St. Augustine was founded way back in 1565 as part of the Spanish colony of Florida, making it the oldest continuously inhabited colonial city in what is now the United States. It is a beautiful city to wander around and I enjoyed taking these photos in the historic area. I wasn’t there long, as my goal is to spend most of my time in Florida out of the cities instead of in them, but I enjoyed the time I was there. Many of the buildings in St. Augustine are more modern than they look with the most iconic being built by Henry Flagler to attract tourism to the state at the end of the 19th century. Tourism was an excellent industry to choose, and has become a major industry for the state over the last century. This has left St. Augustine crowded, and a little over-touristy, but still a charming place to visit and spend a few days. Its proximity to lovely St. Augustine Beach is a bonus. I hope you enjoy these photos from St. Augustine: The Ancient City…
It has been another busy but wonderful week out here on the road. I curled my way up into the far northeast of Tennessee to visit the Tri-Cities of Johnson City, Bristol and Kingsport. From there I traveled across the north of the state to Big South Fork National Recreation Area and then headed south to the cute little town of Dayton. I've gotten to see some really cool and interesting sites, heard some great music and have done a lot of writing and research for my next podcast. The weather continues to get warmer and the flowers are really starting to come out in force. Unfortunately, with them have come my allergies, but I'm not letting them get me down. There is just too much to see and do in Tennessee to worry about a little pollen.
I really love good small town festivals, and my visit to the National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburgh, Tennessee was one of the best I can remember. Apparently, when the Tennessee Department of Transportation built a bypass around South Pittsburgh, downtown really took a hit. Town leaders gathered to try and think of a way to bring business back to town. Since they are home to Lodge Cast Iron, they decided to try and stage a cornbread festival. After all, who doesn't like cornbread? The first year they brought out their card tables and folding chairs and hoped for 500 people to show up. An hour after the gates opened there were 5,000 people there... and they were out of cornbread. In the 21 years since, they've learned a lot about throwing a festival, and it really showed…
It's going to be a short one this week as I haven't been able to get out and do a whole lot. I'm coming to you this week from Bryson City, just outside of Great Smoky Mountain National Park, in North Carolina.
Last week was, in fact, my last in South Carolina. I did get out to Cowpens National Battlefield as mentioned last week, and it's a really interesting Revolutionary War Site. From there I took a nice slow drive down scenic Route 11, and then took the 25 straight out of the state. It's a strangely emotional feeling to move out of a state I've been in for over a month. Even though I move around quite a bit, I feel like I become a part of it and it becomes a part of me. It's like I've been living there for a while. I had a great time in South Carolina and really think it has a lot to offer. Having gone into the state with little knowledge of it beyond the coast, I was surprised at how much it had to offer. It certainly was another great month on the road in America…
One of the best things about this journey is being able to celebrate the holidays in different places and with different traditions. I think this aspect will only get better as summer approaches and with it will be music festivals and state, county and local fairs. I had a wonderful time at the Christmas Parade in Charleston, West Virginia, and also at the Mardi Gras Parade in tiny Marshall, North Carolina. For St. Patrick's Day this year, I found myself in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. I really enjoyed taking photos at their St. Patrick's Day Parade. I wanted to capture the fun of the day with the beautiful scenery of Charleston in the background. It was a great day in The Holy City.
