Just this past week we spent a night in Savannah on our way home from our two week mountain trip. Savannah, Georgia is near the top of our list of favorite American cities and heading south on interstate 95 we just couldn’t pass up a night in this fabulous place. Our hotel was only a couple of blocks from the river and one of our favorite Chart House restaurants. Happy hour wine, prime rib sliders and mini crab cakes with a stroll around old Savannah were the perfect antidote to a five hundred mile drive.
gophers 😉
River Street is an interesting experience with large ships moving along the river, a dozen or more good restaurants spaced out with T-shirt shops, gift shops and another favorite indulgence – Savannah confection shops – turtles, gophers pralines and …
Chart House Savannah
mini crab cakes 😉
For a very long while we have had a fondness for Chart House restaurants. They have a simple business model – great food in great locations and often the views with your dinner are worth the price of the meal. These upscale restaurants come with the expected price tag ($$$$) but for the money they have never disappointed us. Often we are in the habit of stopping by for happy hour or a late night dessert in the bar rather than a full dinner.
We have spent a large number of evenings in sitting in the open-air bar sipping a drink and. We have visited Chart House restaurants all over the map from Christiansted in the Virgin Islands, Alexandria, Virginia, Vail, Colorado to Ft. Lauderdale and we cannot ever remember ever being disappointed.
Savannah at night
Mud pie ;-). 😉
Years ago we spent a lot of time in the Caribbean and there was a great Chart House in Christiansted, St. Croix right on the harbor boardwalk. Finishing an evening there with Jamaican Coffee and Mud Pie was a tradition with us as we watched the sailboats bob at anchor in the harbor. Today the Chart House still serves that Mud Pie, so our night in Savannah ended with Mud Pie.
Around Savannah
Around Savannah
Around Savannah
Besides the Chart House Restaurant in St. Croix there was one in Frenchtown, St. Thomas and Old San Juan but they all closed in 1999 – I think the hurricanes were too much for the chain. The staff and landlord tried to continue operating the one in Frenchtown under the name Harborside but on our last trip to St. Thomas it to was gone.
Around Savannah
We’ve also been to Chart House restaurants in Vale, Colorado, Scottsdale, Arizona, Ft. Lauderdale and Alexandria, Virginia and have never been disappointed. In the Spring of 2002 the chains 39 restaurants were acquired by the Landry’s Inc. hospitality organization and as far as we can tell they’ve been smart enough to have left them much the same.
One of the first tourist centers in the Blue Ridge Parkway was The Peaks of Otter dating back to the mid nineteenth century. Today it includes camping, a hotel, restaurant and Visitors Center with a number of interesting trails to hike.
One, the Johnson Farm Trail takes you past a restored mid-1800s farm. The Johnson Family homestead includes the farmhouse, a barn, a spring house, antique farm equipment, a garden and orchard. While the grounds are always open for those hiking the trail, if you go during operating hours, park volunteers are on hand to answer questions and give tours of the farmhouse. Ask at the Visitor Center about current hours.
The Meadow
There are a number of hiking trails at Peaks of Otter but The Johnson Farm Trail is a favorite because of the farm and because it connects to the Harkening Trail which passes Balance Rock. If you stop at the Peaks of Otter Visitor Center (MP 85.9) a .3-mile connector trail leads to the start of the Johnson Farm Loop Trail. But starting there adds an extra .6-mile, round trip, to that hike. To save that half mile park at the lower lot of the Peaks of Otter Lodge, which is just a half mile north of the Visitor Center. From there look for a paved path that leads through a tunnel under the Blue Ridge Parkway. You will find the start of this trail on the other side. You can also access the Abbott Lake Loop Trail from this parking lot but instead of crossing under the Parkway, keep walking along the paved path for this easy, 1-mile hike that circles the lake.
Because The Johnson Farm Trail is a loop, you can hike either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, but if you want to have less steep uphill climbing, hike in the counterclockwise direction, which is the way the trail sign is pointing. The farm is a reasonably moderate .75 mile hike up the trail, which is near the halfway point on this hike. If you continue on past the farm on the loop trail there is a fork off to the right that is the Harkening Hill Trail that will will take you to Balance Rock which is about a mile one way. Taking the entire Harkening Loop Trail back to your start will be an additional 3.6 miles.
Spring house
Abbott Lake
Shortly after starting the Johnson Farm Trail counterclockwise, the trail forks and you need stay on the left fork. Soon after that you will find yourself crossing an expanse of meadow and passing the site of the old Hotel Mons which dates back to the mid-1800s.
In 1857, a father and son named Benjamin and Leyburn Wilkes purchased the land, including the mountains around the Peaks of Otter area. They had been running a small boarding house since 1849 and believed that tourism was the future. The same year they purchased the land, they began construction on the first true hotel in the area, the Otter Peaks Hotel. Up until then, any lodging for tourists was done in private homes or small boarding houses. The most popular was run by Polly Wood, widow of Jeremiah Wood who was a grandson of the original settler of Peaks of Otter, Thomas Wood. The inn was known as Polly Wood’s Ordinary, and it still stands today on the shore of Abbott Lake near the Peaks of Otter Picnic Area. Polly Wood’s ordinary closed in the early 1850s not being able to compete with the new hotel.
Peaks of Otter Hiking Trails
Sharp Top Trail (1.5 miles to the summit)Strenuous3 hours
Originates at the Nature Center across the Parkway from the Visitor Center. This is a steep route and you should be in good health. There is no drinking water on the trail, so take water with you. The summit offers an impressive 360-degree view of the Peaks of Otter area, the Piedmont to the east, and the Shenandoah Valley with the Allegheny mountains to the west. Add an extra half-hour to take spur trail to Buzzard’s Roost, large rock formations offering good views of the area. Note: There is concession-operated bus service (one-way or round trip) to within 0.25 mile of the top seasonally.
Elk Run Loop (0.8 mile)Moderate to strenuous 1 hour
Begins behind the visitor center. It is a moderately strenuous trail and is self-guiding with written displays describing the forest environment.
Harkening Hill Loop Trail (3.3 miles)Moderate 5+ hours
Begins behind the visitor center and across from the amphitheater. This woodland trail climbs to a ridge with good views. A spur trail near the summit leads to Balance Rock, an immense boulder balanced on a small rock. Connects to Johnson Farm Loop Trail.
Johnson Farm Trails(1.8+ miles)Moderate 2+ hours
A loop trail, approximately two miles long, which follows a section of the Harkening Hill loop trail. Beginning at the north end of the visitor center parking area, the trail leads 1.1 miles to the Johnson Farm, originally built in the 1850s.
Flat Top& Fallingwater Cascades Trails(6.5 mile)Moderate to strenuous
Was designated a continuous National Recreation Trail in April 1982. Flat Top rises to an elevation of 4,004 feet with many scattered rock outcrops. On this trail, hikers climb and descend 1,600 feet from the Parkway trail heads. Fallingwater Cascades Trail is a loop trail which takes hikers along cascades on Fallingwater Creek with its huge rock outcrops with rhododendron and hemlock forest. This trail descends 260 feet from the Fallingwater Trail Parking Area and experiencing this mountain cascade is well worth the effort.
Abbott Lake Trail(1 mile)Easy under 1 hour
The least difficult of Peaks of Otter trails, is a one-mile loop around Abbott Lake. The trail through a woodland forest and open field, offering close-up views of the lake. Trail is ADA Accessible.
A two minutes of video of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and Virginia. Featured are scenes of the Mabry Mill , Mingo Falls, the Linville River and Linville Falls.
It’s been some time since I read anything about the reintroduction of elk into the North Carolina mountains and I hadn’t given it any thought when planning our Blue Ridge Parkway trip. It was an unexpected encounter when we found elk in the forest.
Reintroduction of elk into Great Smoky Mountains National Park began in 2001 when 25 elk were brought from the Land Between the Lakes National Area of Tennessee. In 2002, the National Park Service imported another 27 animals.
So far the elk seem to be improving the mountain forest environment as the elks’ grazing is active enough to stimulate good plant regrowth. They keep fields clear by keeping the grasses shorter and make it easier to navigate for smaller animals, such as rabbit or turkey, and also make it easier for birds of prey to search through the shorter grasses. They are also adding to the network of game trails in the forest. However the elk have been missing from this environment for over a hundred years and researchers are still studying the impact of their reintroduction watching for signs of stress.
After our surprise at finding the elk grazing near the Oconaluftee Visitors Center on our first evening in the mountains we returned to hike a nearby forest trail early the next morning.
As we got to the Visitors Center there were again a number of elk cows in the meadow and within a half hour on the trail we could hear bull elk calls and vocalizations across the river. As we approached the Oconaluftee river a cow approached along with three calves and began to ford the river.
Within minutes a bull came out of the forest calling to the cow.
What an amazing beginning to our Appalachian expedition!
Most country’s histories are, to a significant extent, defined by war and in that regard the history of their military is an integral part of the nations story. On two recent trips we’ve taken the time to visit some remarkable museums. Both are incredible facilities that don’t just recount history but do it in a thoroughly engaging way.
Special Operations MuseumSpecial Operations Museum
Special Operations Museum
Just this week on our return from our Blue Ridge Mountain exploration we spent the night in Fayetteville, North Carolina and took a couple of hours to visit the U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum at Fort Bragg – 100 Bragg Blvd, Fayetteville, NC 28301 (910 643-2778).
This fascinating museum tells the story of the various Army specialized warfare elements and the battles they were involved in. The exhibits cover the birth of Army Airborne, Rangers and Special Forces from World War II to the War On Terror. There are detailed exhibits on the key people involved in planning, creation and deployment of Army Special Operations forces along with large displays of men and equipment in the field.
Special Operations Museum
Not long ago we also visited The National Infantry Museum at Ft. Benning, Georgia – 1775 Legacy Way, Columbus, Georgia 31903 (706 685 5800)
The National Infantry Museum
Very similar in size and scope to the Ft. Bragg museum, the infantry museum looks at the Army’s infantry divisions, the leaders and soldiers and their stories throughout America’s history.
The National Infantry MuseumThe National Infantry Museum
The National Infantry Museum
There are lessons being told in these buildings that every American should be exposed to and best of all these museums are free.
PLEASE NOTE: The Army Special Operations Museum is currently open but the Infantry Museum is closed because of the COVID-19.
The National Infantry MuseumSpecial Operations Museum
The United States of America owes much of what it is today to a strip of land between the James and York Rivers as they flow into the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. This strip of land is where the first successful English colony was established in America, was one of the locations where the political foundations of the American Revolution were laid and where the final battle was fought that won America its independence.
In 1607 three English ships, the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery, sailed into the Chesapeake Bay and 104 settlers set out to establish a settlement in North America. They named it Jamestown. Many of those first settlers died of disease and from Indian attacks but new arriving ships brought more settlers and by 1610 the colony was firmly established. An extended peace was established after the marriage of colonist John Rolfe to Pocahontas, the daughter of Powhatan the regional chief. During the 1620s, Jamestown expanded from the area near the original fort into a small town. It remained the capital of the Virginia colony until 1699 when the capital was moved eight miles northwest to the larger settlement of Williamsburg.
Thus began the successful English colonization of North America. Within less than another one hundred years, on that same strip of land General George Washington of the Continental Army would defeat the English army under the command of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis. That victory established the security of America as a new nation.
Visiting this area of Virginia is as near as you can get to traveling back in time to explore the beginnings of our nation.
The Yorktown area features the Yorktown Battlefield National Park along with a truly impressive American Revolution Museum. On the property of the museum stands a reconstruction of a 1780’s period farm as it would have looked at the time of the battle along with a Continental Army encampment featuring live demonstrations.
Not far from Yorktown is the Jamestown Settlement site. It features a demonstration Powhatan tribal village developed from drawings of the historic period. An informative museum dedicated to the history surrounding the Jamestown settlement and the people that made it possible, along with a replica of the original Fort James. Tied up on the river next to the fort are reproductions of the boats Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery that carried the settlers to their new world. Also nearby is the archaeological site owned and managed through a private/public partnership between Preservation Virginia and the National Park Service to excavate and explore the site of the original fortified town.
Only a few miles away is Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum, restoration and development of a historic district on the site of the original Williamsburg, Virginia. Its 301-acre historic area includes several hundred restored and re-created buildings from the 18th century period, when the city was the capital of the colony of Virginia. Much of the site features people in period costumes working as they would have three hundred years ago.
Impressions of Colonial Williamsburg Virginia
If you really want to see where this nation was born come visit Tidewater Virginia.
The Intentional Travelers 