2017 SE Motorhome Trip (Asheville NC)

March 30
Opps!  Yesterday I dated March 29 as the 30th.  If you look at the photos you'll find the correct date.
Anyway forward -----------
March 30
Drove in the rain from Concord to Asheville, 135 miles.  Arrived at expensive campground, closest to Biltmore House, good wifi, cable does not work so was able to get the satellite to work in spite of lots of trees.  Got set up and made our way to Nine Mile, a restaurant recommended on Trip Advisor.  We found it using the GPS got seated and read the menu.  Iris had squash, zucchini, red peppers, shrimp in siraccchi sauce over linguine topped with scollops.  Bob had scollops and mussels with squash, zucchini, sun dried tomatoes over pasta.  It was very good with a glass of French white wine.

 Bob's selection

 Entrance

Iris' selection

From Nine Mile we drove to the Basilica of Saint Lawrence, built 1905-06, very impressive, built in Spanish Renaissance style with domed roof.  The architect was Rafael Guastavino from Barcelona, emigrated to USA in the mid-1880’s to work on Biltmore House.  No wood or steel  beams were used in the entire structure.  All the stained glass windows from Munich are beautiful.  Not being Catholic we learned that the basilica designation is bestowed by the pope to certain churches because of their antiquity, dignity, historical importance or significance as a place of worship.  Presently there are only 56 basilica in the USA.

 Interior of the basilica

 Alter

 Ceiling

 Exterior

 Stained glass window

Baptistry detail

From the church we drove to Grove Park Inn, an Omni Hotel, built early 1900's, rest stop for many famous people including the "vagabonds", Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Firestone.  Huge fireplaces using 6' logs, shops, originally 130 rooms now over 500, interesting architecture.

Back to the motorhome for happy hour, dinner of left-over BBQ, some HGTV that Bob slept through then to bed but disturbed much of the night by the rain.

2017 SE Motorhome Trip (Concord NC) con't

March 30
Today we did not get in a hurry, had a light breakfast, Iris cleaned house and we got ourselves ready for the day.  We arrived at the "Smoke Pit" about 11:30 and the parking lot was already almost full.  Inside the line to order was almost out the door so we joined in and ultimately got our order in - 3 meats (ribs, brisket & pulled pork), sweet potato casserole, fried okra and cornbread.  Three kinds of sauce on each table, we mixed two and tore into the meat.  It was outstanding.  We had one order, we both ate from it and brought home at least as much as we ate.  NC is famous for its BBQ, not the same as Texas but loved it anyway.  From the "Pit" we drive to the downtown of Concord, parked on the street, walked to the old courthouse

and picked up a booklet for self-guided walking tour of historic Concord.  There were wonderful big houses along Union Street built in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  We walked several blocks to be able to stop and admire each one.  Some of our favorites were:

The flowers and trees were almost as good as the houses so we admired the plantings along the way:

Arrived back at the motorhome in time for a nap, happy hour, TV, and bed.

2017 SE Motorhome Trip (Concord NC)

March 27

Drive today from Charleston to Concord, NC with a stop at Cracker Barrel for lunch.  Our campground, Glenwood Acres, is in the shadow of the Charlotte Speedway of NASCAR fame.  It literally looms over everything around it.  Nice park.

March 28

Laundry has to be done again today, seems like every other day.  A nice laundromat was recommended by the campground manager, expensive but we were able to get four washers immediately.  Bob ducked out to have a haircut at the salon next door, much needed.  Folded all the clothes, got groceries and made our way back to the campground to fix our lunch.  Lamb chops fixed on the George Forman grill and salad.  After washing the dishes we set off for the Rocky River Presbyterian Church where we met the church administrator and the pastor.  They gave us a guided tour of the sanctuary and booklets and maps of the prior church sites and graveyards.  

The first cemetery was behind the “new” church, dedicated May 2, 1861, a beautiful red brick building. Here we found a lot of Spears markers.  These were mostly second and third generation Spears graves. 

 From here we drove to the “Spears Graveyard” where the only Spears buried there is William Spears, born 1731, arrived in Carolina from Scotland in 1740, sired 10 children with his wife, Agnes Wallace, and died in 1803.  The cemetery is a bit neglected with lots of leaves and branches on the ground but William’s monument is clearly visible.

Then a drive to see the “Spears House” later known as Caldwell Creek Farm and Eudy Farm. It is on the national register of historic homes, located near Concord, Cabarrus County, North Carolina. The farmhouse, built by William Spears,was constructed in stages and, prior to 1825, reached the form of a dogtrot. The original pen was probably built sometime between about 1760 and 1795  and the second pen was probably built between 1796 and 1800. The house was restored from 1982 to 1987.  We drove into the driveway of the house and promptly met Jill Ray, the current owner of the house and 42 acres, who graciously invited us in to tour the house and see how she had restored it in the the 1980’s.  At the time they bought the property they had to make the decision to build their “dream house” or put the money into renovating the tumbling down dogtrot oak log house.  They decided to restore and keep it up for someday to be a museum.  It is the oldest standing house in Cabarrus County.  Jill showed us the interior and how one of the two buildings had to have two additional levels of logs installed in order to make the height right for incorporating the dogtrot and installing the single roof over the two halves and the dogtrot.  The  dogtrot  space was used for the kitchen downstairs, the stairs and upstairs the bathroom (only one). We tore ourselves away to keep from trying to stay the night.  Then the drive back to the campground of about 10 miles.  Interesting things - William Spears owned all the land around the Spears Graveyard as a plantation so he was probably more wealthy than any later Spears will ever be.  One story from Jill was that William’s grand-son, Columbus lived in the house many years and when one of his teenaged daughters died he was so distraught that instead of taking her body to the church (water may have been over the road) he buried her in the back yard of the house planting jonquils on her grave and one daffodil at the head.  They still today come up that way every spring.  Wow!

2017 Southeast Motorhome Trip (Charleston)

March 25

Up early (again) in order to get into Charleston, 10 miles from our campground.  First stop was Walmart for exchange of our Rand McNally atlas that did not have the first 8 pages thus missing Alabama and Alaska, then on into Charleston where parking is a real problem.  We finally parked close to our chosen restaurant in a dingy dirty parking deck for $8.  Walked back half a block to SNOB (Slightly North of Broad) recommended by Carolyn and Randall and it was outstanding.  Bob had fried chicken with grilled eggplant, zucchini, tomato while Iris had fried chicken livers with polenta.  We shared the apple pie and its a good thing we did.  It was a huge portion.  Back to the car, Iris could not walk up again due to bad knee so Bob got the car and drove down the ramp to pick her up. Then to find a parking place near the shop where we were to pick up our tickets for the house tours.  Tickets in hand, we then went to the city parking deck and found a space on level 7.  Fortunately an elevator got us back to street level and away we went for our tour of 8 houses on Meeting Street.  We were able to make 6 and then Iris was not able to go any further so we returned to the car and made our way out of town back to the campground.  A light supper, watched Xavier go down to defeat by Gonzaga, and to bed early.

March 26

Leisurely morning getting ready for our reservation at Leyla’s Lebanese Restaurant at 12:30.  Arrived right on time, greeted and seated by Leyla. We decided to share several starters for our lunch.  Everything reminded us of foods we had when we lived in Saudi Arabia and it was all very good, with baklava for dessert.  Then we proceeded to walk it all off on the walking tour of King Street.  Three houses on Broad Street, not impressive as two were B&B’s and one was a real estate office but the five on King Street were exceptional, much better to us than yesterday.  These were mostly individual houses one room wide in order to catch the breezes.  Walking almost to the bottom of King Street as well as standing waiting for entry to some of the houses was tiring,  but a very enjoyable day.  Back to the motorhome to watch NC against KY.  The locals are hoping for a finals of NC and SC.  To bed.

2017 Southeast Motorhome Trip

March 9

Left Georgetown to start our Southeast trip for 2017.  A stop in Elgin at Meyers BBQ for a shared 3-meat plate of ribs, brisket and sausages with sides of beans and coleslaw.  Yum!

Arrived Houston and checked into the Traders Village campground for our two night stay.

March 10

Our day started with a stop at Tom's Ace Hardware to pick up some security cables and lock for our new satellite dish that might be inviting as it sits on the ground or tripod.  Arrived at Churrascos in Memorial City to meet Bob's nephew, Ralph, and his wife, Judy, where we enjoyed some great conversation and fair food.  Ralph is recently retired and is becoming acclimated to retirement.  It was a fun get together.  Back to the park for our final night in Houston.  We are glad that we don't live there anymore.  We thought the traffic was bad in 1987 now it is impossible.

March 11

Drove from Houston to Pat's of Henderson at Lake Charles where Iris enjoyed her favorite, crabmeat au gratin and Bob loved the fried catfish.  We always stop here when going through plus they have easy access and parking for the Motorhome and towed car.  Arrived at Baton Rouge after several detours and stop and go traffic jams on I-10 followed by new route due to long delays crossing the I-10 bridge routing us into Baton Rouge on US 190 after crossing the river well north of the usual bridge crossing.  Our reservation was at the KOA that cost the same as a site in the Florida Keys on the waterfront.  Guess the flooding last year put them underwater so they can now charge waterfront prices.  Won't be staying here in future.  Rained on us all day and then all night.  Iris was up during the night checking that water was not standing around the Motorhome.  Still jumpy after our flood in 1998 on the Guadalupe.

March 12

Got packed and had a fuel stop at Racetrack, parked at Lowe's at the Millerville Exit, extracted the car and drove to Bob's sister-in-law, Merleane's house.  Then we all went to church at the First   Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge.  Inspiring service, huge attendance.  Brunch was at Byronz Bistro, recommended by Dave and Nancy, and it was outstanding.  Iris had crab cake with Canadian bacon and poached eggs, Bob had one egg Sardo and one Benedict, Merleane had "Back of the stove" chicken.  Iris tried the milk punch and then tried another to be sure the ones at Green Pastures in Austin were better.  Scientific experiment.

After getting Merleane home we hooked up the car and took off to New Orleans and got set up in the Bayou Segnette State Park on the West Bank.  Very nice park completely rebuilt, since we were last here, after Katrina.

Ma ch 13

Minor setbacks along the way, the power cord for our TomTom GPS that we use in both the car and Motorhome died.  TomTom wants $60 for a new one so off to Best Buy for a new one at $99.  It was easy enough then to find Willie Mae's Scotch House, our chosen food experience for today.  Amazingly we found a parking place then got in the loooong line, in our case about one hour, but the wait was worth it.  We had fried chicken, best anybody's mama ever made, fried okra and cornbread muffins.  Folks in line were from Houston, Virginia and Minnesota just around us.  Our take away contained about the same as we ate.  Needing a walk we drove to the area of the Church of the Immaculate Conception where we parked fairly close and walked there and then walked around the inside of this Jesuit masterpiece rebuilt in its current form in 1929 and it is magnificent. After another short drive, thanks to TomTom, we parked close to the old Jackson Brewery building and walked to the LA tourist information office on Saint Ann Street where a nice lady gave us a tip in order to avoid the long line at Cafe du  Monde.  Just as she said we entered another place in the building and were immediately seated and had our coffee and beignet in less than a minute.  Lovely and tasty.  Back across the river in order to beat the rush and we were back in our Motorhome just in time for happy hour.

March 14

Turned a bit cold today.  Cleaning day, Bob off to do the laundry and Iris cleaning house.  Light breakfast as today is Commanders Palace.  We parked without difficulty and walked in the door at exactly 11:30 and were seated in the garden room.  Quickly we had in front of us a $0.25 martini and a $5.95 glass of wine from very close to Roussillon in Provence, both enjoyed.  Iris had the 1-1-1, sampler sizes of turtle soup, chicken gumbo and shrimp tomato bisque.  Bob had the chicken gumbo followed by a wilted kale and sun dried tomatoes with fried oysters while Iris had oyster poboy.  Dessert was bread pudding soufflé for Bob and pecan pie ala mode with chocolate and caramel sauce for Iris.  All plans for the afternoon went out the window and we had a nice long nap instead.  Watched some TV and ate leftover fried chicken for our dinner, wasn't quite as good as when hot but still tasty.  Off to bed early and slept 10 hours.

March 15

Low 40's this morning, Bob away early to complete the week's laundry, free here.  Late breakfast.  Drove around in Old Algiers neighborhood looking for the old double shotgun house we considered buying in 1980 and while it has been fixed up some around it are still in need of renovation.  So good decision as we would have missed Scotland and Norway.  Crossed the bridge to find the brand new Walmart close to downtown, made a few purchases then drove Saint Charles and Carrollton area including cross streets admiring the houses and Loyola University with its old and ornate buildings.  When we had enough of riding we parked on Saint Charles close to Superior Seafood and read our books until 4:00 PM when happy hour started with the 50 cent oysters and $3/glass wine.  We enjoyed some wine and a dozen on the half-shell then bowls of seafood gumbo and flourless chocolate cake with ice cream.  We were stuffed.  Made our way back across the river in the rush hour traffic to our Motorhome then watched the President's address from Nashville and the Spurs get beat by one point.  Slept really well again as it is really quiet in this state park.

March 16

On the road after getting up to 40 degrees.  Really enjoyed our stay here.  I-10 from NO almost to Mobile then north on I-65 to Montgomery South RV Park, nice park but only yards off I-65 so noisy and we didn't sleep well.

March 17

Continued our route from Montgomery to Atlanta where we found crawling traffic on I-75 around Atlanta finally arriving at our campground at Allatoona Landing, closest campground to our friends, Collyn and Helga.  Arriving around an hour late (forgot time change to Eastern time), set up the Motorhome and then drove back to our friends' house where we had a long delayed  catch-up.  Helga had been our neighbor in New Orleans when we lived there in 1980.  Had a lovely supper of orzo dinner salad and cake for dessert.  Our visit was as if we had never been separated.  Sometimes it was hard to know who was listening as we all wanted to talk at once.

After the nostalgic evening we drove back to the park to hear the trains, the track is right at the entrance of the park.

March 18

Rain, big time.  Rain stopped just in time for is to unhook from water and electric and use the dump station before leaving the park.  Back to adventures on I-75, not as bad this morning, Saturday.  Only 91 miles today to get to Athens with a stop along the way at a closed restaurant with a nice big parking lot.  Had our left-over Willie Mae fried chicken and most of a bottle of champagne left over from Georgetown that was still fizzy.  Great pairing!  Arrived in Athens and our GPS took us directly to the house of Randall and Carolyn.  They had arranged a parking space for us close to their house, nice and level with electric hookup.  Almost immediately we went to "Uncommon Gourmet" for a wine tasting including cheeses and spreads.  Sampled about six wines, most very good.  From here it was back to the house where preparations began for the dinner for six that included rack of lamb, potatoes, lima beans, wilted collard greens with garlic and bacon and copious amounts of Italian wine.  A real feast and good company.  Sleep came quickly.