Black Mountain, NC

Today was our free day to go see the countryside. We hoped to see fall colors along the drive to Black Mountain. We awoke to the sounds of a light rain falling on the roof of the RV.  It was forecast to rain all day so we were concerned that the rain would spoil the day.

Nothing could dampen the beauty of the drive up highways 74 and 9 from Flat Rock to Black Mountain. The narrow and winding road took us through tunnels and canyons of color; such vibrant reds, oranges and yellows.

There are two nice acoustic instrument shops in Black Mountain. Acoustic Corner favors violins, guitars and the like. The even had a gorgeous stand-up bass. The other is Song of the Wood, and they feature Appalachian instruments like Hammer Dulcimers, Mountain Dulcimers, and Psalterys. They also had an assortment of harps. Our reason for visiting was to see if the Mountain Dulcimer would be of interest to Barbara. Our interest was peaked by the dulcimer players at Lakewood. Sure enough, Barbara was intrigued and we left with a beautiful piece of wood working art and a set of accessories a beginner would need.

Song of the Wood

 

 To celebrate we had lunch at The Veranda. If you visit Black Mountain this is a must stop for lunch. The Hungarian Mushroom soup was dynamite and really hit the spot on a chilly, rainy day. We have been good for a few weeks, but fell off the ice cream wagon hard with a visit to Kilwin’s.

It was another beautiful drive as we retraced out steps to Lakewood RV Resort to let Bella out for a walk. No sooner were we back to the RV than Barbara was hard at practicing with her new instrument.

Terrific day. You have to love North Carolina in any season.

Lakewood RV Resort, Flat Rock, NC

This blog was initially prepared so that family and friends could see what Barbara and I were up to while we were on the road. It now has a bit wider audience and includes people traveling by RV interested in finding information about what to see and where to stay. So for those folks I thought I would expound a bit on the Lakewood RV Resort here in East Flat Rock, NC.

Lakewood is a family owned 55+ community. The owners, and their children’s families, live in homes on the property. The park is divided into a section of park models and a campground. The park models are arranged on the ridge bordering the campground, and the entire area is very well maintained. The central structure houses the office, laundry, shower facilities, as well as a recreation hall, dining area and kitchen. For the long-term residents there is a small mailroom. The lower level has three apartments. The spacious deck of the upper level overlooks the large pool and shuffleboard court.

Three apartments, rather than cabins.

 

During the summer season there are many organized activities, but now the summer regulars have moved on and the pool is closed. I was lucky to be invited to sit in on the practice session of the four remaining dulcimer players that form the nucleus of a group of over a dozen players that provide concerts on the porch through the summer months.

This is our fifth visit this year, and while the seasons have changed, the friendliness of the residents and cooperative nature of the staff have not. This has been a wonderful place to stay, relax, and feel welcome. We look forward to our next visit in December.

East Flat Rock, NC

As planned, we travelled the back roads rather than the interstates today from Statesboro, through Augusta, to East Flat Rock, NC. It was a gorgeous drive. There were a couple of smaller towns where we had to go through narrow main streets, but that was the exception, and they were very charming communities. Mostly it was wide-open farm country and very scenic. The one drawback is that for the most part there is no shoulder to pull off on if a mechanical problem came up. We are very happy we took this route on such a perfectly clear day.

We arrived at Lakewood RV Resort around four o’clock and set up in our spot. As we climbed the grade and crossed the Eastern Continental Divide we were a bit disappointed that the fall colors were muted. Too early, we thought. Well, we were rewarded in the campground. The trees lining the RV site roads were a sight to behold.

We have now sampled all four seasons in East Flat Rock.

Same spot in February. Much better.

Barbara has classes starting in the morning and at some point Bella is going to attend with her. We want her to look her best for school, so we took her to a nearby DIY dog wash. It is a nice set up and beats trying to wash her in the small on-board shower, but Bella is never keen on showers or baths. Strange. At home or at the dog park you can’t keep her out of the pool.

Not a happy camper.

Once setup chores and dog grooming were done we had time for sundowner wine and cheese for two, and a new bone for one.

Statesboro, GA

Yes, I am late getting back to the blog. To be honest we have been doing the same ol’ thing each month, at least as far as travel goes. Our monthly trips to Hendersonville, NC for Barbara’s dog training course have continued and I can only say so many nice things about Lakewood RV Resort in East Flat Rock. It is very nice, but it would be repetitive.

With the severe rainfalls in South Carolina earlier in the month we thought we would try a different path to avoid transiting Columbia. They were badly affected by flooding and there were many road closures making traffic there miserable. Until just a few days ago I-95 between Florence and the I-16 turnoff was closed. The closure lasted about a week and routed north-south traffic up I-20 to Columbia and then down I-26 back to I-95. That was about a 120-mile detour and added greatly to Columbia’s traffic woes.

We elected to take friend Jerry Crawford’s advice and take I-16 up to Statesboro and continue cross-country to intercept I-26 north of Columbia. So far that has been a great plan. We are stopping in Statesboro, GA for the night at the Parkwood RV Park. Reviews were good, but the Google Earth satellite view was a bit sketchy. It has turned out to be a great little campground. The original property was a fifties vintage motel, and it is still in operation and looks cute. At some point the neighboring field was converted to an RV park. The grounds are all grassed with small hedgerows growing between them. From the road it does not appear to be much due to the storage of RVs on the first row along the highway. Once you turn in you find it is actually a little gem of a park. They have a pool, laundry facilities and sell propane. There is a restaurant nearby, The Boiling Shrimp, which the staff says has gotten good comments from visitors. We will not be trying it tonight, but will keep it in mind for future visits. There will likely be another visit because it is on the logical route to visit the aforementioned Jerry Crawford.

Office. Watch for it. It comes up quick after the Ford dealer heading north.

Motel portion. They have newer cabins, too.

Six overnight pull-thrus adjacent to owners home.

Longer term sites.

Storage area detracts from the "curb appeal", but look beyond it.

Very happy with our site.

Wish we were staying a little longer to see the area.

Oh, and the staff here are real nice. This place will go on our repeat visit list!