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From Wheat to Woods: The Green Tunnel
Before we reached Branson, we swung south to put our feet upon Arkansas soil. Jim has been there; Dianne may now check it off her list of states not visited. We pulled off the road for a quick break in the woods; Dianne waded into some greenery that Jim unfortunately belatedly noticed was populated by poison ivy. We washed down with soap and water the body parts that might have been affected. It will take a few days to see what happens. (No problem resulted.)
As we near Branson, Missouri, we pass through Table Rock State Park, cross bridges over the narrow, twisty lakes among the hills. Branson is a small city of 10,500 residents, plus what appears to be at least a million visitors (sort of like Venice in that respect).
Branson has night clubs and theaters featuring popular country musical stars and is a very popular tourist town. Several miles outside Branson, we found a campsite at Bull Shoals Lake on border of Arkansas. It was a mixed site with private motel and restaurant (noisy party at motel lasted well past midnight.) plus a campsite managed by US Army Corps of Engineers, hosted by an elderly couple. Cooked our dinner & breakfast from leftovers. Lots of families with little children in the campground. Many boats were moored along docks, mostly for fishing.
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May 25: Broke camp early and headed for Kentucky and Mammoth Cave Natl Park. Arrived in time to get one of the last unreserved campsites. Dinner & breakfast out of chuck box & cooler.
Broke camp & D packed up while Jim walked to park headquarters to make cave tour reservations for their 9:00 am History Tour.
Compare our Subaru chuck box with this 19th century chuck wagon.
Very similar designs.
We enjoyed a fascinating two-hour tour of a cave actively used & mined for about 5,000 years.
Formations in Mammoth Cave
After the tour, we enjoyed lunch from the chuck box & headed for Asheville, Tennessee. Dinner at Puleo's Grille; Jim enjoyed Ahi Tuna, while Di focused on Crab cakes. And on to Virginia!
Dianne describes our approach through North Carolina.
Jim describes a brief walk on the Appalachian Trail
Azaleas decorate a pull-out on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Observing the Great Smoky Mtns http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm
May 26: We headed for Ashville with a plan to stay in a hotel. We were impressed with the business/entertainment environment. There were many large buildings housing large companies, as well as large, elegant (expensive) hotels. We are penny-pinchers when it comes to overnight accommodations. We found a small motel, Whispering Pines, on the outskirts of town that boasted "Vacancies: Yes!" Di said Yes! Jim whined a bit, but finally said, "Okay." It was managed by a couple from India. It had a comfortable bed, television, bathroom with shower, microwave, and coffee service. It was not luxurious, it was small, but it was pretty cheap. Slept well.
May 27: Left Whispering Pines Motel about 9:00. Headed for Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center at 383 mile mark on Parkway. Watched movie about history, environment, and culture of Parkway. Headed north, stopping for a short (1.4 mi. RT) hike to Craggy Dome. Peanut butter & jam sandwiches for lunch at the car. Headed north again. Stopped at Parkway Craft Center to browse interesting, expensive handmade articles. Continued north through "a green tunnel" stopping occasionally to look at valleys and other mountain ridges on either side of the Ridge. Driving the Parkway is sometimes annoying with other cars going too slowly or following too closely. We camped overnight at MP 210.
Up and at 'em about 7. Tent down and packed while Jim made coffee and breakfast and pointed out additional poison ivy vines (don't touch) creeping up some nearby tree trunks. Left Rocky Knob at 8:35, heading north, about 170 miles to go on Blue Ridge Parkway. Stopped at Iron Mines Hollow (about 100 miles from the end of Parkway) to see 360 deg. view of valleys on either side of Ridge with the smoky mist wafting over the nearby hills. (see Great Smoky link above) Theory of smoke: plant chemicals misting in the air causing the haze. Just below the road, the Appalachian Trail can be seen. Appalachian Mts: Great chain continuing all the way from Gastbury Peninsula in Quebec to Georgia. The south end of the trail starts at Springer Mt., Georgia, the usual start of the A.T. for "Through Hikers."
We left the Appalachian Trail at Stanardsville aiming for Reston VA, and Jim's roommate at college, Bob Bier. We stopped at Prince Michel Winery for a couple bottles of wine. We connected with Bob as soon as we got cell phone signal; we will arrive about 6. What a complicated nest of highways. We arrived At Bob's home at 6:15. His wife, Susan, is out of town visiting friends, so we'll miss seeing her. Over dinner Bob and Jim reminisced about college days, and planned activities to celebrate the next few days.
May 29: After breakfast some catchup computer work was done, then we planned a visit to Washington D.C. Jim wanted to visit the Vietnam Memorial to look up the name of a high school friend of his and his brother. Bob drove us in from Reston, we parked at The Kennedy Center, took the bus to the Mall. We progressed on to have lunch at the Museum of American History Cafe, then visited the Phillips Collection of Modern Art. Metro. The Kennedy Center bus returned us to the parking lot (5 hrs - $22), and we returned to Reston.
Segway tourists in Washington DC
Vietnam Memorial: Long Line in Tribute to the Fallen
Vietnam Memorial: Pointing out a personal loss.
Georgia O'Keeffe, Red Hills Lake George, 1927
Georgia O'Keeffe, Large Dark Red Leaves on White, 1925
Renoir: Luncheon of the Boating Party. Renoir's mistress is gazing at her dog, a symbol of loyalty. Everyone else is flirting.
Some discussion about restaurants in the Reston shopping center, or should we go to the supermarket. Finally a decision was made and we headed out to find a restaurant for dinner. Wandered around the blocks; finally decided on Passion Fish, a seafood restaurant. Bob and Dianne had salad and sushi; Jim had octopus and gumbo. A nice white wine: Entre Deaux Mer from Bordeaux, was shared.
May 30: We went to Mt Vernon, President/General George Washington's home. Learned about his life, leadership, history. He had many slaves to support his and Martha's life, the multitudes of visitors, and his career as a military officer, general, eventually President of America.
May 31: We packed up to leave; gobbled some breakfast; then made a phone call to Brad, a college friend of both Jim and Bob. On to Maryland, New Jersey, and Vermont.
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