Mountain Retreat

Lately, it has been over 100 degrees on the heat index--stifling!  So, since George was all done with the school district budget, and we both had Friday off, we packed our bags and left for the mountains after I got home from school Thursday afternoon.  The trip couldn't have been better except for one giant obstacle--it wasn't any cooler in the mountains whatsoever.  Hah!  Since I had packed clothes for cooler weather, I must admit I was a wee bit hot there, but the trip was great otherwise!

A favorite past time of George's has always been to see as many stadiums as possible.  Although some look impossible to get into, George always seems to find a way.  First stop:  Columbia, South Carolina:  Home of the Gamecocks and Steve Spurrier

They are putting in a brand new jumbo screen which will really be nice.   George was dying to go walking on the grass, but with a giant sign to stay off, plus the guy mowing it at the time, he opted to just take a big long look at it.

Spurrier already has his name on the stadium as the coach with 11 wins in a season, I believe.  But, he still has lots more mention of him--plus a statue of him--at the Swamp.  He certainly made his mark there!

This train was beside the stadium and looked like it was a place for the fans to eat.

Then we headed over to the Capital Building.  That is a tradition I developed as a child.  Since my dad served for eight years as a State Senator for Idaho, we always visited state capitals when we went on family vacations.  

An interesting note:  The monument in the foreground was established to memorialize South Carolina's Confederate dead.  Beside it is the flagpole with a flag of the traditional version of the Confederate battle flag.  (With absolutely no breeze, it lies limp against the pole, but you can see it there.)  Anyway, the monument was established after a controversy during the U.S. Presidential Campaign of 2000 about the Confederate flag flying over the dome of the State House.  The flag, originally placed over the dome in 1962, was moved to its present location on July 1, 2000.

We stayed the night in Columbia so that we could start for the mountains the next morning when it would be lighter.

It wasn't long before we began climbing and stopped at an overlook to view the beautiful Smokey Mountains ahead.

A buzzard was lazily flying around looking for something dead to eat.

After a beautiful drive through the beautiful green covered mountains, we arrived in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  This was a place George used to come to as a young boy.  His family always loved coming here to just see new scenery and enjoy the wildlife and outdoors.

We decided the very best way to see the most of Gatlinburg was to ride the trolley--it just happened to be FREE for a certain time in summer, and we hit it just right.  

Along the eight-mile loop, there are 450 arts and crafts stores, restaurants, etc.  It really is a fun, little laid-back town.

Before I married George, I had no idea what a Cooter was.  He soon informed me that it was a river or pond turtle.  I had to take a picture of this because George always lovingly called the kids "Cooters" when they were little, and is still trying to get one of them to name a kid "Cooter."  Hah!

  

The vegetation all around the town is so thick, you can hardly see through it.

One of the attractions is a ski lift that takes you to the top of the mountain to over-look all the area, so we hopped aboard. 

After the ride back down, we had to stop at the frozen custard store for George to get his ice cream "fix."

Back on the trolley, we got aboard just as they were filming some segment of a local show about their free trolleys.  Too bad we didn't get to see the finished product with George smiling on camera.

After spending the day in Gatlinburg, we started for Cherokee, North Carolina, another place George wanted to visit.  It seems like I heard George's dad and mother loved going there many times after all the kids were raised.


This was actually on the back side of the welcome sign, but I had to take a picture of George with the feather he found there.   Cherokee has an interesting history. 

No one knows how long the Cherokee Indians have lived in Western North Carolina, but they settled there thousands of years ago according to their legends.  They were left pretty much alone until
 the 1830s, when the federal government no longer needed the Cherokees as strategic allies and land speculators wanted this land for plantations and for the gold that was discovered in North Georgia. In 1838, the government forced the removal of the Cherokees in the East to Oklahoma. Over 16,000 Cherokee began the long march, with one quarter to half dying along the way of the "Trail of Tears."
The Cherokees in Western North Carolina today are the descendants from those Cherokees who were able to hold on to land they owned, or hid out in the hills, or were able to return. Today, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians is a sovereign nation of 100 square miles, with more than 13,000 enrolled members — a place where modern people respect and preserve the history of their people.

George and I stopped to where some little tiny Cherokee Indian boys were practicing football with their helmets on.  They were adorable.

Again, the vegetation was unbelievable!

Native dancers did traditional dances in front of their stores to attract new customers into their stores where they sold many of their handmade items and crafts.

Wood carvings were everywhere, so masterfully done.

By the time we got to Cherokee (the road between Gatlinburg and Cherokee is extremely winding with big switchbacks and small roads, so it takes quite a bit of time to travel it), anyway, we felt so badly because the Museum was closed.  We would have loved to have visited it.

Soon it started to sprinkle and we needed to get to Asheville, North Carolina, so we got on our way.  It was dark by the time we got to Asheville, and we found out that they had a huge outdoor concert there with 300,000 people coming to town.  It was crazy there, and absolutely no place to stay.  

Now, it was lightening, dark, and we were going down through the mountains in the dark, stopping at each new town and hearing the same--no rooms left!  Finally about midnight, we had traveled to Spartanburg, South Carolina, and found a nice hotel that had seven rooms left, with George in line to get the fifth room.  Yes!!!  We were able to stop there.  We were so grateful because we were exhausted, but even more than that--it wasn't the best weather to be in the mountains at that time of night.

We started out the next morning for Savannah.  George had me take this picture of a sign outside one of the gas stations.  Only in the South! 

Savannah is one of our favorite places to visit.  Walking along the waterfront is always so enjoyable. 

We stopped at our favorite candy store where they make it right in front of you.  The salt water taffy wasn't quite cool enough to start it on the pulling machine like we always watch, but they were making pralines.  They always give samples.  Divine!

This was really an interesting War War II Memorial--how it literally split the world in two with the fighting that went between the two sets of allies.  I always am interested in seeing World War II memorials because my father was an engineer on a fighting plane in World War II and would have gone to war in just a few days, but the war ended.  He said all the guys with him were actually disappointed that they didn't get to use all the skills they had worked so hard on, but to have an end to a World War after so many casualties was fantastic.

Talking to one of the kids while we were walking along.

The old trees in Savannah make it such a quaint city.

There are so many parks (21, I believe) for relaxing in.  They were originally set out by James Oglethorpe, who founded Savannah, as a place for military maneuvers.  This was is known as Chippewa Square.   

Why is this Square so well-known?  This is where Tom Hanks in the movie, "Forrest Gump," sat waiting for the bus.  The original bench he sat on is actually in the museum there in Savannah.

Across from one of the squares, is the Mercer-Williams House.  The Mercer-Williams House was built for Civil War General Hugh. W. Mercer. Ironically, nobody from the Mercer family would ever live there. The finishing of the building was delayed because of the Civil War, leaving it incomplete until 1869. General Mercer chose to sell the home to a man named John Wilder, who finally saw it completed.

Despite the Mercer-Williams House's historical connections, it's probably more famous as the house in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. In 1969, Jim Williams purchased the house and began renovating it. Williams was involved with a man named Danny Hansford. Later, he would be accused of shooting Hansford in the study of the home. Though Williams was acquitted, the case took four trials. Six months later, he suddenly died of pneumonia in nearly the same spot where Hansford's body had been found.

There are rumors that the Mercer-Williams House may be cursed- aside from the deaths of Hansford and Williams, two other people have died in the home. A previous owner died in 1913 of a brain injury after tripping over a bannister, and a child died from falling off of the roof in 1964. This has made the Mercer-Williams House an attraction for ghost hunters and history buffs alike.

This was the first visit to Savannah where we realized that you could tour the house.  Prior to this, we were told it was a private residence and no one could go in.  Although it was closed while we were there, you can bet we will visit it next time we go to Savannah.
 

Final stop on the three-day tour:  Visit the old homestead of the George F. Copeland Family in Brunswick, Georgia.  George was named after his grandfather, although he never met either his grandfather or grandmother as they died before he was born or before he could remember them.  George has been wanting to go there for so long, but it is a little difficult to find if you don't have proper directions.

This little old home housed 12 children at one time, and perhaps 14.  His grandmother took over the two children born to the first wife who died when the two little ones were very young.  She caught her long skirt on the open fire while cooking, and burned to death before she could get any help.  Grandpa George found her still burning in her shoes when he came in from the farm.  His second wife then had 12 children, plus the two she took over.

The reason this home meant so much to George was because after his grandfather died, one of his sons took over the home and year after year, the families had reunions here at the old homestead.  It is still owned by one of George's cousins.

If only these old oak trees could talk--they would really tell a tale of this huge family who lived so frugally, but truly taught their children to work hard and be good honest individuals.  

George F. Copeland met the Mormon missionaries in town, and used to bring them out to the homestead to have them teach his family.  Eventually, the entire family was baptized.

So many memories . . .

Back on the road again . . . and soon we were welcomed back to the State of Florida.  We had traveled 1,200 miles in 2 1/2 days--but a priceless few days for sure!