NC SC area

**ness5353** · 01-02-2008, 07:39 AM

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

**UKCraig** · 01-02-2008, 08:52 AM

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

**AZBuck** · 01-02-2008, 09:13 AM

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

**UKCraig** · 01-02-2008, 09:31 AM

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.

**ness5353** · 01-02-2008, 10:55 AM

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

**Foy** · 01-02-2008, 10:58 AM

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

**UKCraig** · 01-02-2008, 11:13 AM

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.

**ness5353** · 01-02-2008, 04:52 PM

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

**ness5353** · 01-02-2008, 05:51 PM

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