ALABAMA, THE CAROLINAS, VIRGINIA, MARYLAND + CONNECTICUT

Greetings Family and Friends,

Kate the Van and I have been on the road over two and a half months as of this writing.  In the past few weeks, I’ve enjoyed the gift of time with my east coast family.  I didn’t want to give up a moment of it to write, so I’m playing catch-up on my travel through Alabama to Connecticut now, and will post about family visits in New England soon.   

Perhaps you’ve reflected on what makes travel pleasant or unpleasant for you?  Or the difference between being a tourist and a traveler?  I’ve been thinking about how many positive experiences I’ve had with people around the country, and how to be a good traveler.

My friend Miss Farnsworth came to mind. She toured in Europe with a California based choral group a few years ago.  When she shared a group photo taken abroad, I noted that her companions all wore tee shirts or such, but she impressed in a linen sheath dress and a stunning broad brimmed hat.  She said she was raised to “put your best foot forward” when travelling. Especially in foreign countries where you represent yours.  I loved that expression, and that she was taught to show respect to others, essentially by esteeming herself. 

I don’t have that fabulous hat (or Miss Farnsworth’s panache), but do endeavor to put my best camping foot forward by keeping up appearances, and being friendly to and considerate with the people I meet.  My goal is to leave a positive impression of visitors from California in my wake. 

Simple acts like keeping myself, my campsite, and Kate the Van clean.  Or gathering kindling to leave for the next camper.  Wearing a dress and sandals and painting my toenails on travel (non-hiking days).  All can help dispel some of the negative perceptions of van dwellers. 

Greeting people with a smile and a “good morning” has been the entrée to many fun conversations with folks who are curious about Kate the Van and my travels. An older single lady traveling alone is not the norm in the places I’ve camped, and people have said they think I’m brave.  My usual flip response is “or crazy…one or the other”. 

But I don’t believe this trip is at all crazy, and I feel undeserving of the word brave.  It didn’t require courage. I knew I could plan it in a safe and sane way.  This form of travel may not be the easiest thing I’ve ever done, but it is among the best.  Like most things in Life, it took desire and commitment to make it happen.   

But enough blathering!  I hope you’ll enjoy some of the travel impressions below.

Alabama

From Florida I’d planned to travel North via Georgia, but it proved difficult to find campsites and expensive when I could.  I opted to go through Alabama, and it was beautiful!  I traveled on two-laned country roads through charming little towns like Skipperville.  Who doesn’t love that happy name!

My first stop was at Blue Water State Park which was quite (on a weekday).  The spring the park is named for was clear and remains a constant 68 degrees throughout the year.  Some time ago they enclosed its opening inside a concrete pool which flows over into a creek.  The pool is a nice place for locals with children to swim (and keeps the alligators at bay). But it also makes the spring seem less natural and a bit tame to me.  Still, it was in the mid 80’s with high humidity and that relatively cool fresh flowing water felt great!

Halfway to my next campground I got out in Montgomery for a walk in an expansive open space called The Blount Cultural Park. Many people were out running or walking their dogs.  It featured an old stone bridge with a small guard enclosure. It’s a lovely place where they put on Shakespeare in the Park, music festivals and the like. The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts is located here. 

My next campsite was in Oak Mountain State Park.  This nearly 10,000 acre park has something for almost every outdoor enthusiast.  Archery, golf, boating, and equestrian, hiking, BMX trails.  It’s thick with trees, lakes, rivers, and waterfalls. 

There was a marvelous series of large aviaries built on a raised boardwalk over a creek where rescued birds could recover.  They housed some beautiful hawks, eagles, owls, an albino vulture, and others. I visited in the early morning when no one was around and fully appreciated being elevated in the forest with the sound of running water and sitting quietly with these birds. 

I stayed for 5 nights during which the South was getting slammed by tornados, including a big one in Atlanta with fatalities and over 30 in Mississippi.  One night the campground was pummeled by a severe thunderstorm.  Flash flood warnings from Weather.com were buzzing on my phone, and it showed lightning strikes within 4 miles. The strikes seemed like they were a foot away, but I could confirm it was a few miles with the old method of counting the seconds between the lightning flash and the sound of thunder, and then dividing by 5 (i.e. 15 seconds = 3 miles).

South Carolina

Sadler’s Creek State Park in South Carolina was the next stop on my way to North Carolina to meet up with some friends I hadn’t seen in 18 years.  This was a pretty little campground with hiking trails, and a large lake with red clay beaches.  I’d gotten lucky and was able to book a parking spot right on the water. I was great to be open up Kate’s back doors and watch the sun set over the lake while sipping tea under a down comforter.   

North Carolina

What a fun visit!  I’d booked 5 nights in beautiful Falls Lake State Recreation Area. It felt like wilderness but is only a few minutes from Durham and Raleigh.  At some state parks you need to leave your vehicle in your reserved parking spot, or you’ll forfeit it (not a problem for folks with large RVs who tow a small car). Because I couldn’t drive out, my friends joined me at the campsite for a potluck picnic. I stocked for the duration at the Whole Foods in Durham before arriving.

Michelle and Rob live in Durham, Elena in Raleigh, and Liz drove in from Richmond a couple of hours away.  I’d worked with them all at a company called World Res back in the late 1990s and early aughts.

One thing I’ve discovered on this trip is that most state parks prohibit alcohol. My friends couldn’t enjoy their beers that day, but it didn’t stop the fun.  On a side tangent…I’d done a dry month in April when I started my trip, which rolled into May because I liked it.  I’ve since decided that I’d like to enjoy a glass of wine at social or special occasions, but no longer as a nightly ritual with dinner.  Since social/special events amount to tiny percentage of my life (being a hermit ;), it seems a good arrangement for my health and memory retention. 

But back to the picnic fun…we had such a great day!  Catching up on 18 years while laughing and sharing stories.  The experience of working at WorldRes was of community, and we bonded there.  Its founders (Greg and Eric) fostered an organizational environment which functioned like a healthy family.  Personal responsibility and accountability reigned, voices were heard, ideas exchanged, and people felt valued.  It was a true meritocracy. 

Michelle returned the following day and did a bit of fishing.  We enjoyed a leisurely day under a pavilion by a beach talking story.  It was such a pleasure to connect with my friends in this beautiful place. 

Virginia

I had a wonderful time in Richmond.  My friend Liz who grew up in the South is a delightful tour guide.  She has an amazing apartment, every inch painted by her hand and every object an original with a story.  She lives in the Church Hill area of Richmond and walked me around this historic area with it’s brick buildings, bountiful gardens, and the church where Patrick Henry gave his “give me liberty or give me death” speech.

Liz then drove me down Monument Avenue where the city has been removing the statues of Confederate soldiers.  The plinths still stand, but the only two statues remaining are Arthur Ashe is at one end (a man who couldn’t play tennis locally when he was coming up), and Robert E. Lee at the other.  Lee’s statue is slated to come down, but because it is under state jurisdiction it can’t be authorized by the mayor like the other statues.  The Lee statue is surrounded by chain link fence, the plinth covered in graffiti and outside the fence a gathering of protestors.

Liz then drove me to the Virginia Museum of Fine art to see the Kehinde Wiley statue “Rumors of War”.  Mr. Wiley is best known for his painting of Barak Obama which hangs in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.  Kehinde Wiley’s experience as a black man walking under the gaze of the Confederate statues on Monument Avenue gave him an idea. He did not advocate for the removal of the Confederate statues but thought it better to respond with a statue that expressed his viewpoint. I found this 4-minute interview with him interesting.  

His statue echoes some of the Confederate soldiers, but on the horse is a young black man with short dreads and a hoodie.  The VMFA museum commissioned and installed this massive and powerful piece outside near its entrance. 

I also visited my friend Ronna in Richmond.  She spoiled me with a delicious lunch spread, then we went to the James River Park Pipeline Walkway.  Here you walk along a catwalk on a huge pipe that is part of the wastewater system…which may sound odd, but it’s a great way to see the rapids, blue heron nesting areas, and locals enjoying river beaches.  Ronna’s partner Gregg joined us later for a walk over the T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge.  Part of this pedestrian bridge over the James River is the “Three Days in April 1865” installation.  Along the sides of the bridge are time/date inscriptions, and under your feet there are quotes from citizens who fled from the fire and destruction of Richmond during those moments in the Civil War.  The Civil War is almost palpable in the South.  Being raised in California it was a history lesson in school but almost an abstraction.  Here, it feels alive and present at nearly every turn.  

I stopped in Scottsville Virginia next.  It’s a charming historic district of Charlottesville where the my cousin Jeff and his multi-talented wife Karen live.  This was my first time seeing their home, and I was impressed with how they designed and built it.  So much thought and design research went into every aspect of it, especially the kitchen.  They toured me around their garden, and we had fresh cut broccoli and strawberries alongside a perfectly roasted chicken for dinner.  It was amazing to wake up to this pastoral place at dawn.  I stayed in a lovely upstairs bedroom which looked out on the fields with pink and gold light made misty by a light fog.  It was the first time I’d slept outside of Kate the Van since I left on the trip, and it felt utterly luxurious!

During this time the Colonial pipeline shutdown happened.  I’m grateful it didn’t impact me.  I’d filled up my tank before the 5 nights at Falls Lake, and by the time I drove to Richmond the pipeline opened up again.

Maryland

After Virginia I stopped at Greenbrier State Park in Maryland.  It’s a pleasant little park which locals visit for the swimming beach, or for fishing or kayaking.  I saw my first copperhead snake there.  I didn’t stop to take a photo…just gave it a wide berth and kept walking.  I also got to see some of the Brood X Cicadas, but that was the day I was decamping and regretfully didn’t get to hear them sing en masse. 

Connecticut was the last state I stayed in before driving through Rhode Island to Cape Cod.  I wanted to visit the town of Mystic and set the Mystic Pizza shop as my GPS destination.  The tourist traffic was heinous there, so I turned left, found street parking, and went on a walkabout.   The entire town was scented with blooming lilac trees and ocean air.  It was a beautiful sunny day, and I got some snaps of the darling cottages and salt box homes to paint later.  I also visited the Avery Point Lighthouse in Groton Connecticut a short drive from the Mystic seaport.   It’s on the grounds of the University of Connecticut’s Branford House Mansion. 

Sheweee! That was a long one! Lots of ground to cover. Thanks so much for stopping by!

arica