Bob's Log
August 14-17 2008
One nice convenience of living in western North Carolina is that within an hour, depending on which direction you travel, you can be in another state. We took a few days off and went down to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina this weekend. Drive time was about four hours, taking us close to Georgia. Hilton head Island is a nice place to visit, is well kept and looks very similar to being in Florida. The island itself is not too large, so unless you want to pay the price of staying on the beach, other hotels in the area are close enough to the beach for convenience but are a better value. The Park Lane Hotel and Suites resort we stayed in could use a renovation, but was better than other hotels we have stayed at costing more money. They offered a shuttle to Coligny Beach Friday through Sunday and it was easier than driving to the beach and finding parking. We did an early check-in and went to Sea Pines in the Western part of the island since we had reservations to do shark fishing that evening. We decided to have a late lunch at the Salty Dog Café, which is located on the dock for the fishing excursions. For an appetizer we had grouper bites which were fried but pretty good. We both ordered the "Cheesy shrimp sandwich" which was pretty bad. Imagine a hogie roll with "some" shrimp encased in processed white cheese. I do not recommend that sandwich. We walked around a while looking at the different shops until we were ready to board the Drifter for shark fishing. I preferred doing a deep-sea fishing excursion, but the tides were not predictable and I couldn't find a timeslot to fit in with our vacation. We boated out about 2 miles from the dock and sat there for three hours. I have been on a number of party boat fishing charters and this was the worst. Others on the boat did catch a few baby sharks maybe 15 to 16 1/2 inches long. But for three hours, I think I had one bite on my bait. I didn't even have to change my bait during the whole trip. The only highlight to the trip was one of the mates had a few poles with some large bait cast out and caught two, one hundred or so pound sharks. Once the sharks were caught, one of the guests were allowed to reel them in. After the sharks were brought up to the boat they were released.
It was getting late by the time we got back in the sun was setting.
The next day we had reservations to take a boat ride from Hilton Head Island to Savanna Georgia on the Spirit of Harbour Town.
This excursion also left out of Sea Pines in the NW part of the island at the lighthouse. There were a number of different activities you could do such as parasailing, sea kayaking, jet ski rentals and dolphin watch cruises.
There are definitely some nice boats down at the harbor.
It took just over an hour of boating to reached Savanna. It would've been much faster, but we had to idle alot every time we passed a dock or other small boats. We passed Fort Jackson which was held by the Confederates during the Civil War.
We took a trolley ride and tour of Savanna. Our guide talked the entire time about the architecture and ironworks of the buildings and also the history of Savanna which was interesting. In the following picture, the working around the windows are made out of iron.
The next day we spent on the beach. it was overcast that day, but was still warm and the water temperature was nice. There must have been a few jellyfish in the water because a few of the kids around us were coming out of the water looking like they were stung and were taken care of by the lifeguards. The beach was nice and clean, and there was plenty of room, and so it did not feel crowded.
Leaving the island, we decided to stop off at Fort Mitchell, which was built in 1863 and served as a base for the Union blockade of Confederate supplies to Savanna and Charleston, and it is a classic example of a sea coast earthworks gun battery of the Civil War era.
July 24, 2008
As part of my degree requirement I needed to take a humanities class and elected to take Appalachian Culture. We each had to do a travel report, and I elected to go to the new Destination Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway, just south of the Folk Art Center. The Destination Center is interesting, and is about Appalachian culture, the Blue Ridge Parkway and life in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was built using a LEED rating system that was developed by the US Green Building Council, and it's used to calculate environmental function of the building and promote self supporting design. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Projects earn points for environmentally friendly measures taken during construction and afterwards for the use of a building. The 12,000 sf center has many LEED features. The main features are the Trombe walls, green roof and radiant floor heating. The center was built using materials from local vendors within a 500 mile radius which reduced fossil fuel use. Scrap materials were sorted, weighed, and removed from the site to be recycled. The center has been open for about six months and after a year, will be awarded a gold certificate. Certificate levels are certified, silver, gold and platinum. The building was also designed to use natural lighting.
Green roofs, also known as vegetated roof covers or eco-roofs, are thin layers of living vegetation installed on top of conventional flat or sloping roofs. The destination center has an extensive roof, which is not intended for recreational use and consists of hardy plants that are low maintenance and native to the area. (Intensive roofs consist of trees and shrubs, are park like and intended for recreation use.) Urban heat island - picture walking across a scalding parking lot on a hot summer day, that is what is meant by an urban heat island.
These are the six plants that have been planted on the roof.
So far I only think they have weeds growing.
The rain chain, besides disbursing water better than the downspout, has a better visual aesthetic appeal as well as a pleasing sound when water runs down the chain. According to Fen Shui, the sound is supposed to promote positive chi energy.
On the right side of the building, it is made up of Trombe walls. The sun shines through the space between the thick outside glass in the wall, heats up the cement throughout winter days and radiates slow, even heating after the sun goes down. In the summertime, the roof overhang prevents the sun from shining on the wall. Instead of using standard 8 inch thick walls, the destination center used 12 inch walls.
Additional heating is done by radiant floors. An added benifit do not blow dust around like a traditional heating system.
Parking lots collect grease, oil, anti-freeze, and other vehicle leakage as well as litter and other debris. The detention ponds in the parking lot help control these problems.
inside the destination center. There are three floor to ceiling displays, and also displays along the walls. This is the Natural and Cultural Diversity Island.
Along the top are the seven Cherokee clans: Long hair, Bird, Paint, Wild Potato, Wolf, Blue and Deer. As a side note, the Wolf clan was the largest and most prominent clan providing most of the tribe's war chiefs. They were keepers of the wolf and the only clan who could kill a wolf.
This is the Economic Strength Island.
There is also information on each of the islands.
This is the Recreation and Renewable Island.
Here are some displays along the Trombe walls.
Located downstairs are classrooms.
There are a number of interactive displays.
Along the back wall is a very large map of the Blue Ridge Parkway and a sliding LCD screen which highlights different locations and attractions as you move it along the map.
There are kiosks with information about the area and attractions, and you can also purchase your tickets directly at the Destination Center.
The picture does not do it justice, but there is a nice small stadium seating theatre, which shows the movie: The Blue Ridge Parkway - America's Favorite Journey. It lasts for about 24 minutes and is shown every half hour. Besides information on the Blue Ridge Parkway, it also talks about history, music, recreation and culture. The video is very good and worth seeing.
and of course there is a gift shop. There is no charge for visiting the destination center or movie.
July 4, 2008
Friday's 4th of July celebration, Hendersonville style, started with a parade on Main Street. It was a smaller parade with a few of the familiar entries. The antique cars were a nice touch but thought it was interesting to see dune buggies in the parade. Fletcher BMW again loaned their convertable cars for the Hendersonville and Asheville's outstanding teens and other pagent winners. Later on in the afternoon the 4th of July festival began in Jackson Park. They had a play area for kids, some High Velocity Wrestling, live music and a few craft and food vendors. The headliner for music was Jeff Timmons from the band 98 Degrees. Closing out the evening around 9:30 was a pretty good fireworks display.
Photos from the Hendersonville 4th of July Festival.
The Henderson County Sheriff's Department really made a presence at the fair. There were even two deputies in lifts overlooking the area.
May 31, 2008
Saturday was a particularly beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the low 80s. We drove out to Connestee Falls which is about five and a half miles South on US 276 from Brevard. Connestee Falls is often referred to as a double falls. There are two waterfalls on opposite sides of the mountain converging into one drop-off. it was interesting seeing the two waterfalls merging into one with plenty of water flowing down both. There is a parking lot off the roadway, which is also shared by a couple of real estate offices. A short pathway will lead you to an observation area overlooking the falls. There is pathway off to the right following along the perimeter fence, which allows you to access a lower part of one fall. Looking across to the other fall, you can see a natural staircase of a path with log steps and a little observation area. Without doing some tricky climbing, you were unable to see down to where the water was flowing. I took some video of the waterfalls and accidentally lost my lens cap and had to watch it float down the rocks on the water current. I didn't like losing the cap to the environment, but there was nothing I could do about it.
We drove back to Brevard to pick up Highway 64 so we could head out to Turtleback, Drift, and Rainbow Falls out past Lake Toxaway. While driving through Brevard we drove past the Transylvania County Art Center which had, I believe, paintings from Pisgah Elementary School kids. In the front lawn of the arts center, which looks like it is a converted church, they also have some sculptures of horses and an eagle. The horse sculptures were interesting since they were mostly made up of horse shoes.
Unfortunately, we never did make it out to the second set of waterfalls. The directions in the Land of Waterfall brochure was pretty vague. Go 2 - 2 1/2 miles and the trail is at the bend in the road. We did find out after turning around and stopping at a local convenience store, that there was a parking area that we passed which is now fenced off because they are grading and going to pave a parking lot for access to the falls. From what I've read, and from the man I talked to, the hike to the falls is a bit strenuous, but is worth it. You are not allowed to park alongside the road, and there was nowhere else to park close so we decided we will come back another time. Give the county a chance to have the parking lot ready.
May 25, 2008
We went to the 2008 White Squirrel Festival in Brevard yesterday. The weather turned out to be very nice with just a little rain in the early afternoon and then sunny for the rest of the day. About 1:30 they started the annual White Squirrel Soapbox Derby and we stayed to watch a few of the races.
During the festival there is a schedule of different musical talents throughout the day and will continue all day Sunday. Along with music, there are vendors with local crafts, food and a few commercial tents.
For lunch, instead of eating at one of the vendor booths, we decided to go to a restaurant for a sit down meal. We chose the Square Root Restaurant and Bar along one of the side streets. Even though the atmosphere was nice, we thought the meals that we ordered were not that good, especially a London Broil sandwich. I had a hamburger, but I expected a little better. We ended up getting a hot dog from a vendor since my wife couldn't eat her sandwich. Other food that they served looked good and we may try the restaurant again.
Across the alley there was a gelato stand, and also a chocolate shop. We picked up a couple chocolate covered strawberries and they were delicious. Near there we found the Transylvania Heritage Museum that had just opened that day. Talking with Pat Childress, the president, she told us a little of the history of the museum and how a lot of the relics displayed were donated by locals. It was interesting to learn some of the history of Transylvania County and if you get a chance you should stop in.
Transylvania Heritage Coalition 828-884-2347
40 W. Jordan Street
PO Box 2347
Brevard, NC 28712
While we were in the Transylvania Heritage Museum we picked up a Land of Waterfalls Brochure. The link is the official tourism site for Brevard and Transylvania County.
We left the festival and drove along Highway 276 through the Pisgah Forest to travel to Moore Cove Falls which is about 5 miles north from the ranger station. The hike and scenery was nice, it will give you a little bit of a workout. The rock ledge and face is large, but the actual amount of water over the fall is minimal compared to other falls in the area, but still nice to visit. If you don't mind a little more strenuous hike, you can climb the trail to the left, and go near the top of the fall and further up.
May 25, 2008
I decided to create my own blog here on the website. A little background about myself, I moved up from Florida just over four years ago and worked for two local real estate companies in the Relocation Department and also worked on their websites.
Western North Carolina is filled with so many things to do and see but I found that there was not any one website that had information for everything you might need to come up and visit, resources for local information, or determine if you would like to live here.
With that in mind, over the last few years I've put together this website and hope that it is helpful for your needs. I'm going to do my best to try to keep it updated with new information and as my wife and I go on adventures to bring new stories and pictures. Just as summer is upon us and the festivals and events are starting to happen, I started full time in college and will do my best to update the blog.
I am a full time student at Blue Ridge Community College, so if you would like to support the website you can click on a few Google ads. Thank you