Florida - Day Fourteen (Statesville, NC - South Mountains State Park, NC - Hickory, NC - Durham, NC)

270 miles today, light rain 50s in the morning, partly cloudy 60s in the afternoon.


Almost all museums are closed on Mondays (including the NCCU Art Museum in Durham), but working ahead of time with Kate Worm at the Hickory Museum of Art, I was able to see some wonderful works this afternoon! Which meant that I was able to do some hiking in the morning!


I knew that I would have this morning off, so I searched for "waterfalls in North Carolina", and discovered High Shoals Falls in South Mountains State Park - only 30 miles from Hickory and my 1 PM appointment. So I went there and hiked 4.38 miles in 1 hour 35 minutes, with an elevation change of about 700 feet (um, it felt like more than that)




The trail goes alongside a lovely stream/brook/river.
upstream:

downstream:


a couple of hikers tried to get out of my picture-taking, but I like a picture with people in it - they give a sense of scale to the beauty


High Shoals Falls


with a selfie


downstream from the Falls


Raven Rock Trail


guess the bridge got washed out, Martha


and then up along the ridge


and finally back by the parking lot - upstream:

and downstream:


Then off to the Hickory Museum of Art. I waited in their conference room - um, those chairs look familiar


and then Kate came in with "THE ART" on a large dolly. I was able to see these paintings "up close and personal":
Asher B. Durand - Pastoral Scene


William Stanley Haseltine - Coast of Sorrento, 1856-1858 - Pastoral Scene


Thomas Cole - American Landscape


John Kensett - Landscape with Mountains, n.d.


Worthington Whittredge - A Trout Stream, n.d.


William Sonntag - A Rift in the Clouds, n.d.


and I was able to get a great photo with
Alfred Thompson Bricher - Summer Afternoon, Kennebunkport, n.d.


Well, wasn't that a great great day! But wait - it's not over yet!
dinner next door to my Super 8 in Durham:


and Jupiter Ascending at a nearby movie theatre


Thank you God for a REALLY GREAT day!

Listened to more music from the little green nano:

Ima Robot - Greenback Boogie (2010) [it is the theme song from "Suits", a great tv show Wendy and I watch on dvd]


8 songs from "Hard To Find 45s On CD, Vol. 6: More Sixties Classics"


Chicago - The Heart of Chicago 1967-1997 [I like 6 of their songs]


Paul Simon - Hearts and Bones (1983)


various artists - Hed Kandi - Base Ibiza (2001)

[I like some dance/trance music, and some of the 21 cuts on this collection are good, but I like other collections better, so I am now deleting this from my collection]

Van Morrison - Into The Music (1979)

Florida - Day Thirteen (Mount Pleasant, SC - Charlotte, NC - Winston-Salem, NC - Statesville, NC)

370 miles today, another beautiful day in the 60s and low 70s - peaked at 74.


A nice French Toast breakfast, then 9 AM church at St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Mount Pleasant, then northwest on I-26 and north on I-77 - on the road again!


I got Wendy to the Charlotte (North Carolina) airport around 1:45, then headed into downtown Charlotte


The city was packed with people out enjoying the beautiful weather and the street musicians, and I parked a block from the Mint Museum Uptown. Notable pieces in their collection include Thomas Cole - American Lake Scene, 1846


Sanford Robinson Gifford - Indian Summer in the White Mountains, 1862


and a large canvas - William Charles Anthony Frerichs - Nature's Rushing Force, 1865-1880



William MacDougal Hart - Autumn in New Hampshire, 1864


and it is certainly fun being 900 miles from home and seeing pictures of the beach down the street
William James Glackens - Good Harbor Beach, 1919


then I flew up the highway to get to the Reynolda House - Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem at 4:15 (they close Sundays at 4:30).


They have a "no photos" policy, but their beautiful online collection (which I saw IN PERSON!) include
Albert Bierstadt - Sierra Nevada, 1871-1873


Frederic Edwin Church - The Andes of Ecuador, 1855


Thomas Cole - Home in the Woods, 1847


Jasper Cropsey - Mounts Adam and Eve, 1872


Asher B. Durand - Rocky Cliff, circa 1860


Worthington Whittredge - The Old Hunting Grounds, 1864


It was a big effort, and time was short, but I am sooo glad that I made the effort, and that the effort was rewarded with such beauty. Thank you God for a great day!

Listened to music from the little green nano:

Florida-Georgia Line - Here's to the Good Times (2012) [better late than never]


Captain Beefheart - selections from Clear Spot (1972)


Fleetwood Mac - the self-titled white album (1975)


Yes - Fly From Here (2011)


Rickie Lee Jones - Flying Cowboys (1989)

(because I was flying down the highway)

Yes - Fragile (1971)

Florida - Day Twelve (Mount Pleasant and Charleston, South Carolina)

Stayed local today with sightseeing in Charleston and dinner with Wendy's niece Mimi, and old friends Robert and Anne. Charleston is a lovely town (we took a two-hour walking tour of the houses). We started at the Parking Lot at King and Queen, and then covered the area east, then south to the harbor, almost as far as The Battery, then back up for lunch at the Blind Tiger Pub, a rest in the afternoon (clocks "spring ahead" tonight), then dinner back in downtown Charleston at 39 Rue de Jean. Dinner lasted a long time, but it was a great time in Charleston, South Carolina with friends and family!





















Thank you God for these wonderful times! Wendy flies home tomorrow, and I'm back on the road again (Super 8s, museums, and waterfalls - here I come!).

Florida - Day Eleven (Brunswick, GA - Savannah, GA - Sullivan's Island, SC - Mount Pleasant, GA)

230 miles today, another beautiful but cooler day in the upper 40s.


One hour north to the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia (Savannah College of Art and Design). On display were two paintings by Robert Scott Duncanson (Chapultepec Castle, 1860 and Man Fishing, 1848):


and an exhibition of Oscar de la Renta - His Legendary World of Style








Wendy picturing art


then two-and-a-half hours (over the Charleston Bridge)


to get to our friends Tim and Laura on Sullivan's Island (nice place!)


After a late lunch we returned to the mainland to check-in at The Inn at I'On in Mount Pleasant (definitely NOT a Super 8). Strolled around, then dinner down by the harbor/river, overlooking the marshes and a battleship


Thank you God for a great day!

Music today:

Jamie Cullum - Interlude (pre-release 3 songs) (2015)


Dave Matthews Band - Live at Red Rocks (2 cds live) (recorded 1995)


and then, because we are in South Carolina:
Hootie & the Blowfish - Cracked Rear View (1994)