Author: Easin' Along

We returned from a busy and fun-filled week in Louisville, Kentucky the day before two of our grandchildren arrived to spend the week with us. The purpose of this visit was to attend Vacation Bible School at our church and to absorb all the hugs Helen (adorable wife), and I could squeeze out of them. We had a wonderful time.  The highlight of the week was watching them spend several hours composing poetry and reading their work aloud to us—what fun. Although we had plans for the week after their departure, it was sad to see them go.

Easin’ Along readers may remember that we had to leave Gracey (travel trailer) at home rather than take her to Louisville because Bert (truck) was in the shop. Well, Bert received a new set of wheel bearings, so Helen and I were itching to get back on the road once the little ones left for home. The primary reason for another trip so soon is because Helen is scheduled for a second knee replacement next week and I will be receiving a new hip in three weeks. We did not linger long over the decision of where to go for some calm before the cuts, because we both knew we had to go to our favorite campground in North Carolina.

We love this campground near Cherokee, NC and have returned several times since we discovered it two years ago. The campground sits on the banks of SoCo Creek, and we always ask for a campsite that allows us to back our trailer to a spot within feet of the water. Due to a large amount of rain in recent weeks, the creek was running high, and the sound of the flowing water enveloped our campsite in total tranquility. We slept with the windows open and slept very well.

Usually, we look for some activity or place to explore when we are on road trips, but we are familiar with this area, and therefore content with sitting by the creek to give our soon-to-be-replaced joints a bit of a break. We came here to do nothing, and we can do nothing as well as anybody. After an extended conversation over coffee at Creekside, however, we drove the short distance to Bryson City, NC to do some browsing through the charming shops along Everett Street where I found a book to read in the used bookstore I always visit. We also picked up some freshly made dark chocolate from the chocolatier in town. For the final stop on our visit, we strolled over to High Test Deli and ordered two of their fabulous sandwiches to take back to camp for dinner. 

Day two started out much the same.  First, it was pancakes for breakfast, then Helen struck up a conversation with a group of campers from Birmingham, AL attending a Bluegrass Music Festival in the area.  This group was having too much fun, and their laughter was infectious.  I chuckled when I noticed that all of the ladies in the group had matching pajama bottoms to wear around the campfire. I regret that I did not get a picture of them.

Following breakfast and some time spent attending to a few maintenance items around Gracey, we drove to Deep Creek Campground in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Although both of us knew we needed some exercise, we knew that we wouldn’t be able to do much. Nevertheless, we were up for a walk along Deep Creek to the waterfall a short distance down the trail.  The weather was perfect with the temperature in the low 70’s, and the sun was out in full. Deep Creek was full of folks floating along on colorful inner tubes.  The water was probably a little bit cool because everytime a tuber fell in or got splashed you could hear them squeal. Once we made it to the Falls, we were able to take a few pictures of the floating passersby admiring the view.

I was ready to return to the car, but Helen insisted that we walk on a few hundred yards to a bridge over the creek so that we could say we made it. I’m glad we did. The colorful inner tubes and the fun-loving tubers formed a floating parade that we watched for a long time.  I suppose it helped that we were not in a hurry to do much of anything except enjoy the moment.

By Monday most of the campers had moved out, and we had the campground pretty much to ourselves. Taking advantage of the calm and peaceful surroundings, we read our books, took naps, and watched a couple of fishermen cast flies in hopes of catching a trout. This pace was one we could handle, and a great pace for two folks just Easin’ Along.

After a wonderful trip to Edisto Beach, SC, Helen (adorable wife) and I drove back to Tennessee with plans to spend two days at home then hook up Gracey once again and go north to Louisville, Kentucky for a week full of fun. Those plans looked to be in serious jeopardy when we were within 30 miles of home. Bert (truck) suffered a broken wheel bearing causing us to limp down the interstate at 30 miles an hour with our caution lights flashing and an unbearable crunching sound coming from the left front wheel.

The next morning we had Bert towed to the repair shop while Helen canceled our reservation at Camp Carlson on Fort Knox and obtained a room at the IHG Holiday Inn Express on the same military base. We were fortunate because we got the last room available.  Suddenly, our trip was back on, and things were looking up.

The original purpose of our trip was to attend Antiques Roadshow, the very popular television show broadcast on NPR.  The race track at Churchill Downs was the site of the production. We have attended Antiques Roadshow twice previously, once in Knoxville, and once in Myrtle Beach and although we don’t have antiques of great value, the trips are always fun, and the people you meet are delightful.

Tickets to Antiques Roadshow are not obtained easily. Anyone wishing to attend must apply well in advance and be fortunate enough to have their name drawn in a lottery.  Our names were not selected, but our daughter-in-law also submitted an application, and it was her lucky day. We attended on her tickets. Our appointed time slot was 1:00 pm.

We took four things with us to have appraised. Helen had an old bowl of unknown origin and a commemorative hand-blown bottle produced when the Tennessee Valley Authority completed the first hydroelectric dam in the system.  The bottle featured an etching of Franklin Roosevelt and was believed to be the only glass etching of the former President.

I took two maps. One, printed in 1812 showing the states and territories in North America as they existed at the time, and another map of the State of Tennessee. The only thing I knew about the Tennessee map was that it appeared old. I also took a Rolex watch that I purchased in the mid-70’s and still had the original purchase receipt and certifications. 

Most of the early morning attendees had departed by the time we arrived which made it easy to move around. We watched as the cameras rolled on some lucky attendees who had brought treasures along for appraisal.  I saw one of the lucky ones scream “Oh Wow”! as the host let her know that her item was worth well beyond anything she imagined.

Just as we suspected, our items did not make the cut for show segments.  Helen’s bottle surprisingly was valued at around $500, but her bowl received only the comment of “interesting.” My map of North America came in at $100, but my Tennessee map was only a reproduction of the original. The value of the Rolex was in line with my estimate.

As we passed the appraising booths, we notice Lark Mason sitting in one of them.  Lark is one of the regular appraisers on the Roadshow and is also a graduate of the University of Tennessee.  We stopped to say hello and spent a few minutes chatting with him.  Lark was very generous with his time and agreed to have his picture taken with us.

Like the past Roadshows we attended, we didn’t leave rich, but we did leave with some great memories, and that was treasure enough.

Kentucky is well known for a lot of things, and Bourbon is one of them.  Helen and I thought it would be both fun and interesting to take a tour of a Bourbon distillery while in the area and, for me, it had to be Maker’s Mark about an hour away in Loretto, Kentucky. It was a beautiful day for a drive.

 

 

Maker’s Mark Distillery sits on Star Hill Farm, a lush, green and manicured setting which is also the site of two previous distilleries before Maker’s Mark, founded in the early 1950’s. The distillery offers several tours a day, and we had about twelve to fifteen people accompany us on our tour, led by a very energetic tour guide named Courtney. Courtney loved her job and entertained us with a great sense of humor. We learned a lot about the manufacturing process. I was very impressed with the attention to detail required to produce a consistent product and learned that the water found in the area is the key ingredient. Some of those along on tour seemed eager for the tasting that came at the end. I had to agree that this was the best part.

Included in our original plans for the last night in Louisville was to take our newfound riches from the Antiques Roadshow and then double our fortune on race night at Churchill Downs. Since that plan did not work out as we intended, we decided that we would stick to the two dollar window and carefully scrutinize our choice for each race. That plan also went awry when Helen decided that she would bet on Number Four in each race. So much for plans.

Robin and Mary, two Louisvillians and great friends, were our hosts for the evening, accompanied by two of their sons and daughters-in-law. Robin had arranged entry to the Turf Club through the generosity of a friend which meant we had box seats near the finish line as well as a bar and scrumptious buffet to our rear. This Tennessee country couple was living large.

Before I placed a bet, I combed through the Racing Form searching for clues that would lead me to the victorious horse in each of the six races. I started out with a modest degree of luck, but in the end, I stood fifty cents ahead—still better than losing. Helen, on the other hand, giggled away at the rest of us while continuing to bet on Number Four in each race…and walked away with $75. Go figure!

Honestly speaking, we both hit the jackpot in Louisville.  Livin’ large and lovin’ life while havin’ fun with friends is delightful time spent…Easin’ Along.

No first-time visitor to Edisto Beach, SC should get away without a visit to Botany Bay. We enjoyed a wonderful week of vacation in Edisto Beach State Park and the only obstacle keeping us from Botany Bay was some iffy weather. By Thursday, all of that changed and we drove the four miles to see the place that had been recommended by everyone who visited before us.

The proper name for this scenic and tranquil area is Botany Bay Plantation Heritage Preserve and Wildlife Management Area. It is an area that once held two plantations dating back to the 1780’s with a combined area of 4,687 acres. Long Staple Sea Island Cotton was the primary crop for the plantations from 1820 – 1860, but timber came from there as well. Presently, Botany Bay serves as a managed wildlife habitat and crops such as corn, sunflowers, millet, among others are planted there.

Helen (adorable wife) and I planned to take the driving tour of the plantation, but, when greeted by a volunteer at the entry we were told that there was an archaeological dig in progress on a shell ring within walking distance from the parking area. A television crew was filming the dig for an upcoming documentary on public television. We decided if it was good enough for television, it had to be good enough for two curious retirees.  We drove under a canopy of live oaks to the parking area.

After parking Bert (our truck) in the lot, we walked to the dig site with Kay and Bucky, a couple from Suffolk, VA who arrived at the same time. We enjoyed their company as we crossed a wooden bridge and walked along the scenic trail adjacent to the marsh. Up ahead we could see a lot of activity in progress as well as television cameras shooting away.

A “dig” accurately describes what was going on.  Young researchers were on hands and knees in a narrow trench of varying depths, carefully skimming the surface of the soil with specialized trowels. The soil and any contents were handed to another person and sifted through a screen then examined. Although the task was painstakingly slow, everyone involved was thoroughly engrossed in the activity and seemed to be having a lot of fun. I wanted to know more about the project.

Standing to the side of the trench was a young man engaged in the task of soil sifting. I introduced myself and asked him to tell me about his duties.  In the course of our conversation, I learned that he was a Ph.D. candidate from (where else) the University of Tennessee and had written a Master’s thesis on Shell Rings. I can only give readers the Cliff Note version. 

Shell rings are composed of oyster shells, fish bones, turtle shells, and other discarded food waste left by Native Americans as far back as 4,500 B.C. Our Ph.D. candidate believes that the inhabitants were drawn to the area because the food was plentiful and readily available. They eventually congregated in this spot and set up tents with the intent to remain. Over time, the accumulated shells and bones grew into huge piles. Several theories attempt to explain what the shell rings represent. One is that the inhabitants perhaps assembled the shells into an art form that eventually identified the tribe—something akin to a totem pole. Another thought is that the ring had a ceremonial purpose.  Hopefully, the dig will uncover clues to the reason for gatherings of waste in rings as large as 20 feet high.  One of the supervisors told me that they found no weapons or stone implements inside the ring and no human bones either.  Only shells and fish bones so far and this was considered surprising. We left them digging away, but the activity was truly fascinating.

One reason for some urgency with this dig is that recent hurricanes had severely eroded the area around the shell ring, and had reduced the ring to one-tenth its original size.  We walked on the two-mile beach that stretched from Edisto Island to Sea Brook Island and saw evidence of the storms in the many trees on the shore. Shells, including conch shells, were everywhere.  Visitors had assembled them on the trees to share with visitors.

After walking the beach, we took the driving tour around Botany Bay, following the map provided by the volunteer at the entry. We saw no animal life other than a slow-moving groundhog but did see lots of songbirds including scarlet tanagers, and several herons, egrets, pelicans, and ospreys around the ponds and lakes created by dikes in the creeks.

 

 

Near the end of the tour, we drove alongside several areas once cleared for cotton planting. Trees had returned, but ferns now covered the forest floor. I thought the contrast made a nice picture. An indigo bunting flew by while I snapped away, but he was moving too fast to pose for me. Some wildflowers grew on the edge of the field which we cannot identify.  If any reader can provide a clue, please leave us a comment in the section below.

We had a very interesting day in Botany Bay and left the area thankful that, even in retirement, the learning never stops.  It’s time to be Easin’ Along.