Thursday, June 18 2015 -- Signs of our time
Early rising (3:00) got us to the car airport parking in plenty of time to take the shuttle to the airport and to have only about a 45 minute wait to load the plane for departure to Atlanta. That gave me plenty of time to get my tea and crumpet, check and answer morning email and readjust my carry-on stuff. Southwest Airlines allows two checked bags per person, so that meant an easy carry.
Yesterday (Wednesday) was the last day of school for Susan, so not much "down" time before taking off for this vacation. No problems with air flight, and we got to Atlanta a few minutes earlier than scheduled. After finding our way to baggage claim (a full four stop shuttle train away), getting our luggage and finding our way to car rental (a skytrain away) we found our rental car and loaded up.
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| We are in the Peach State |
So far, so good. IT IS HOT HERE!
No trouble (using our gps) getting out of the airport (well, one wrong turn in the parking lot) and onto I-85 -- destination Nebo, NC. BUT -- there was road construction near the bridge that crosses the Savannah River into South Carolina. I mean ROAD CONSTRUCTION. In about an hour we went 3 miles. Susan even had a little conversation with the guys in the truck next to us as we "drove" along. This sent us way back in time and it was getting dark (that starts at around 8:30 here and by 9:00 there it is. Unlike the 10:00- 11:00 dark at home). And there were thunder and lightning storms -- and hard rain. Poor driving conditions for anyone, especially one who has been up since 3:00. We did have some impressve lightning shows -- bright white jagged bolts crossing the sky, big bright flashses of light opening overhead and bold claps of thunder surrounding us. We opted to stay at a Super 8 motel for the night,.
From our motel it was a mere two hour drive to cousin Sally's house. The route took us along some beautiful, quiet, winding countryside roads which were beautiful to drive on this morning but would have been intimidating and seemingly treacherous last night.
Next morning (this morning actually) we had an enjoyable stop at the welcome center/rest area.
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| We missed seeing any sign in SC |
The grounds are extensive forest with hiking trails throughout, and the visitor center is an actual visitor center with real people there to give you information, tons of free pamphlets and maps (as usual Susan took one of just about everything), displays much like a museum, and workers actually maintaining the area -- window washing and all! Can you tell that this is something unusual in our part of the country?
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| Missing a sign in SC, I thought this would do |
From the Atlanta airport to Sally's house in Nebo NC it is about 225 miles or so. In essence, we can say it took us two days to get here!
What a grand place! I will post two photos of our mid-morning activity, with more to come in the next day or two.
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| Sally's Dad -- Uncle Bill -- is the first one in the lake |
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| The Smoldon family prepares for entry |
All this fun, and it is only early afternoon!
Hot? Go jump in the lake...
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