South Carolina - Day 1 - getting there through Georgia

Anderson/Lake Hartwell KOA, Anderson

Monday, 1 May 2023

The kittens are looking at the skylight, which they find fascinating.  They've already knocked down the screen several times, so I haven't bothered to put it back.  Of course, that means I can't open the skylight any more, partly for bugs but mostly because I'm afraid they'd figure out a way to get out onto the roof - and then where would we be!?  As they grow, they've stayed Marauders but are now bigger and more agile, so they can cause more mayhem.

On our first walk this morning in that Georgia state park near Rome, Dexter and I saw several deer.  And on our second walk I saw a pair of bluebirds chasing a squirrel, looking quite vicious (the bluebirds looked vicious).  I sure hope they managed to chase it away before it got one of their eggs.

We got on the road at 9:00, and saw more deer on our way out of the park.

today's route

We drove back past Berry College and through Rome, with its 7 hills and 3 rivers.  I got some gas at a Citgo for $3.09/gallon, and also stopped at the grocery store again and for Dext and me to take a short walk.  By then it was after 10:30, but at least we were ready to get on the road.

We passed an enormous construction project that I'm guessing was going to be housing because farther along there were completed houses and apartments in a setting that looked similar (all the trees mowed down, for instance).

At Kennesaw, I saw signs for the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History.  Seemed like a slightly odd combination, though I suppose an interest in the Civil War might logically lead to an interest in trains, which were so critical to the conduct of the war.  The museum's special attraction is The General, the locomotive used in the Great Locomotive Chase in 1862.  It's a slightly bizarre story, as so many war stories are, and if you're curious, here's a link to the Wikipedia page.   https://en.wikipedia.org/Great-Locomotive-Chase  That's one of the locomotives in this museum.

You can see on the route map that we went right down to Atlanta, before skirting it and heading northeast.  

Lunchtime came and went without finding a res t area, so in a suburb of Atlanta I pulled off the highway looking for any place to stop and came across a mega church, with a parking lot big enough for me to figure we wouldn't be likely to bother anybody on a Monday.  We all needed the break.

Back on the road and farther along the highway, a semi passed me and almost immediately had a tire blow out.  It was really loud and scared us all.  It took me the best part of a minute to realize first, where the noise had come from and second, that we were all safe.  It took the critters a little longer.  It really was loud.

Georgia Public Radio has a daily show called "Political Rewind" that I'll miss when I'm out of their range.  It's really local, from the host to the guest panelists, which allows them to cover Marjorie Taylor Green's latest antics.  But they don't limit themselves to Atlanta or even to Georgia if there's something of general interest going on.  They take care to bring in opinions from across the political spectrum, and their guests are all well-informed and apparently sensible people.  Good show.

Eventually we crossed Lake Hartwell, which I'd camped alongside for a time earlier last month and the sign said "Welcome To South Carolina."

South Carolina
my 47th state

You can see that one blank spot on the map now that will be North Carolina next month.

Poor lonely little piece, all by itself now.

We stopped at the first exit at the rest area for South Carolina's welcome center, so I could pick up some tourist information and of course give everybody a chance to stretch their legs.  From there it was less than 15 miles to the campground.

We'd been fighting a very strong wind all day - so strong it caused problems for all the semis.  It must have been especially hard on the guy who had the tire burst - trying to control the serious sway I saw when the semis were in front of me at the same time as dealing with a messed up tire.  Even though those guys have a bunch of tires, I'm sure it made a difference in the way the truck handled, and that high wind would have complicated it.

And on to the campground.