We took a little trip up to North Carolina this weekend. The purpose of the drive was two fold, a few Motoring Challenge points and my sister’s 60th birthday.
Saturday’s goal was driving up to the top of the highest point east of the Rockies, Mount Mitchell. This was going to get us 1 point each for a sign with 8% (or greater) grade on it, famous road for the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mount Mitchell being one of Nature’s Giants. After an unimpeded spirited run up North Carolina 80 to the Parkway, we were surprised to see we couldn’t head south to Mt. Mitchell. The Road Closed gates were padlocked shut, leaving us no other option but to drive back down the windy road.
Turns out the last weeks’s winter precipitation still covered some of the parkway, never mind on the higher elevation of the mountain. This was a very minor setback as we had already snagged a few points for some other destinations, oddities and a random 1964-1/2 Ford Mustang parked in front of bar. The road block turns out to have been a bonus in a way as it means we have to take another run at conquering Mount Mitchel and having to drive the twisty roads on the North Carolina mountains.
Sunday was set aside for bringing bagels for breakfast to the birthday girl. We stopped in at Joey’s NY Bagels as it is right on the way to her house. We bought 4 poppy seed bagels, Diane and her husband Allan’s favorite and 4 plain for Donna and I. One each for the four of us and one each for later. After a couple hours of chatting around the kitchen table it was time for Donna and I to drive back home to prepare for the next week of exciting valve building.
I’ve got a couple other little stories of the trip that I’ll try and write about tomorrow and Thursday. Here is a sneak peek of them – 1) Waffle House & 2) Gate House. Until then, marvel in the weirdness that is two grown adults having their picture taken with a car and an object or scene holding up what is essentially and advertisement for a car parts business:
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- 117 Years of Transportation – 1965 Ford Mustang: Although in this photo the stripe on the Miata and the color of the Mustang look similar, the stripe is blue and the Mustang is teal. The paint doesn’t look 50+ years old, but it looks like that was a stock color for the car called Tropical Turquoise. (3/18/17)
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- Famous Road – Blue Ridge Parkway: After getting denied access to the Parkway to get to Mount Mitchell (road closed because of ice), we had to try again closer to Asheville to get a sign. (3/18/17
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- Example of Irony – Old Fort Arrowhead: Arrowhead Monument in Old Fort, NC. From Wikipedia: “The landmark was unveiled to a crowd of more than 6,000 people on July 27, 1930, by Marie Nesbitt as a symbol of the peace achieved in an earlier century between pioneers and Native Americans.” I find it quite ironic that the peace was achieved by forcing all the Native Americans out of their homes and sent out west to live on reservations a hundred years prior. (3/18/17)
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- Food Truck: The county of Henderson, NC does not allow food trucks to operate there, so we were surprised to see one along the road outside of Flat Rock. They can’t sell food there, but nearby Buncombe County which includes Hendersonville welcomes them. (3/19/17)
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- Roadside Oddities 02 – Harry’s Grill Collection: Another must see spot in Hendersonville, NC. How many “oddities” can you spot in this photo? (3/19/17)
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- Roadside Oddities 01 – Re-purposed Ferris Wheel: A Ferris Wheel re-purposed into an advertisement for a steel recycling business in Hendersonville, NC. (3/18)
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- Giant Human Creations 03 – Giant Egg Water Tower: This water tower is shaped like an egg because of the amount of egg farms located around Newberry, SC. Not nearly as famous as the upstate’s Peachoid for good reason, an awful lot of water towers are fairly egg shaped anyway. (3/18/17)
