NC SC area

Well.....we bought our plane tickets from Duluth Mn to Raleigh NC. We're going to pick up our rental car in Raleigh, ( i'm sure it wont be a Corvette) and start from there. Our plan is to drive to the Outer Banks, drive as far south as we can on the islands, and take the ferry back to the mainland.
We'll go down the coast to Charleston and spend some time there (Gulla tour, plantations, barbecue joints etc). From there, down towards Savannah for some touring (Civil War stuff etc).



(BIG EMPTY HOLE)




Towards the end of the trip we'd like to drive the ''Tail Of The Dragon'' in southwest NC, go visit Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and the Smokeys.
For the last part of the trip, we'll drive the Blueridge Pkwy to it's end up by DC., and back to Raleigh for our airplane ride home.
As you can see, theres a big empty hole in the middle of all this. Anybody have any ideas on how to fill it??

Thanks!!!

Rod and Judy

What interests do you have and what sort of thing would you like to see/do on the trip? It may or may not be of interest to you but if you're into racing then you might want to visit some of the raceshops in Mooresville NC

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Well, if you're a Civil War Buff, you must realize that in going from Savannah to Atlanta you'll be following Sherman's March in reverse. I don't know of any major battles along there that rate their own parks or monuments, but I bet you'd find some interesting stuff at local Historical Societies. Then, of course, there's Stone Mountain outside Atlanta, the South's Mt. Rushmore. Finally, the Savanna River, once you get inland of the nuclear facility on the South Carolina side near the shore is a scenic drive in itself, try SC-28, US-221 and SC-81 northwest from Augusta. And while I couldn't find a way to make it seem to start with an 'S', be sure to look into visiting the CSS Hunley while you're in Charleston.

AZBuck

If you're doing Stone Mountain then try and see one of the light/firework shows. They're very American as the more polite may put it but fun nonetheless. Of course, should you be in the Atlanta area, then you're in an area with a huge amount to see/do. Top of my list would be the Martin Luther King Historic Site but that's not to everyone taste.

thanks for some good ideas....our favorite things are scenic byway---all American Rd type of thing. We stay off the main roads as much as possible, so we get to see all the small towns. We look for things like Rushmore, Devils Tower, Lookout Mtn Tenn, etc..... We'll be looking for those sort of things.
Good stuff to take pictures of ya know????

Rod

Hello Rod and Judy,

Raleigh native and resident Foy here, at your service.

I don't have much to offer in terms of the "Big Empty Hole", but do have some observations/cautions for the first and third portions of the trip.

Outer Banks- It seems that your plan is to drive down from Nag's Head to the Hatteras Inlet ferry over to Ocracoke, thence ferry back to the mainland from Ocracoke Island. Be aware that there are two ferry routes off of the island--one to Swanquarter and one to Cedar Island. Given that you're then headed towards Charleston, SC, I imagine you'll want the Cedar Island ferry as it takes you to the south shore of the Pamlico Sound, a large body of water you'd have to drive around if you went instead to Swanquarter.

Blue Ridge Parkway- I am assuming your trip is in the immediate future since it's posted in the Fall/Winter section. If correct, be advised that the entire Blue Ridge Parkway is subject to closure during winter. There is no effort to remove snow and ice from the Parkway, so large sections close from whenever snow falls until it naturally melts. Today, for example, there's been up to a foot of snow near Blowing Rock, NC, temps are around zero to 5 above, and it's likely that much of the Parkway will be closed for many days or longer. It's not uncommon for the temps to remain below freezing for weeks on end at Parkway elevations. Although it appears to be a continuation of the Parkway, the Skyline Drive is a separate entity from the Parkway and it runs through Shenandoah NP. It's worth checking ahead as to winter closures for the Skyline Drive and the Shen NP. Ditto checking for closures at the Great Smoky Mountains NP. I believe the "Tail of the Dragon" is US 129 as opposed to a designated noncommercial parkway route, so there should be no lengthy closures on that route, but it's worth checking ahead for that drive, too. Such info may affect your planning.
One other note about the Parkway + Skyline Drive: Although very scenic, this is around 500 miles of 35 to 45 mph speed limits, vigorously enforced by Federal Park Rangers. If one were average 30 mph with stops included, that would be about as quickly as you could figure on making that trip. That means two fairly long days in the saddle, at least. But, from where the Parkway ends and Skyline Drive begins (at I-64 just west of Charlottesville, VA) you can get off to either the Valley side or the Piedmont side and be but a short drive from all sorts of Civil War sites, so going all the way to the north end of Skyline Drive may not be necessary, unless you're headed for DC, anyway.

Enjoy!

Foy

Some valuable information there Foy, thanks for posting that up.

Another website that the OP may wish to have a look at is Waterfalls on North Georgia. I didn't have enough time to make use of it myself, sadly, but it looks promising.

Thanks Foy!!

That was some good info...we're definitely going to have make the beginning of our trip a little different. Any other good tourist sites in eastern NC or SC? Maybe we'll go down to Key West, we both like the Overseas Hwy....


Rod

I should have put this in my last post, but, I guess what i'm trying to say, is that we go out of the way to see both the big famous stuff, AND the oddities...the stuff Mark likes to put on the RTA web site.

Rod

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Originally Posted by ness5353

(W)e go out of the way to see both the big famous stuff, AND the oddities.

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Then be sure to check out some of the many possibilities in each state here.

AZBuck

Thanks AZBuck!!!

I had completely forgotten about that list of states!! It will help me with the planning.

Rod

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ness5353

Thanks Foy!!

That was some good info...we're definitely going to have make the beginning of our trip a little different. Any other good tourist sites in eastern NC or SC? Maybe we'll go down to Key West, we both like the Overseas Hwy....


Rod

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Well, Rod, maybe a handful-

To start with, there is a slew of good, Eastern NC style barbeque joints between Raleigh and Nags Head. Local places, not the chain Smithfields which I think was mentioned earlier (sorry to bash another's opinions, but the places with a real charcoal pit out back, huge stacks of hickory firewood, and elderly men who cook all night and sleep all afternoon constitutes the Real Thing to me). Once at Nags Head, you can see Jockey's Ridge, the highest sand dune on the East Coast, and also the Wright Brothers Park, where the first flight took place. There is the Lifesaving Service building and museum somewhere around Waves or Salvo, below the Oregon Inlet Bridge. The wildlife viewing areas (board walkways and platforms) at the wildlife refuge between the bridge and Rodanthe provide bird viewing spots galore. You'll have to stop at Buxton to see the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and then the lighthouse at Ocracoke. If you're going to hug the coast from Cedar Island down towards Charleston, you can consider visiting Fort Macon (Civil War Confederate fort guarding Beaufort Inlet) at Atlantic Beach, NC, and Wilmington for a tour of the USS North Carolina (WWII battleship). From there, you can venture just a few miles down to Fort Fisher, the Civil War Confederate fort which guarded the mouth of the Cape Fear River, the loss of which cost the South their last seaport and more fully sealed the fate. From Fort Fisher, you can take the ferry across the Cape Fear on down to Southport, thence on down through Myrtle Beach, SC enroute to Charleston. Along the way there, Calabash, NC serves up lots of deep-fried seafood and there's a one-lane swinging bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway to Sunset Beach, NC. Don't get me started on Myrtle Beach or SC "barbeque". The former is the province of French-speaking tourists from Canada wearing shorts, black socks, and sandals all winter and the latter is some sort of abomination including mustard in the sauce. Opinionated, aren't I?

There are a number of guidebooks to NC barbeque joints, none of which are at my fingertips at present, but I imagine some routine searching would find some. There's a very good one just about within rock-throwing distance from the RDU airport, if you'd care for some info on that.

Enjoy!

Foy

thats some more good info there Foy....

By the time we leave Duluth on Feb. 2nd, we should have plenty of stuff to do. I dont really like ''planning'' trips like this, but when the trip has a set date on both ends, it really helps make the most of our time. One thing we DON'T do is make motel reservations....never had to sleep in the car yet. We also try to stay in small family operated motels. MOST of the time they're fine.

Rod

Rod-
I was just perusing some online newspapers during lunch and was reminded of a major highway building project just under way on Ocracoke Island. The NCDOT is replacing a number of small bridges over wetlands and tidal creeks on Ocracoke. The result is that traffic coming on to the island from the north--the Hatteras Inlet ferry, must detour and drive on the beach for some 3 miles. A towing contractor is present and will tow any vehicles which get stuck and a wide-tired trailer is available to transfer vehicles for the entire distance if need be.

The Outer Banks can be some fairly knarly 4WD driving, Rod. The NCDOT requests non-4WD vehicles access Ocracoke only via the Cedar Island or Swanquarter ferries.

The project is expected to keep the highway closed and the on-the-beach detours in place through March 15, 2008.

Details may be found at www.ocracokebridges.com.

FYI, you can run US 264 all the way from just east of Raleigh, through Wilson, Greenville, and Washington, where it becomes a rather curvy 2 lane highway through some beautiful farm country with views of the Pungo River, Intracoastal Waterway, and Rose Bay. If you go just past Swan Quarter, you can visit Lake Mattamuskeet, where there can be seen the large steam-powered pumphouse building which was a part of an ill-fated effort to drain the lake and farm the lake bottom. From there, you can take the ferry to Ocracoke, thence the other ferry from Ocracoke to Cedar Island. This means no Nags Head, Buxton, etc, unless you simply prefer to take the free tow or trailer ride down the beach from Hatteras Inlet. Or, of course, you could rent a 4WD SUV in Raleigh and just wing it youself!

Foy

Now THAT might throw a monkey wrench in our plans.....we might just have to backtrack all the way back up to Kitty Hawk if we can't get around the detour.

Thanks for that VERY important information.

Rod

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Originally Posted by ness5353

Now THAT might throw a monkey wrench in our plans.....we might just have to backtrack all the way back up to Kitty Hawk if we can't get around the detour.

Thanks for that VERY important information.

Rod

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Yes, there are but two ways off of Hatteras Island (the body of land which starts at the south side of the Bonner Bridge over Oregon Inlet and continues through Rodanthe, Avon, Buxton, and Hatteras Village): The Bonner Bridge on the north end, and the Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry on the south end. If you do not get off via the Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry, the only option is to come back at least as far as Nags Head, cross the sound over to Manteo, thence to Mann's Harbor, on US 64, and proceed inland from there. From Mann's Harbor, you can continue due W on US 64 or wind your way down a VERY LONG empty stretch of highway to Swan Quarter (Stumpy Point, NC: It's not at the end of the world, but you can see it from there). When you say "to Kitty Hawk" it makes me think you might think that getting away from Nags Head-Kill Devil Hills-Kitty Hawk-Southern Shores is only possible via US 158 and the Wright Brother's bridge, and that's not correct. If you left the area that way, you'd be on the north side of Albemarle Sound and WAY out of the way from your goal of Charleston, much farther than even backtracking to Mann's Harbor, etc.

From what I read about the detour on the linked site, I don't get the impression that they'd turn you around at the ferry if you don't have 4WD, but that's probably worth phoning ahead about. As noted, they've got a wrecker and a trailer on standby during the detour weeks, so perhaps you can just get there and "aw, shucks" the whole thing (and not have to backtrack).

Good luck,

Foy

I see what you mean about Kitty Hawk. I guess we'll hit Manns Harbor then south on 264 through Scranton, cross the water somewhere and end up down in the Morehead city area. THEN we can continue down the coast. We'll still get to the Hatteras Light and have only an hour or so of backtracking....not so bad I guess.

And FOY, if you have any questions about the Natl. Forest system, guess who my wife works for??

Thanks again


Rod

Rod-
In a previous career as a mineral exploration geologist, I explored for diamonds in the UP and Michigan so I have fond memories of summertimes up there. Winters, not so much. The wife and I want to go back up there some time, perhaps to take in the Lake Superior Rally, which I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon and see a stage of back in November 1980, at Houghton, MI. In 1981 and 1982, we had crews all over from about Iron Mountain, MI, on past Ironwood and Hurley and down into the lake country below that. I'll be pleased to request info from your spouse when the time comes.

As you go back west on US 264 out of Mann's Harbor, the first place to drive across the Pamlico River is at Washington, on US 17. Before you get to Washington, near Bayview, there's another NC ferry that crosses the Pamlico and lands on the south side at a point north of Aurora. In Aurora is a fossil museum with samples from the nearby phophate mine. You can continue down NC 306 through Arapahoe to Minnesott Beach, where yet another NC ferry crosses the Neuse River. From there, you can take NC 101 east to Beaufort and Morehead City, then cross the bridge to Atlantic Beach and Fort Macon. So, even if the construction on Ocracoke messes you up, you can still see some nice coastal countryside, and ride some river ferries.

Enjoy your trip. Post up with any additional questions you may have.

Foy

Foy, Thanks for all your help. It's really nice to find out about stuff like this BEFORE you get someplace aint it......

p.s. theres probably more agates around here than diamonds!

Rod

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Originally Posted by ness5353

Foy, Thanks for all your help. It's really nice to find out about stuff like this BEFORE you get someplace aint it......

p.s. theres probably more agates around here than diamonds!

Rod

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......but the South African mining company that hired our field services firm found several kimberlite pipes and found at least some diamonds. Not enough in terms of quantity and of industrial grade rather than gem grade, so no attempt to mine was initiated. We worked Pierce County down at River Falls, WI for several months, too, in mid 1980, and didn't find anything but a heckuva lot of dairy cow poop. Enjoyed being along the Mississippi, though, and I still have my Red Wing boots which I purchased from the factory outlet store on the MN side of the bridge. We were finalists bidding on a contract to find another copper-lead-zinc deposit near Crandon, WI, but got beat out by another similar firm in 1983 or so.

Go get 'em,

Foy

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Originally Posted by Foy

Beaufort Inlet) at Atlantic Beach, NC, and Wilmington for a tour of the USS North Carolina (WWII battleship). From there, you can venture just a few miles down to Fort Fisher, the Civil War Confederate fort which guarded the mouth of the Cape Fear River, the loss of which cost the South their last seaport and more fully sealed the fate. From Fort Fisher, you can take the ferry across the Cape Fear on down to Southport, thence on down through Myrtle Beach, SC enroute to Charleston. Along the way there, Calabash, NC serves up lots of deep-fried seafood and there's a one-
Foy

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From Wilmington, if it's open, stop at Britt's on the Carolina Beach boardwalk area for some of the best doughnuts you'll ever eat. Definitely visit Fort Fisher, a generally unknown Civil War battlefield, but very important one.

You definitely have to try some of that Carolina 'cue, I like mine with the bbq, double order of cole slaw, lots of hushpuppies and sweet tea.

And Calabash shrimp...once you've had them, that's the only way you'll want them afterwards.

Keep on Down that Two Lane Highway. --RoadDog

We ARE gonna get after some of that barbecue!! I think we'll check out
Fort Fisher too.

Thanks for the ideas RoadDog!

Rod

Rod & Judy,

While near Charleston SC you might consider visiting Fort Sumpter, where the civil war began. It is a fantastic way to spend an afternoon...A 40 minute ferry ride from Mt. Pleasant to Fort Sumpter, with a narration the whole way about how and why the civil war ocurred. Then, at Fort Sumpter, a park ranger took us around and gave us another great narration. There is a very interesting museum inside.

We made virtually no advanced plans on our recent 9 day and 8 night road trip from SW Florida up to Ohio, and everywhere in between.

Let me also just mention that our whole trip was highly facilitated by a few things:
1) A laptop computer with National Internet access.

2) A GPS (I have a Garmin C330). There is nothing like punching in a destination, and being verbally given directions until the destination is reached.

3) A cell phone.

4) An inverter so you can charge your laptop, cell phone, camcorder, and AA battery charger on the road (as to avoid hauling everything into your lodge nightly). The AA battery charger I didn't put down as an item, but I use mine to charge photo camera batteries for the next day as I switch out batteries daily to ensure I won't run out of power on a single set.

5) Carrying a CB with an easy magnet mount antenna and parked on channel 19 is another way to add to that "all American road trip feeling". You may not hear much chatter if you will be mostly on the country back roads, but it sure is a source for traffic conditions and/or entertainment while on the Interstate. But beware, watch for the ocassional foul languaged hillbilly, lol.

If you can swing some or all of the above equipment, you will have perhaps the most relaxing, care free road trip as we did.

For example, we would target a town we would want to end up that evening based on our current location and towns within say an hour drive before we would want to stop driving, then lookup on the laptop for a specific motel chain (wife gets discounts at certain motels through her job), call the motel and compare the rate to the online discounted rate (online was always cheaper except in one case). Book the room online, then as short as 5 minutes later walk into the hotel and check in with that booking! (Also, don't forget to sign up for a reward account depending on the motel/hotel you go to.)

We spent a week in and around Pigeon Forge last year as our base for going through the Smokey Mountains which was great. In Pigeon Forge we stayed at James Manor, and the room had a balcony and wasn't much more than about $40 a night. Not sure if you are willing to go, but north and west of Pigeon Forge by a couple of hours is Kentucky's Cumberland Falls - absolutely breathtaking, and that is no exageration... would be a great day trip.

You mentioned going to Key West. Nice place but LONG drive once you cross the Florida border! Florida is long long long!

Thanks Turk!

We already have Ft Sumpter on our list, sounds like a interesting place.

My wife bought me a gps for christmas, but after i played around with it for a bit, i didn't really care for it. Sooooo, i went to best buy and bought a new hp laptop and the ''streets and trips'' mapping program with a gps locator.
i took it on a shake down trip and it seems to be all right. its the same thing as a garmon, exept the screen's a lot bigger and it has a keyboard.