We went to the slave plantation but would have had to wait two hours for the house tour and the swamp tour and the boat tour was closed for winter so just wandered around the garden. There is lots of wildlife there but we saw only ducks. Excellent ducks - but ducks nevertheless.
I finally found out what the funny stuff hanging from trees in the South is called. It is Spanish moss. It looks lethal but does not in fact harm the trees at all - and does not favor any particular trees. I have forgotten already why it is called Spanish moss - but there is a good reason.
The plantation we visited was called Magnolia. It is where the British landed to force the surrender of Charleston in the revolutionary war - which I realized I know nothing about. More reading required.
In the evening we went to Poogan's Porch where I had - for the first time - fried green tomatoes. Delicious. I have decided that I like the South and it's food.
A surreal experience (for Australian readers only) was that we were in fact sitting on the porch next to the street and cycling along the road came Eddie McGuire. He stopped outside the restaurant because someone wanted to take a photo of him. Some Australians sitting next to us shouted greetings. He responded cheerfully and rode away.
Tonite we are in Asheville NC. We had planned tomorrow to do some exploring and then see the Biltmore estate - and leave Saturday morning. But - a gigantic storm is cutting across the Midwest from Texas to Ohio with snow and ice storms and all kinds of ugly shit. Indianapolis has apparently already been buried under a mountain of snow.
So we are going to check out a day early and get as far as we can towards Indianapolis before we have to stop. Then we will hole up until we can get home safely. All this is tricky because Cate leaves for Brussels on Monday so we have to be home on Sunday at the latest.
We are actually more worried about the cats than anything else. It is below freezing in Indianapolis and while we have set the heating to keep the house at a reasonable temperature if we get a power cut - which is apparently a regular occurrence - they will get bloody cold because we did not think to teach them how to turn the gas fires on.
We expect rain, snow and ice on the way home. It is likely to be - as was our trip to Virginia - a terrifying experience. I may have to play Bluegrass all the way home to calm Cate. She will not let me drive because she says I frighten her. Well she scares the bejesus our of me but I can suck it up.
I finally found out what the funny stuff hanging from trees in the South is called. It is Spanish moss. It looks lethal but does not in fact harm the trees at all - and does not favor any particular trees. I have forgotten already why it is called Spanish moss - but there is a good reason.
The plantation we visited was called Magnolia. It is where the British landed to force the surrender of Charleston in the revolutionary war - which I realized I know nothing about. More reading required.
In the evening we went to Poogan's Porch where I had - for the first time - fried green tomatoes. Delicious. I have decided that I like the South and it's food.
A surreal experience (for Australian readers only) was that we were in fact sitting on the porch next to the street and cycling along the road came Eddie McGuire. He stopped outside the restaurant because someone wanted to take a photo of him. Some Australians sitting next to us shouted greetings. He responded cheerfully and rode away.
Tonite we are in Asheville NC. We had planned tomorrow to do some exploring and then see the Biltmore estate - and leave Saturday morning. But - a gigantic storm is cutting across the Midwest from Texas to Ohio with snow and ice storms and all kinds of ugly shit. Indianapolis has apparently already been buried under a mountain of snow.
So we are going to check out a day early and get as far as we can towards Indianapolis before we have to stop. Then we will hole up until we can get home safely. All this is tricky because Cate leaves for Brussels on Monday so we have to be home on Sunday at the latest.
We are actually more worried about the cats than anything else. It is below freezing in Indianapolis and while we have set the heating to keep the house at a reasonable temperature if we get a power cut - which is apparently a regular occurrence - they will get bloody cold because we did not think to teach them how to turn the gas fires on.
We expect rain, snow and ice on the way home. It is likely to be - as was our trip to Virginia - a terrifying experience. I may have to play Bluegrass all the way home to calm Cate. She will not let me drive because she says I frighten her. Well she scares the bejesus our of me but I can suck it up.
Posted with Blogsy
Just don't play any Enrique Iglesias I almost ran the car off the road last time you did that
ReplyDeleteI am so happy you like fried green tomatoes! :-)
ReplyDeleteWishing you a break in the bad weather, free roads, and a safe return home! There are great coffee places in Asheville, so you can get good java before hitting the highways.
Last year I was down there a month earlier, and I also had to cut short my stay there. I got literally chased back to Washington DC by hurricane Sandy from one side and a storm system from the north, with snow and ice hitting Tennessee.
Take your time and be safe!
ReplyDeleteKnowing where you are at I started worrying/wondering about your cats too several sentences before you mentioned them.
ReplyDeleteI am fairly immune to cold. I wear shorts practicaLLy aLL the time. Even yesterday when it dipped into the teen Fahrenheits. I do make sure that I have plenty of cold weather gear in my 4x4 truck. But we haven't got veRy much ice or snow, and rarely do. I don't know if Indianapolis gets much lake effect snow/weather, must research this. Glad you are enjoying Southern cooking, I think my favorites are some Cajun things.
Yes, the weather is moving in. Good Luck and all. We got a new appliance-it is a Duracell charger and I am hoping it is like an umbrella, if I have it with me it will not rain sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteAsheville is a fine town. Sounds like you won't get to the Smokies, but you can see them from there. You should be fine until you get past Virginia. Be safe, at least it is the weekend and folks aren't trying to get to work.
ReplyDeleteThe kitties do have fur coats. They will be fine. Really.
Lenny: I am not sure I still have them - but will make sure they remain unheard.
ReplyDeleteMerisi: We found two good coffee places in Asheville - much better than what we found on the road.
SK Waller: WE did and we were.
esb: We have not tried Cajun cooking yet but are looking forward to it. Perhaps on our next trip south.
fmcgmccllc: Good luck with that tactic!
Mary Anne Rudolph: Yes you are right about the cats but we can't help worrying about them: