East Coast Catchup

This is the first post where I've had to go back and check where we've been. It has been a busy few days, with limited amounts of internet (and other priorities when we did have it). With that in mind, excuse the long post!

Here's the map...

We left Savannah, Georgia, and drove North along the coast into South Carolina. The coast, when you get close enough to see it, is quite tidal and there are a lot of inlets and mudflats. We crossed John Island and parked up at the James Island Campground.

We got a taxi into Charleston and were entertained by the driver who, as a "Son of the Confederacy" member, had a few things to say about the Civil War (number one: "We don't call it the 'Civil War', we call it the 'War of Northern Aggression'"). South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union and was dealt to harshly by the North as punishment. Everyone here has an opinion on the War and it doesn't take much to get them to share it. He had served in the armed forces, which became apparent when, while waiting at lights, a train could be heard approaching and the train barrier arm across the intersection began its decent. He stopped mid-rant to say "Where are you, you SOB?" swerved wildly to the left, sped down two blocks until he got to a barrier arm which was just beginning its descent and got us over the train-tracks with no further delay.

Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired, is in the middle of the Charleston Harbour and our trip there was well timed as a thunderstorm crashed over Charleston. When the rain here comes, it is very heavy, but very isolated and doesn't last long. There's not much to the island really, but it was an interesting trip marred only slightly by some of the worst behaved children ever.

The rest of time in Charleston was spent wandering around the historical streets. One interesting sight of the afternoon was a woman at a bar with a squirrel on a leash (in a little harness). Charleston is really beautiful - big old historical buildings (including a pirate prison - Blackbeard himself menaced the local waterways) and a number of beautiful homes (still inhabited and many up for sale) including the famous "Rainbow Row", a block of houses across from the waterfront all painted in pastel colours. It was awfully hot so we cooled down by paddling in the fountain with some local kids.

Georgetown, slightly further up the coast, was the next stop for coffee, cake, a book, and bread. It was a surprisingly pretty little town (dependent on you facing away from the smoking factory chimneys on one side of the river). The other side of Georgetown, however, is strikingly pretty, full of artisan-style shops and friendly locals.

In stark contrast was Myrtle Beach where, according to Lonely Planet, you can see "whole families roasting like chickens on the white sand". It's the southern version of Jersey Shore. Again, a thunderstorm loomed in the background, but we did manage to wade in the Atlantic and eat a hot dog on the boardwalk. We stayed the night at Lumberton, a nowhere kind of place just over the state line in North Carolina.

The next morning we drove further North. First stop was an impromptu - "hey, there's a battlefield" - one which proved interesting and entertaining. Civil War battlefields are peppered all over this part of the US and this was one of them. Averasboro Battlefield now has a small, interesting museum staffed by an older volunteer who was glad to see us and showed us round the exhibits and pointed us in the direction of the battle sites.

From there, we had a slightly stressful drive into the centre of Raleigh, the Capital of NC, home to narrow streets, inappropriately placed trees, excellent icecream (swirl freeze), and dinosaur bones (and a fossilised dinosaur heart). We dashed into the Museum of Natural Sciences, saw the Acrocanthosaurus and got out.

We got into Mebane around 6 and met up with Charlotte's friend Lefty and his wife Kat. They showed us some real Southern Hospitality with our first home cooked dinner (other than in Winston) in over a month. We had drinks out in Greensboro, and went for an entertaining breakfast at Cracker Barrel - the "Old Country Store." It was originally recommended to us by an old bloke at some visitor centre a few states back, so I have been harping on about it - and Lefty had a lot of enthusiasm for it as well. It's very "down home" food,  but delicious, and as bonus you can sit on the front porch in a rocking chair and place checkers. It was great to see/meet Lefty and Kat - the youngest people we've hung out with since May. It was also good to get some answers to pressing questions we'd been saving up especially for them (Kat is a doctor and Mark had some health system questions for her, and Charlotte wanted to pick Lefty's lawyers brain on Constitutional issues. We both wanted to hear what they had to say about Walmart).

I know this post is becoming a novel, but bear with me, only two more days to go!

We visited Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. The Americans are very proud of Thomas Jefferson - and rightfully so - he did draft the Declaration of Independence, amongst many notable achievements (including inventing the swivelly office chair). He had rated fifth on Charlotte's favourite Presidents list, until we went to Monticello.

It may have been the way the tour was narrated but he sounded like he was a bit smug (e.g.: the tour guide told us that the portraits on the wall were of people TJ thought were important, and he ranked them so the more important they were, the higher they were up the wall. Jefferson had placed George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and his own portrait amongst those highest up on the wall.... two rows above Jesus and one row above "Lady Liberty". We headed down the road and stayed the night in an out the back of beyond campground in Virginia.

Today, we've been in Richmond. In 1861-65, Richmond was home to the Confederate Government and we visited what Charlotte is now calling (jokingly) the real White House - where Jefferson Davis served his 4 years as President. Aside from the actual history, the tour guide told us that Davis' children were poorly disciplined and one (aged 5) was the proud owner of what can only be described as a Cannonette - about 6 inches long but still with enough fire power to kill someone. A visit to Monument Avenue - a mile long stretch of road dubbed the "Champs Elysees of Richmond" - which is lined by some of the most beautiful real estate we have seen here (other than Savannah, probably) and also broken up intermittently by heroes of the Civil War, of the Confederate side only of course.

Virginia is lovely - so amazingly full of history... but we both miss the South already.