Travel – Page 26 – Random Connections

Smithsonian Afternoon

June 7, 2010 Tom 1 Comment

Travel

After my trip to the National Cathedral I made my way back to our hotel. Having walked multiple miles, most of that in the heat, I was completely exhausted when I got back to the room. Laura, on the other hand, had just gotten out of her meetings, and was ready to explore. so, we found ourselves back on the Metro and headed toward the Mall and the Smithsonian museums.

On the way we stopped for lunch at the Pentagon City Mall. The area was overrun with middle-schoolers in matching T-shirts. This, apparently, was the week for school trips to DC, and we ran into crowds of students the entire time we were here.

We got off the Metro at the Smithsonian stop and waled out onto the mall. Large white tents were being set up for some activity, and we feared some big event on the mall for Saturday. Regardless, we walked across the Mall to the Museum of Natural History.

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National Cathedral

June 7, 2010 Tom No Comments

Travel

Friday morning Laura was still busy with her scientist friends, so I was on my own to explore D. C. until lunch. I decided to visit the National Cathedral, a place I’d not visited on any of trips to the city.

I boarded the Metro with the morning rush hour throngs. Even with my agoraphobia I managed to make it to the the Woodbury Park stop without freaking out. From the Metro stop it was about a mile hike to the cathedral through some really nice residential sections. I passed several nannies out walking their employer’s spawn.

As one flies into Washington D. C., the cathedral is just as imposing as any of the other national buildings. It’s perched on a high hill overlooking the rest of the city. However, it’s hardly visible as one approaches from the ground – at least, from the direction I was walking. The area is surrounded by wooded park lands and gardens, and it wasn’t until I was right on it that I could see the large structure.

Touring Washington D. C.

June 5, 2010 Tom 1 Comment

Travel

Just a quick update, with more details to come later. Laura had a conference in Washington D. C. this week and headed up on Tuesday. Thursday I came up and joined her, and have been seeing the city’s sights. The tour has included the following: National Cathedral Natural History Museum American History Museum National Zoo … Read More “Touring Washington D. C.” »

Lowcountry Lookout Towers

May 17, 2010 Tom No Comments

Miscellaneous, Travel

Even though most of my recent outings have involved kayaking, I haven’t abandoned my search for South Carolina’s lookout towers. I have the locations plotted on the GPS on my car, and as we have driven past I’ve made note of condition, and have stopped to check them out and photograph them, where possible.

This past trip took us by several towers, so I decided to document all of my findings over the last few months. Here they are..

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Charleston to McClellanville and Beyond

May 17, 2010 Tom No Comments

Photography, Travel

So far we had already had a great trip to the South Carolina Low Country. Yesterday we explored Beidler Forest and the ACE Basin, and the weather looked great for more exploration today. The day was already hot and humid, so we decided it would be more of a driving trek than hiking. The trek took us through a large swath of the Francis Marion National Forest.

We started the day by driving onto the Charleston peninsula and touring the area South of Broad. There was the obligatory drive along the battery, but what we enjoyed most was driving through the residential areas and looking at the stately homes with their enclosed gardens. For some reason, I wasn’t in much of a photography mood, so I don’t have any photos of that part of the trip.

From Charleston we crossed the new Cooper River Bridge into Mount Pleasant, then headed north on Highway 17. Eventually we came to the Cape Romaine National Wildlife Refuge. I had already checked online, and the ferry out to Bull’s Island doesn’t run on Sundays, so we walked out to the pier and watch birds and boat traffic out on the ICW.

ACE Basin

May 17, 2010 Tom No Comments

Photography, Travel

Our visit to Beidler Forest only took up half of the day, and we were ready to see more wildlife. Therefore, we cut across the country down toward the ACE Basin and the Donnelley Wildlife Management Area. Donnelley is only one small section of the ACE Basin. To the east is the Ernest Hollings National Wildlife Refuge. However, we prefer Donnelly because it’s a bit easier access, and it tends to be a bit quieter.

We entered from Bennett’s Point Road and immediately got turned around. We were taking a different direction, but eventually wound up where we wanted – at the old farm house that serves as a landmark for the rice field hiking trails.

Francis Beidler Forest

May 17, 2010 Tom 1 Comment

Photography, Travel

I had been sneaking off on paddling trips for the past several weekends, so Laura decided it was time for both of us to get away. We headed down toward the coast, and one of our favorite locations, Francis Beidler Forest.

Beidler Forest is located in the Four Holes Swamp area, and is maintained by the Audobon Society. It features a mile-long loop trail on a raised boardwalk that winds through the cypress swamp. In addition to huge ancient trees, the swamp is home to many species of birds and other wildlife. This time of year is when the prothonotary warblers are in town, and we were hoping to spot a few.

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Looking for Fossils on Lady Island

May 9, 2010 Tom 1 Comment

Paddling, Travel

It was the second Saturday of the month, which means it was time for another adventure with the guys from Lowcountry Unfiltered. For this trip we were headed to the Beaufort area, where we would be doing some fossil hunting on the north end of Lady Island, along the Intracoastal Waterway.

I headed down Friday evening, taking off a few minutes early from work so it wouldn’t be too dark when I got into town. I found a place to stay in Beaufort, had a so-so seafood dinner, then crashed after the long drive.

Early Saturday morning I drove over to Lady Island and to our meeting spot at Brickyard Creek Landing. While I was waiting for the rest of the guys, a man walked up and started chatting. He had lived on the island his entire life, and declared it to be the one remaining bit of paradise left on the Carolina coast. He was happy to see that I had a kayak, and not one of those noisy motor boats.

Skyuka Road

April 2, 2010 Tom No Comments

Travel

Tryon Mountain looms large over travelers on I-26. I knew there was a road to the top somewhere, and a bit of research revealed it to be Skyuka Mountain Road. I decided to take one of my days of spring break to go exploring and see if I could find it. That, I did, and the day turned out to be a trek through the North Carolina mountains, through Tryon, Lake Lure, Chimney Rock, Black Mountain, and Asheville.

I started out with a straightforward drive to Tryon – no stops at Campbell Covered Bridge or any of the other interesting points along the way. When I got to Tryon I noticed an antiquarian bookstore on the main street, and had to pull in. There were lots of theological texts, so I wondered if there were any hymnals. The proprietor soon came out, and I discovered that this is the same bookstore that I used to visit down at Stony Point near Greenwood.

Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge

March 14, 2010 Tom 4 Comments

Travel

It was a second Saturday, and the Lowcountry Unfiltered group had another trip planned. This time it would be a bicycle trek to the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge on the Georgia coast south of Savannah. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to join them. We were making a quick trip to Florida to pick up Laura’s mother. However, since we would be driving right past, we decided to stop on the way down. We liked it so much that we also decided to stop on the way back to break up the trip. It turned out to be a great discovery.

Sometime between 1929 and 1932 this area was developed as an airfield, and served as an emergency landing strip for air routes along the Eastern coast. In WWII it was redeveloped as an Army airfield and was used to train both fighters and bombers. In 1946 there was an attempt to transform the Army base into a commercial airfield, but that ultimately failed. In 1962 the area was designated as a wildlife area.

The runways of the old airfield are in an unusual triangular pattern. The old tarmac remains, and this serves as an excellent base for hiking or biking. There is also a wildlife drive that loops through the area, using part of the old runways and taxiways.

On our first stop it had just started raining, but we decided to do the wildlife loop anyway. We first stopped at Woods Pond, and were amazed at the number of storks and green herons. The whole place was covered with birds.

The road continued through pine, live oaks, and hanging Spanish moss…

…then crossed several of the old runways.

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