So I setup my tent in the dark, and I woke up at 6am in the dark. I wanted to see the sunrise from the beach. I tore down my campsite in record time and made my way to the beach. I have to admit, the sunrise was super disappointing. It turns out that the public beach that I went to actually faces south instead of East. Plus there was almost complete cloud coverage. Oh well.
I actually liked Hilton Head a lot. It was a pain to get there, but once you arrive, it seems like a pretty great place for families and adults to vacation. Everything in the town was super new and nice, and I didnt get a trashy party vibe from the part of the island I mulled around (i am sure it exists somewhere else, though). I saw a lot of really fun looking restaurants for adult fun, too. Prices were not nearly as steep as I thought they would be, and when I bought some food provisions in the Piggly Wiggly (grocery store for those who have never seen one), some of the items (cheese, beans) were cheaper than College Station. I was suprised. I sought out a coffee shop and worked on my blog for 4 hrs (it takes time folks!) After that, I hit the road.
I cut across South Carolina to the western-most part of North Carolina that lies in the Smoky Mountains.
The part of the drive near Hilton Head took me through a region called the Lowlands, and man are they low. If/When a hurricane blows through there, they will get stomped. There is spanish moss in all the trees. I love that stuff. It reminds me of a voodoo bayou or something from the pirates of the carribean ride.
While driving through South Carolina, I noticed a lot of south carolina pride. I honestly had no idea what the SC flag looks like (google it). It is a white palm tree and crescent moon on a blue field. What a weird flag. It reminds me of something that would be flying over an oasis in Turkey or somwhere in the middle east. From what I can tell, the palm tree is actually a "palmetto" tree, as many town and business names use that word. I dont know the difference between it and a palm tree. I saw moon and palmetto decals, or just the palmetto, all over peoples car windows. I had no idea South Carolinians had so much state pride. Kudos.
As far as the weather was concerned, I had been pretty lucky thus far. That luck ran out. Lots of rain during the 5hr trek. It rained hard through the first hour of my journey.
I had a pretty smooth drive through SC into NC. There was greenery the entire way. I have heard so much about how beautiful NC is, and my anticipation was pretty high.
I saw this guy at a gas station outside fo Asheville, NC.
When the highway took a turn, and I saw my first mountain, I was excited and probably took too many pictures. As I got further into the more remote parts of the Smokys, the roads got steeper (one of roads I took warned of a 10% grade!) and more curvy. It also started to rain....really really hard. It would downpour for 3min and then stop for 3min. Off and on for about an hour. It made me nervous to drive these tricky roads with so much rain. I took it slow, but I was really amazed at how daring some people were around the downhill turns.
The campsite I was staying at was called Deep Creek. It was inside Smoky Mountain National Park and right outside of a town called Bryson City. I didnt have to pay entry fee to the park, and camping was only $17. Not too bad for a National Park. They had an automated machine that accepts credit cards. This really took the pressure off of me to arrive during business hours.
When I reached my campsite, the rain had stopped for the rest of the night. I was very fortunate. Unfortunately, the camping sites were not nearly as remote as I thought they would be. The sites were stacked right next to each other. On the plus side, not many people were camping during the week. I had neighbors about 50 yards away on both sides. I guess I had become spoiled from staying at so many national forests where I was practically the only visitor.
I put up my tent and got ready for dinner. I had decided that it would be nice to have a campfire, and I had purchased firewood at a gas station. I got the fire started, and it was a beaut! I take great pride in my fire making abilities. It almost fizzled out the first time I started it due to a lack of kindling (classic mistake). This was because I was under the impression that the collection of kindling on site was forbidden. I found out later that it is totally legal, but i didnt know that at the time. Anyways, I had to get my fire started, so I started wandering around the camping area with my headlamp at night as discretely as possible searching for kindling. After that, the fire raged, and I was happy.
For dinner, I had a turkey and cheese sandwich, a peanut buttter and honey sandwich, and a can of tomato, okra and corn that I bought at Hilton Head. All of it was uber delicious.
After dinner, I sat and enjoyed the fire. I brought a harmonica that I blew on for a while. I dont know how to actually play it, but I can blow into it and make sounds. It is always in key, so it doesnt sound too terrible.
I went from sunrise at the Atlantic Ocean to sunset in the mountains in the same day. Cant beat that.
The next morning, I woke up and went for a hike. I decided to take a 5mi loop trail. It was awesome. The first part of the loop had a trail that was like blacktop pavement. Not exactly a forest trail, but the scenery was great. There were little side trails every so often that lead to the creek. I spent a decent amount of time just taking in the creek/falls, and observing all the types of plants and fungus that grow on the forest floor.
Further down the trail, the loop seperated from the blacktop trail and went up the mountainside. It was steep, and I only saw one other person on the trail (and no bears). This trail made up for the lack of solitude at the campsite. It started to rain (which I was prepared for), but luckily it never rained very hard. The forest canopy protected me from most of the rain, and what did get through was actually pretty pleasant. It was very relaxing to hear the gentle spattering of rain on the forest leaves. I did catch a glimpse of wild turkey when it crossed my trail. Over all, the hike was success. It satisfied my Smoky Mountain fix.
I found this crazy tree where the top part of the tree had been tangled up in a neighboring tree, but the bottom part had been chopped down or fallen away. It was this super tall tree with no part of it connected to the ground. An odd site.
As I left the park, I wanted to grab lunch in Bryson City, the quaint mountain town that was right outside the campsite. I discovered that the Smoky Mountain Railway runs through Bryson City, and that the coming weekend was the beginning of RailFest : a festival for train enthusiasists (I was amazed how many train enthusiasts are also Harley enthusiasts). Anways, the town was buzzing, and I decided to slip into this deli called the filling station. I was blown away by the number and creativity of sandwiches they offered. I got an italian panini that was the best I have had, and I was sad I only had enough appetite for one sandwich. During the fall and winter (it actually snows in these parts), I bet Bryson City would be a cool place to vacation along with taking a ride on the Smoky Mountain Railway.
I left the Smoky Mountains and headed towards Mooresville, NC to visit my cousin Matt K. As I left the Smoky Mountains, I headed through the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are all part of the Appalachian Mountain Range.
Just before I got to Moorseville, I saw a sign for the JR Factory outlet. In college, my buddies Clint M. and Blake M. started the Texas A&M cigar club called Aggie Aficionados. I remembered how we always ordered our cigars from JR Cigars, and I had to stop by and see where our cigars came from. The outside was a dingy old warehouse ( i guess thats how they keep prices so cheap). The inside had tons of knockoff clothes and assorted apparel, but they boasted the largest cigar shop in the world. The humidor was huge! It was the size of a walgreens, and cigars lined the shelves. Pretty crazy.
When I got to Mooresville, I met up with Matt and his partner Joe. We had some delicious pizza at a place called the Salty Caper. Afterwards, we headed back to the house, had some excellent wine, and discussed all things North Carolina. Matt and Joe are trying to visit all 120 vineyards in NC. They have been to 80 so far, and they have amassed quite the collection of wine. What a cool hobby!
Thanks so much for the hospitality and advice Matt and Joe!
The next day: Boston with my friend Christian and Kayley :-)
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