Our Weekend Getaway (Part 3)

In today's posting I will continue the layouts of our trip down the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway. I am creating the layouts as I have time away from work this week. I am hoping to have the whole trip scrapped by the end of today, tomorrow at the latest. I see about 4 or 5 layouts planned for the rest of the trip. Let's see how many I can get done.

The first site we stumbled upon on day one of our travels was Cowpens National Battlefield. The battle at Cowpens was an important victory by the Continental Army under General Daniel Morgan during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War against the British Army led by Banastre Tarleton. After a little research on my part before this posting I discovered that the battle scenes from The Patriot, starring Mel Gibson, were based on the campaign at Cowpens. And while the site was not used for filming, it was filmed in York County (our current home). Knowing Health Ledger was hanging out in our parts kind of makes me wish we had been living here at the time of the filming!!! I might have tried out as an EXTRA!!

The battleground was a lovely location. There is a visitor center which houses many replicas of the weapons and uniforms of the soldiers and volunteers who were involved in the battle. There are a couple of videos to watch: we watched one as they were running at the same time in the hour that we arrived. There is also a driving path with markers to point out specifics to the battle field. For local residents there is a walking trail that takes you right through the heart of the property as well as a paved bike trail around the site.

Along The Road - February 2014
Double Page Challenge - Scrap 'N Chat

I love hiding maps from our visits somewhere in the layouts.
Do you see it?

The Girl Scout in me is still loving collecting badges from our travels.
They always make colorful additions to my layouts.

We kept reading and hearing that for a good time and a great meal we should try out a local landmark in Pickens. It was only a mile or two up the road from our  lodgings. We were there on a Friday night which is apparently their "big night", a big fish fry and live music. I don't think either of us suspected what we got. 

Aunt Sue's
January 2014 Sketch Challenge - Scrap 'N Chat

Aunt Sue's Country Corner was a group of log cabins featuring an ice cream parlor, restaurant and three or four little specialty shops, none of which were open when we were there. It was dinner time and we were told that there had been a death in the owners family so perhaps that was the reason things were closed up tight. The fish fry was ok but I am pretty spoiled having Captain Steve's near our homestead. 

There was a blue grass band playing with guitars, mandolin, banjos and a fiddle.  I must admit it's not the style of music I typically listen to but the crowd was clapping at the end of every number. I did recognize a few songs I have learned in church but they sounded quite different on those types of instruments. And in case you are wondering, they WERE playing "Dueling Banjos" as we entered the restaurant. And while they were not quite as funny as Steve Martin and Kermit the Frog here, they did have frog legs on the seafood buffet. (Sorry Kermit)

On Saturday morning we drove into Pickens to find breakfast. We were getting out a little late because we had made a stop near our lodgings at the Table Rock Visitor Center. After a quickie early lunch at Mickey D's, it was after 10:30 a.m.,  and a pit stop to get gas for the car, we started heading back toward the scenic byway. We happened across Hagood Mill Historic Site which houses one of the oldest surviving gristmills still producing grain products. It also has the largest waterwheel in the state and the only one still made of wood. 

Luckily for us, it was also a heritage day. There are a number of buildings on the property that have been relocated here. As such, there were actors completing daily tasks for the era based on the buildings they were assigned to work at. There were bluegrass groups playing music in the cabins. The gristmill was grinding away. The blacksmith was making horse shoes. Even the still was pumping Moonshine. It was a fun place to lurk around.

Daily Grind - January 2014
Double Page Challenge - Scrap 'N Chat

 

Well, I have been scrapping all day and I completed 5 pages just as I suspected. But I still have 4 more sets of photos to scrap from this weekend getaway. So I guess I have four more layouts to complete starting tomorrow. For tonight I believe I am finished. So tune in next time for the last installment in our Weekend Getaway series. 

Until next time...

Our Weekend Getaway (Part 2)

After our scenic drive through the foothills we came upon our place of rest for the evening. I had found an inn in Pickens, SC that was advertising that they were "convenient to Table Rock State Park (just across the street)." Table Rock was high on my list of destinations I had planned for the weekend. They were absolutely right about their location. They were literally across the street from the mountain. It was a beautiful site that we could see from our window.

We enjoyed our stay at the Laurel Mountain Inn. Since we plan on returning to see more of the area, I am sure this will be our planned stop in our next adventures there. Our room was lovely, nice calming shades of blue with sea shell decor. (I will never understand why some folks decorate with seashells when the sea is the farthest thing from the mountain range.) It had a king sized bed and a kitchenette of sorts with a microwave, refrigerator and small sink.  The proprietor, Sherrie, was very nice. She upgraded our room when she found out we were celebrating our anniversary. She even provided champagne and chocolates for us that evening. It was a nice relaxing evening which we took advantage of. We knew we would be traipsing through the forests, up hill and down, in the morning looking for waterfalls.

April Sketch Challenge
Scrap 'N Chat

Until next time...

Our Weekend Getaway (Part 1)

Hubby and I went away for a few days on a "scenic drive" over the Easter weekend. Just one night away, but just the shot I needed to get myself scrapping again. It was our 5th anniversary as well that weekend, so we decided an overnight stay might be nice.

We decided to head over to Hwy 11 in SC known as the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway. After a little research I discovered that there are 35 published waterfalls across a 3 county spread that can be hiked to and enjoyed. I had been feeling like a lump lately from either being cooped up at home or working my tail end off, so we hit the road.

There were many cool and exciting things to see other than just waterfalls. Historic battlefields, festivals, vintage homes, farmer's markets and antique shops are plentiful along the way. There are multiple state parks as well with camping, hiking, and fishing. And at least one vineyard that we discovered.

So today I sat down to start scrapping. I have been having a serious lack of mojo lately. I think it has been about 3 months since I actually scrapped anything. I have had lots of stuff planned, but no gumption to get it done. Well the ball is rolling again.

This is a place along the highway known as Strawberry Hill USA. It is a large farmer's stand with beautiful farm land surrounding it. Across the street is a tractor graveyard of sorts for those who enjoy looking at old farm equipment and a restaurant and ice cream shop. There are even play areas for the kiddos to enjoy.

The day was very overcast so our photos are not fabulous, but the farm stand was impressive. The strawberries were probably the largest and most red strawberries I have ever seen in my life. The rocking chairs were comfy in case you needed to sit a spell after all that driving you were doing to get there. And the people were very nice. I was impressed because the whole time we were there, the cars never stopped coming in. And we were in the middle of a strawberry field!!

Until next time...