tuesday we visited Parris for the first time. This is not Hilton or the city in France, but rather the island near Beaufort with the Marines turn young men and women into the Devil Dogs that seem to be the first on the scene whenever there is some sort of fight. We were somewhat amazed at the access our pass granted us to the base itself. Our main objective was the museum, but we were able to roam freely around the base. Watching these young people being mentored by the kind drill instructors made me realize it is safe for us to sleep while they are on watch.
We finally did reach the museum and got a chance to view the history of the corps, as well as the Beaufort area. I have to admit we are museum junkies, and maybe a little nerdy about them, but we love to see the history of our country and the organizations that have helped make them great. The WWII section of the display read like the whereabouts of Ron’s father during the war. More about that in a later post.

After leaving Parris we paid one more visit to the town of Beaufort. On our return trip it was much warmer, but to our disappointment, the Arsenal Museum was closed, so we just toured the town looking at the many antebellum houses.
On our way back to Round O we took a side trip on Old Sheldon Church Road. Two miles off state highway 17 sits the Old Sheldon Church. Here is an excerpt from Discover South Carolina.com about the church:
Sheldon Church has lain in ruin for more than 120 years. Its gable roof, pediment, windows, and interior have disappeared, but the classic simplicity of its design still remains. One of the first Greek Revival structures built in the United States, Prince William's Parish Church, erected 1745-55, was once one of the most impressive churches in the Province. During the Revolution, the Patriots are believed to have stored gun powder in it. In 1779, when the British General Augustine Prevost invaded the Lowcountry, the church was burned by a detachment which according to tradition, was commanded by the flamboyant local Tory, Andrew Deveaux. Rebuilt in 1826, the church was again burned by Sherman's men in 1865. The ruins are nevertheless a picturesque site from which the visitor can visualize the grandeur of the pre-Revolutionary church.

Family Time and The Outlet Mall

We had more opportunities to spend time with additional family members on Sunday and Tuesday. Sunday we went to Maple Cane Baptist Church with Roberta and joined his niece Bonnie, and his nephew David and wife Rita, along with their son David, his friend Kristi and his daughter Connestee. Everybody joined us back at Roberta’s house for BBQ steak with her homemade mac and cheese. We had not seen David since he visited his Daddy Bob’s farm when he was maybe 14 years old in the late eighties.
On Monday we thought we would run down to the factory outlets that Ron had seen a billboard for on the way back from Savannah and St Augustine. So we headed south on I-95 again having our sights set on shopping binge. When we reached our exit on the freeway we really did not see any outlet mall, but figured it was back off highway 17 somewhere. Did we feel like total fools when the business we saw on the billboard turned out to be ONLY the Sabatier knife outlet only in a building about 700 square feet. We actually passed it by and kept driving on 17. We did stop at the old Frampton Plantation museum and gift shop and go through it, so the trip was not a total loss. We stopped at the knife outlet and Ron bought another chef’s knife and a bread knife. Just what we need, more kitchen stuff!
On Tuesday we returned to Beaufort and vicinity, which we will describe in a later post. We had to hurry back because niece Sherri was fixing a Lowcountry Boil. A Lowcountry boil is just about whatever seafood and stuff you want to put in a pot. In Sherri’s case

it was shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes. If this was an outside feast the boil would just be dumped on newspaper on a picnic table and everybody dig in. Since we were in the house weused plates. We got to meet some more of Ron’s family as his grandnieces Amber and Erin Driggers dropped on at their parents house.

Grandnephew Stevebo and his friend Heather and her son Tyler. Also Bonnie’s daughter Stacey joined as well as there was Ron’s sister Betty Rhode and her husband Bryant and their daughter Julia. Betty fell and broke her shoulder in November and has been slowly rehabbing, and has battled the lows that an independent person who is always doing for others has when she is the person being done for. It was good to see both of them out and about.
To some this may seem like total boredom. You drove 5,000 miles for this? The answer is YES! We actually scaled back on some of the things we had planned because of the wonderful time we have had meeting or reuniting with. In fact we are already looking forward to the next trip.

Tonight as I post this we are in the Days Inn at the lovely city of Chapel Hill NC. We will be touring the Duke and UNC campuses before heading back to SC for one last week. Coming soon (I hope) Beaufort Part 2, Myrtle Beach, the USS North Carolina and Tobacco Road, including a visit to Kannapolis, the hometown of Dale Earnhart. Yes I made a redneck odyssey.

Charleston The First Trip

Saturday the 2nd of February we took a day trip to Charleston with Bonnie and Sherri, two of Ron’s nieces. Charleston is an amazingly beautiful town. We started in the battery and old antebellum area around the harbor. From the seawall we could view Fort Sumter,at the mouth of Charleston Harbor, where the first shots of the Civil war were fired. While gazing out at Sumter our attention was diverted to a porpoiseplaying around in the harbor, our first wild porpoise sighting. We toured the Battery area including Rainbow Row, so named for the rainbow of colors that the houses are painted. Many of these old historic houses are now bed and breakfasts, sites to stay at for a later trip. We spent a good deal of our time wandering around the Market St area downtown, including walking and browsing in the Charleston Market. Now this is a place for artists and craftsmen, but in a bygone era it was the old slave market. One of the more interesting, but expensive, works were the sweet grass baskets. These are painstakingly woven from grass and are beautifully intricate. Unfortunately we saw some priced at $350 apiece.
Of course being from the Northwest we had to take a side trip, to the Harris and Teeters grocery store to visit the Starbucks inside. It is very difficult being in a primitive area without our favorite White Chocolate Mochas. It helps us understand how the very first settlers in the area felt.
After our refreshments, and introducing Bonnie to her first Starbucks, we headed across the new Ravenel Bridge and over to Patriot's Point. This is a place where a naval and maritime museum has been established andthe aircraft carrier Yorktown, along with the destroyer USS Laffey, submarine USS Clamagoe and Coast Guard Cutter USCG Ingham are berthed as exhibits. It is an impressive display with planes on the flight deck. Alas, time constraints did not allow for the full tour. We did see the first signs of spring however, just out side the park. Just down the road the College of Charleston baseball team was practicing in its stadium, making us (me) long for the OS Beaver season to start up again.

From Patriot's Point went to the Citadel College, where Sherri’s husband graduated from college. This old military college was founded in 1842, and is still turning boys into men and leaders of society. Although the existing campus has moved from its original location in Marion Square, it has been in the present site since 1918, so the sense of history is still strong. We closed out our day with dinner and a trip to Folly Beach. We ate dinner at the Charleston Crab House on the banks of the Ashley River. We arrived at this choice because the restaurant was redone on an episode of Flip This House, and we along with Sherri had viewed it. They had excellent food and we had the chance to watch at least 8 porpoises playing in the river. We closed out with a walk on the beach and reluctantly headed back to Round O. We vowed to return on our own one more time before we leave.

The Alligator Farm and Uncle Bubba’s

We spent Monday evening driving around Anastasia Island and Augustine Beach, going to the lighthouse and trying to find beach access for an evening stroll. Florida is not Oregon. Finding beach access with parking in this area was next to impossible, although we found it easier in the daylight. We did get a couple of nice pictures of St Augustine lighthouse and the surrounding buildings.
The next morning we headed to old town again to go through the museum in the visitor’s center. It featured very nice displays of the history and people of the area in chronological order. I found a couple of things that were interesting contradictions. They were Ponce de Leon “discovering” an area that was already inhabited by “Native” American people that had migrated to the US by way of the Bering Strait land bridge. See if you can find the contradictions there.
After the museum we went across the Bridge of the Lions and over to Anastasia Island to visit the St Augustine Alligator farm. Since we had not seen any gators in the wild we had to go see them in captivity. We arrived just in time to watch a feeding demo, and because of the 65 degree day, all the reptilian species were falling , and laying, all over each other to find a place to bask in the sun. They had a display that showed a “typical” Florida swamp that made me quite happy to live in Oregon. Walking into an area with 30+ gators does not warm my heart in the least bit. There were also a number of birds and primates in the park also. Next trip back we are looking forward to seeing a Komodo Dragon. It was one of the more enjoyable wildlife exhibits we have visited. Especially impressive was the display with Gomek, a 17' 9" salt water crocodile captured in New Guinea and sold to the farm. After he died in 1997 he was stuffed and put on display. He has since been replaced by Maximo who was hatched in 1971 and has grown to a length of 15' 3" and weighs 1250 pounds. He should live to be 60 - 80 years old so has quite an opportunity to grow quite large still.

The before-mentioned Bridge of the Lions was a true disappointment to us. It was the old bridge, completed in 1927, that spanned the Intra-coastal Waterway. It is now under renovation and has been replaced by a temporary structure.The marble lions are a huge tourist attraction, with people coming from all over the world to be photographed in front of them.
Reluctantly we left St Augustine for Savannah. We added St Augustine to a growing list of cities that we will revisit on future trips and allow more time to see them. We traveled up the famous A1A highway to Jacksonville and then back on the Interstate. It is too bad how built up the ocean side of A1A has become, and most of these houses will be badly damaged during the next hurricane that hits the Florida coast. It goes to show you the old saying that a fool and his money are soon parted is true.
We arrived in Savannah after dark so did not get a good opportunity to see the town. We wanted to eat at The Lady and Sons Restaurant, but there was a line around the corner and down the block. This restaurant is owned by Paul Deen of Food Network fame and is a popular local attraction. Since we could not eat at Paula’s place the next best thing was to eat at her brother’s restaurant. We loaded Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House in the Navigator and headed off. After a couple of tours around the block we found the restaurant in the back of a dark business complex parking lot. My niece had said something at Sunday dinner about not liking Pacific Coast oysters when she visited that piqued my curiosity, so I ordered the seafood combo with oysters. She was right. There is a real difference between the two coasts where oysters are concerned. The east coast oysters are smaller and more delicate in flavor and even passed the Connie taste test. We had both reached a point where we could not stand the taste or texture of oysters but these were excellent.