A Very British Trip Report - August 2007 - Day 1

[KimAshton]

wow what beautiful pictures.

 

[AshClan]

Sounds just heavenly!!!

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Slowly catching up here...

You are very funny, and you know I have loved your reports for years.

However, if you got a bit more unlazy and *ahem* Stinger your days together in one thread, you would would probably get a lot more readers..........

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Most excellent video!

 

[mom2my3kids]

Looks beautiful, I want to visit New York when my kids get a bit older..

 

[Backstage_Gal]

What a lovely place and lovely day!!

 

[Kevin Stringer]

Who’s goin’:

Me: Kev, 49. I think I’ll be permanently 49 from now on.
Wifey: Tam, 43. I guess that means she can be permanently 43.
Daughter 1: India, 16.
Daughter 2: Georgia, 13.
There will be a few interlopers along the way as well.

If you want to know more about us, look at www.kevinstringer.co.uk

Up around 7.30am as we are off white water rafting today on the Upper Nolichucky. That sounds rather like something you would need to visit the doctor with.
‘Ive got this itch on my Nolichucky’
‘Upper or Lower?’
‘Upper’
‘Rub this ointment in twice a day’

We have a quick breakfast and are on the road by 8.25am. We have to be at the white water rafting place by 9.45am, so this should be plenty of time.
As we are driving along it is very quiet on the roads. All of a sudden Tam shouts and I slam on the brakes as a deer leaps out in front of us and bounds across the road. We see it disappear up the bank on the other side, little white tail bobbing in the morning sunshine.

The map we have is very rudimentary and we are going by place names and signs. We know we have to pass through Elizabethton and so when we come to a T-junction we head in the direction of the sign. Bad mistake. 20 miles up the road we enter Mountain City. Now I’m sure that Mountain City is a perfectly lovely place and the good folks there welcome strangers with open arms, but it happens to be in the opposite direction to the one we should be going in.

We turn around and head back the way we have just come. It is becoming pretty clear that we are not going to make our appointed time for the rafting and Tam is nearly in tears as this is something she booked months ago and was one of the main things she wanted to do on this holiday. A few minutes later I am nearly in tears as she tells me that, if we don’t turn up, they keep our money!

We find a phone and Tam rings the white water rafting people while I quietly curse the sign positioning department of the Tennessee roads division.
Luckily Cherokee Adventures (the white water rafting people) are very good about the whole thing and switch our booking to tomorrow. We decide to drive up to the place anyway just so we know where it is. On the way we drive through Johnson City, which makes me smirk, as I know a little about American slang. I shan’t explain, just use your imagination.

We arrive at Cherokee Adventures and there is a restaurant next door so we stop for a drink happy in the knowledge that surely nothing can go wrong for tomorrow’s trip, can it?

Back on the road we travel down the 19W, which is an incredibly windy little road that follows the path of a river along the valley floor. It goes on for miles and miles and at such a slow pace that it takes an hour, but this is not a problem as it is beautiful.

We pass through meadows and forests and along the way are many lovely little houses and farms. They say every cloud has a silver lining and this has been ours. We may have missed the rafting, but if we hadn’t we wouldn’t have seen all of this.

We are now getting rather hungry, so before we get back on the Blue Ridge Parkway we look for somewhere to eat. I rather fancy chicken so we look for a chicken type restaurant, but not KFC. We pass loads of churches along with the usual ranks of McDonalds, Burger King and Pizza Hut, but no chicken joints. The good people of Tennessee have no shortage of places to go to satisfy their spiritual and fast food needs, but when it comes to chicken, their cup runneth dry.

We get fed up eventually and stop at a place called Western Sizzlin. This turns out to be quite fortuitous. Tam and I both have the Philly Chicken Sandwich, India has the Philly Steak Sandwich and Georgia has a hamburger. You get a choice of fries or baked potato or baked sweet potato with it. You can also have your choice of bread and desserts as well. With 4 cokes (refills free) the entire bill comes to $28.64! For less than £15 we have fed and watered 4 people and the ladies didn’t hold back on the dessert bar either. Ok, it’s not sophisticated food, but for value for money this place just can’t be beaten.

After eating we continue on to the Blue Ridge Parkway and drive along it northwards enjoying the scenery until we come to Linville Falls. This is pleasant enough, but after the monsters we saw in Yosemite a couple of years ago, these falls are in the minor leagues. Still, there is something about running water on a hot day that helps cool the soul. The couple of miles walk to get to the falls also helps burn off a few of the calories from the meal.

Back onto the Parkway and we cross Linville Cove Viaduct, which is very impressive and snakes round the side of the mountain while offering marvellous views of the surrounding mountains. Tam is trying to video as I drive and hangs her head out of the window like an old labrador. I can’t quite see, but I’m pretty sure her tongue is flapping about in the wind.

After being on the road since 8.30am, it’s about time to return to Majestic Manor. On the way we stop off at Food Lion (hooray!) and bypass Walmart (boo!) to get a few bits and pieces including a corkscrew, we’re not having a repeat of last night’s debacle.
We finally arrive back at 5.45pm. It’s been a lot of driving, but we’ve seen many parts of Tennessee and North Carolina we wouldn’t have otherwise seen.

I have a couple of beers and write up my trip report, Tam reads and the girls play pool. They are really enjoying being able to play as often as they like and Georgia in particular is happy to be getting better and is currently winning 5-4 in the battle with her sister.

After showers we enjoy a late dinner of shrimp cooked in garlic butter, salad and bread. It’s a simple meal, but is no less enjoyable than some of the more expensive meals we’ve eaten. The relatively healthy aspects of the meal are somewhat spoiled by the cookie dough ice cream and assorted chocolate goodies that are eaten for dessert.

After the meal there are several shrimp left over and the girls want to find the cats. There is a mother cat with a broken leg and 4 kittens that seem to have attached themselves to the house. Whether they belong here or not I don’t know, but there are many tins of cat food around, so the girls have been feeding them.
India says she feels good for giving the cats shrimp; it’s her good deed for the day. I point out that this might not be such a good deed when the place becomes infested with feral cats. This falls on deaf ears.

At this point Tam decides she must get in the hot tub as she wants to do it in the dark. Don’t ask me why, she’s just strange. The girls come running up giggling to tell me she is in the nude. Well, I do what any good husband would do on such an occasion and attempt to video her through the cracks in the balcony above. Such footage is invaluable for future blackmail.

Kev: ‘Shall we buy that rather lovely statue of Jessica Rabbit I’ve always wanted?’
Tam: ‘No’
Kev: ‘Ok. I’m just off to post that nude hot tub video of you on Youtube’

Unfortunately the footage is not clear enough to identify the offending body and all potential blackmail has failed.

A few games of pool round off the evening. In the last frame Georgia and India beat me and Tam. I slink off to bed blaming my partner.

Kev

 

[OhMari]

To bad it isn't June 21, I hear that the hikers on the Appalachian Trail hike nude that day. Just some weird trivia for you. I know that your cabin is very close to the trail, because I remember hikers writing about the area in their blogs.

 

[tinawv]

Another great post. Your pictures remind me of our West Virginia mountains.

 

[tinawv]

At this point Tam decides she must get in the hot tub as she wants to do it in the dark. Don’t ask me why, she’s just strange.
Kev

Kevin, I laughed my head off when I first read this. I knew what you meant, but it reads like Tam was interested in somehting else.

P.S. We have a Western Sizzlin in our city. It is a very popular place to eat as the food is good, service is good, and you can't beat the price.

 

[Kevin Stringer]

To bad it isn't June 21, I hear that the hikers on the Appalachian Trail hike nude that day.

Ooohh, sweaty nude hikers, not a pleasant thought.

Kevin, I laughed my head off when I first read this. I knew what you meant, but it reads like Tam was interested in somehting else.

I know it doesn't happen very often, but it wasn't meant to be that rude!

Kev

 

[PrincessFan0809]

Our server is very efficient, although of indeterminate sex. We have a discussion where I maintain that it is a young lady batting for the other side, whereas Tam holds the belief that he/she is a rather feminine bloke. None of us has the guts to ask. I mean, what do you say? ‘Excuse me, when you visit the bathroom do you use the door with the little man or the little woman on it?’

Oh, my goodness. That is the most hysterical thing I have read in a loooong time!!!

 

[Kevin Stringer]

Who’s goin’:

Me: Kev, 49. I think I’ll be permanently 49 from now on.
Wifey: Tam, 43. I guess that means she can be permanently 43.
Daughter 1: India, 16.
Daughter 2: Georgia, 13.
There will be a few interlopers along the way as well.

If you want to know more about us, look at www.kevinstringer.co.uk

We’re up early today and out of the house by 8.00am, there’s no way Tam is missing her white water rafting again.

The actual distance to Cherokee Adventures is 50 miles, but only takes an hour and a quarter even on the twisty Tennessee roads as Tam has been up all night memorising the route. This time on the way we see a long eared sliver fox ambling across the road.

We are given an introductory talk about what to expect on our adventure and some rules about safety. Basically, drowning is viewed as a bad thing.
Our guides today are Ronnie and Keith and they are certainly a couple of comedians, I thought jokes of this standard were banned under Tennessee law.

We are asked if we want to go in funyaks instead of the rafts. The Nolichucky River is at a low level and this makes it difficult to navigate with a full raft, so we all agree to ride in funyaks. These are a sort of inflatable single kayak and Georgia is more than a little nervous about this, especially as we are going to encounter class 4 rapids. Now, I’m no expert on rapids, but I believe class 4 falls somewhat in the ‘brown trouser’ category, not as difficult as the ‘oh my god we’re all going to die’ class, but definitely ahead of the ‘punting on the Thames’ category.

We are kitted out with life vests and helmets and clamber aboard an old school bus for a drive of 30 minutes or so to the start of our river adventure. On the way Ronnie tells us stories and cracks jokes and also reiterates the safety information.
One story he tells is when the good folks of Erwin (the local town) had a fair visit the area in 1916. There were lions and tigers as well as the usual circus acts, including an elephant. To cut a long story short the elephant went wild in the ring and trampled to death one of the townsfolk. The town officials, being none too bright, put the elephant on trial and found her (the elephant’s name was Mary) guilty of murder in the first degree.
The only problem now was how were they going to execute her. Some bright spark suggested hanging, so poor Mary was duly hung using a chain and crane.
The most ridiculous thing about this whole story is that it’s true! There are old newspaper cuttings on the wall of the restaurant at Cherokee Adventures detailing the story and showing pictures of the unfortunate pachyderm suspended in the air.

All the equipment is unloaded from the bus and we each drag a funyak down to the river to have a little paddle around and get used to them before we set off. Georgia is still a bit dubious. There are two other rafts, one manned by Ronnie and carrying all the supplies and the other with 3 people and a guide.

Off we set at approximately midday and the first section is fairly gentle with some mild rapids. Here we learn that the funyaks frequently get stuck on the many rocks and boulders that stick out of, or are submerged in, the river. You basically have to get yourself free in whatever manner you can, either by pushing yourself off with your paddle or wiggling like a mad thing until the boat comes free. Let me tell you, this is not the easiest thing to do when a raging torrent of water is pinning you to a rock.

The photos in this report will not be the best quality as they were taken with a waterproof camera.

Our first class 4 rapid is encountered. Woohoo! Talk about a wild ride! Mostly you pick your own course, but in the really rough parts the guides direct you where to go.
Georgia and India are much more confident as it becomes apparent that these little funyaks are incredibly stable. That’s not to say that people don’t get turned over, several do, luckily we all remain in our boats.

That’s Georgia riding the rapids.

The countryside is very beautiful as we ride along the bottom of the gorge for many hours without seeing a house or a car. There is a railroad track running alongside the river and carries huge goods trains containing many carriages.

After 2 or 3 hours (nobody has a watch on for obvious reasons) we stop for lunch. The food is very good with tortillas and bread with all sorts of meats and salad things. We all really like the BBQ beef and India is in raptures over the homemade peanut butter.
After lunch we swim in the river and I’m amazed by how warm it is, running water is normally freezing cold.

Back in the funyaks we hit more rapids. After you get through each section the guide halts the flotilla until all are assembled. After one particularly rough and long section everybody is through except India. We all wait patiently, but she is nowhere to be seen. One young lad in the group tells us he saw her stuck further back up the river. Keith goes off to find her. 15 minutes later she shoots the rapids and joins us. She was wedged firmly between 2 rocks and couldn’t move. Tam tells her she had visions of her getting out of the funyak, hitting her head and drowning. India looks at her like she’s stupid.

Onward we go. And on. And on. The sun starts getting lower in the sky and we are now grateful that the water is so warm.

Towards the end there are 2 people who are always last in the group. Tam and a rather large lady. The ladies weight does not help and she gets stuck on more rocks than most. I feel a bit sorry for her because she must have been expecting to sit in a raft all day, not work hard trying to get off rocks. Tam says her funyak seems to have a lot of water in, which is causing the same problem. I diplomatically keep my mouth shut.

At one point Tam is falling well behind, so I leave the girls with the main group and paddle back to keep her company. She’s working her way through a set of rapids and keeps getting stuck. Let me tell you, it’s tiring work wiggling around trying to free yourself. She’s swearing at the boat and at the rocks and doesn’t spot a couple of rednecks enjoying a spot of fishin’ by the side of the river.
‘Billybob, there’s a woman over there a cussin’ worse than Ma does’.
‘Fetch my banjo and my rifle’

You may think this is slightly unfair, but when you listen to the local radio stations there are jokes about rednecks all the time.

By the way, it’s been in the 90’s again today, with the sun beating down non-stop. Tam and India’s legs are quite burnt despite applying loads of sunscreen.

We eventually reach the end of the journey at 8.00pm, 8 hours after we set off.
The boats are hauled from the water and loaded back up onto a bus that is even more dilapidated than the first one.
We are dropped back off at Cherokee Adventures wet, sandy, slightly sun burnt and exceptionally tired. It’s been an incredibly long day, perhaps a couple of hours shorter would have been better, but an amazing experience. India and Georgia have been brilliant; especially George who was so worried at the start, but was flying down the river like a veteran towards the end.

We change our clothes, Tam buys a T shirt in the shop and we jump in the car and drive 75 minutes back to the house, arriving around 10.30pm. Just at the bottom of our drive is a huge deer grazing away.

We all have showers and baths and I fire up the BBQ at 11.15pm. We bought a large slab of pork loin earlier in the week and there is no way I’m throwing that baby away as this is our last night here. Slices of pork along with sweet corn, salad and bread are hungrily consumed before we all turn in around midnight.
Just a 6 hour drive to Hilton Head to worry about tomorrow.

Kev

 

[OhMari]

I tried to find Cherokee Adventures, can you send me a link.

Wow, what a long day.

We have river rides in Wisconsin, but with hardly any rain this past Spring, most were shut down this summer, bummer.

Your annoying Wisconsin friend,
Marisa

 

[Kevin Stringer]

This video is of our stay in Majestic Manor, Lake Watauga, Tennessee.

Majestic Manor

Kev

 

[tinawv]

Hi Kev, another great update. We have white water rafting here in WV on the New River Gorge. It is a blast as long as you don't get thrown out of the raft. I ended up with a bloody nose on one of our trips. We were going through a Class V, and the person in front of me was thrown backwards and hit me in the face with their head. It hurt like h#@l, but I didn't see it coming because I was concentrating on staying in the boat. Looking forward to Day 10.

 

[tinawv]

May I just say that this video was "majestic".

 

[Kevin Stringer]

Try this Mari: http://www.cherokeeadventures.com/

Tina: They warned us about getting hit either by flailing arms or by paddles. I guess that was one advantage of being in a funyak, only your own ineptitude to worry about!

Kev

 

[OhMari]

Got it, thanks Kevin. You should just sell your itineraries, you'd make a fortune.

 

[luvmyboys]

I'm enjoying your posts immensely! Also wanted to let you know that those large webs are giant communal cocoons formed by the little caterpillars. I don't know their scientific name, but here in suburban DC they're called "bag worms."

They'll easily eat & destroy the entire limb, and even the tree if it is not very large. I suspect the spiders were not in the cocoon on friendly terms! Nothing like a bag (worm) lunch... Ok... that was bad. Feel free to put me on ignore!!