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Published: November 20th 2008
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Me at the beach“Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one's understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another. Sapere Aude! "Have courage to use your own understanding!"--that is the motto of enlightenment.” - Immanual Kant
It is Friday November 7th and I left off in my last Blog talking about how I was totally exhausted and ready to leave Washington so I hoped in my car and hit the road. I was actually so tired that I had to stop about an hour outside Washington in Virginia and have a nap for an hour at one of the rest stops. I eventually hit the road again and when I felt like it was time to stop, I was in a city called Tappenhannock. I just stayed the night and had a REALLY GOOD SLEEP! In the morning I spoke with my new friends Birgitta and Laura on Skype who were back in Washington, then it was time to hit the road again.
My next stop was Williamsburg.
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Veteran's Day Ceremony I took the scenic route through Yorkton and drove the official “Colonial Route”. Williamsburg was quite an interesting little town. It was like a giant “pioneer village” where there are people dressed in traditional garb and gave tours of homes. You could actually walk through the town and if you wanted to go in the homes, it was at least 60 dollars to get a pass to do them. I decided it wasn’t something I wanted to do. I was actually not feeling too well but I did a little shopping in the area. I then headed back to the room and decided to stay an extra night as I was really feeling sick.
The next day I didn’t get out of bed until noon but I felt much better. Just outside the historic part of town was an outlet mall with over 200 stores so I had myself a little shopping trip. I needed to get a new jacket since I discovered when I arrived that I left all my jackets and fleece in Washington. Now that I had a jacket and feel better, it was time to head for “The South”
It is November 10th and
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Replica of the Wright Brother's I am now passing into North Carolina. It is almost like and night and day. You can really hear the accent changes and the use of “y’all”. My first stop in North Carolina was a plantation. I was the only one at this place so the host came out of the office and took me in her own car out to the homes and I had my own personal tour. Knowing I am now in the south I am sensitive to where loyalties/beliefs lie with regards to blacks, slaves etc so I usually just listen. At one point in the tour the guide kept talking about how the woman of the house cooked, set tables etc. Then she mentioned that actually the “servants” had done it but she added that “obviously the woman of the house supervised and had a big role. Some blacks don’t like it when I say that”. We know where she stood on this eh?
After the plantation it was about 3pm and it was time to think about where I was going to stop and sleep. I kept driving, and eventually I ended up on the Island of Roanoke. I found a motel that
was less than 40 with internet access so I was good to go.
Then next day (November 11th) I was off to drive along the Outer banks of North Carolina. It is a group of islands on the coast line and they are so beautiful. At many times, it was just a thin piece of land with water on both sides. Before I headed off down the coast though, I wanted to stop at the Wright Brothers Museum and stand on the spot where the first flight took place. On my way there, I happened to turn down a street that was partially blocked with some fire trucks and I looked at the building and there were chairs set up. I quickly looked at my watch and it was one minute to 11 so I decided to quickly stop and join in the Veteran’s day ceremony. They had bag pipers playing the standard tunes including Amazing Grace. They also had a Brigadier General speak and it was nice.
After finishing the Wright Brother museum it was now 2:30 and I was way behind schedule. To get through all the Islands I had to take a couple ferries and I
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Me at the beach again wouldn’t be able to make the last one so I would have to stay on the Island for the night. The island was called Ocracoke and it was voted in 2007 as the best beach in USA and there were signs everywhere to tell you that. It actually was a very nice island. It was very quiet (the only bar in town closed at 10pm) and very expensive as well. The cheapest motel room I could get was $65 so it was at this point I decided to spend my first night in the car. What could happen on a small island off season? I am sure it would be safe.
It actually turned out well. I found a spot in a motel parking lot that was secluded yet lit up and where it wouldn’t look unusual that a car was there as there were a couple others. It was 9pm and given everything was closed or about to close, I figured I might as well get some sleep. I pulled out the pillow, the sleeping bag and tilted back the driver’s seat and went to sleep. It probably took me about 30 minutes to actually rest and stop
looking out the window to see if anyone was around. After that though, I slept so well. I woke up at about 3am needing to go pee, so I went and did my business and I then slept again until about 6:45am. I couldn’t believe how comfortable I was. Look out Wal-Mart parking lots ... you are next!
The ferry ride back to the mainland was 2 ½ hours. As soon as I got off the boat, the impact of being south was immediate. The weather was warm, the trees were different with lots of palms around. My next stop would be Wilmington. I only stopped here as a rest point before getting to Charleston but I decided to stay an extra day as the guide book talked very highly of it. Well, this time I think the guide was a little off. It really wasn’t all that great. I went out for a walk to the historic area and it was just ok. I used the extra time to just relax, do a little reading and get organized. The one cool thing is it was Michael Jordan’s home town and they had a little “shrine” to him in
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Myrtle Beach the local museum.
On Friday November 14th I arrived in Charleston. I arrived around 3pm but they don’t check in until 5pm so I decided to head down to the waterfront park. It was so beautiful. I just knew I had to stay here longer than 3 days so I booked 3 more days.
Charleston is so beautiful and so full of history. This is where the Civil War started so it was very interesting hearing about all the history from the confederate’s side. As much as I stayed here a long time, I actually didn’t do too much. I walked for a bit and then relaxed in the evenings. Things I did:
• Walked around town to the Battery and checked out all the homes and architecture.
• Took bus tour of city and ferry out to Fort Sumter
• Walked through the Market in town and the Waterfront Park
• Walked across Arthur Ravenel Bridge with Glenys (2.5 miles each way - plus some)
• Saw a 1400 year old Oak tree called “Angel Oak”
• Visited a couple plantations for a perspective of living back in the 18th and 19th century being a slave owner
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Myrtle Beach and being a salve.
• Saw the festival of lights (Christmas lights better than the Niagara falls show)
• Relaxed in the hammock on the front porch of the hostel enjoying the peace and sun.
• Shared a room with some interesting and fun people from England, Austria etc. (I learned of the quote at the start of my blog from Tristen who was here from England helping with the Obama campaign all summer.)
Well, it is my last night here. I am heading off to Savannah Georgia in the morning with Glenys and Chad. We are going to hang for a few days until I drop them off in Jacksonville on Sunday. It should be lots of fun.
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