We recently completed an 18-day, 3,451-mile tour of a bunch of Southeastern states. While the first week was planned very well, the second and third week’s plans were more fluid and flexible. We camped a few nights, used some Hilton points at a couple of hotels and booked three separate Airbnb places.
Where we could not find a good fit with an Airbnb, we chose to take advantage of some good deals on Hotels.com
We really enjoyed the idea of visiting the splendor of our National Park System and decided to plan a trip south to the Great Smoky Mountains. Other than driving to Florida, the Southern States were considered “uncharted” territory for us. The Smoky Mountains would be our first stop.
Visiting and camping in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was the selling point to Mrs.fromthebachrow for me to get to the Tail of the Dragon. This stretch of road is a bucket list item for many car and motorcycle enthusiasts because it is comprised of 318 turns within 11 miles on the Tennessee and North Carolina border. If you are into technical and interactive driving on an extremely dangerous and highly patrolled road, AND you have a capable car or motorcycle, then this road is for you. There are plenty of YouTube dashcams to experience it in one dimension.
The tail of the Dragon is by far the most popular and sought-after bucket list item for car and motorcycle enthusiasts. There are plenty of other roads less traveled in the area that will give you the same thrill without cops waiting for you to cross the yellow lane line and write you a ticket.
For the record, I crossed the yellow lane line once or twice on my first run, and never on the return run. We were there well before the peak times without incident and had an awesome experience.
After having my fun on the Tail of the Dragon, we took some photos and then headed to Bryson City, NC for our most unique Airbnb stay to date. We spent two nights in a vintage 1971 30′ Airstream Trailer.
I have always been curious about these silver “capsules” since I first saw them as a kid during our driving vacations to Minnesota. Whenever I see them today, my imagination goes off on a tangent wondering what it is like to camp or live in one of these. When we saw the Airbnb Airstream listing, we booked it for two nights at $107 per night including fees. So much cheaper than buying one or even renting one and dragging it around the country. It was located on a river next to train tracks used by the vintage Bryson City Steam Train. We never saw the steam train run but did see the old locomotive and cars in town. If you are into riding old trains, you will probably enjoy this piece of history.
As I mentioned, it was a vintage Airstream that had yet to be updated aside from the Wi-Fi, stereo systems, and air conditioning. Though it was truly vintage, everything functioned and was quite comfortable, and was a fantastic experience. I even had the chance to practice yoga on the deck. Now tell me, who do you know that has done yoga on the attached deck of a parked Airstream?
There were two other houses on the property next to the Airstream that was just as interesting. Not quite “tiny houses” but really unique and modern-looking one-bedroom cabin-like houses. If we ever cut through Bryson City again, I would consider staying in one of these.
There’s another point of interest near town which is known as the Road To Nowhere. Apparently, they built 6 miles of road, dug a long tunnel, and then abandoned the project. The 6 miles of road is also an excellent road to enjoy the twists, turns, and curves.
After our adventure down the Road To Nowhere, we drove into Gatlinburg to make, a very quick visit to Floyd Garret’s Car Museum.
While we were in Gatlinburg, we fulfilled a request for a family member to pick up some Moonshine from Ole Smoky Distillery. We also picked some up for ourselves after a really fun-tasting event. We tasted 13 different moonshines and whiskeys hosted by a bartender who eloquently and humorously described each drink. His delivery and entertainment were worth the $10.00 tasting. The fee was credited back if you bought a bottle/jar. There were also tours of the distillery available as well as rocking chairs to listen to the live country bands.
From Gatlinburg, we headed to Raleigh for a very nice stay with a friend who was so kind as to put us up for the night before we headed off to our next Airbnb in Charleston.
We had such a great time in Charleston we decided to add an extra night for a total of three nights. There are plenty of things to do and see in Charleston that would interest just about anyone with a sense of adventure and curiosity.
James, our host, is such an eclectic person and one of the most engaging and friendly people we had the pleasure of meeting and staying with. His home was beautifully appointed and comfortable. The swimming pool was perfect after a steamy day touring Charleston. In hindsight, we should have stayed a fourth night.
Bottom Line #1.
We did learn how easy it is to add an extra day to an existing Airbnb booking with just a few mouse clicks. Go to your reservation and change your reservation. The host must authorize the change and accept it.
We stayed at a now-closed Airbnb with a very friendly and eclectic owner in Charleston. We enjoyed our time chatting with James and learning about his artwork, including his fire ant sculptures.
Sadly, James sold this property and moved to an island in North Carolina.
I’ve never seen a fire ant nest turned into a beautiful aluminum sculpture. Here’s one way of getting rid of fire ants. Pour molten aluminum into the nest, and dig out the casting to reveal the beauty of nature’s unground architects while evicting the nasty little insects from your property. Check out the video.
From Charleston, we headed to Hilton Head for an evening at a Hampton Inn using points. I’m not a big fan of Hilton Head Island as it felt like one resort or condo complex after another. We did take a sunset dolphin watch cruise that was very nice and we saw lots of dolphins hunting for their dinner.
The next day we went to Savannah and toured the town on foot and enjoyed the history and the architecture that the town had to offer. We decided to spend an extra night there to spend a day at the beach at Tybee Island. While the beaches in South Carolina are very nice, the sand and the water are not what I thought it would be. The water was not clear while we were there. It was cloudy and greenish/gray, yet very warm. The wetlands and marshes in the area contribute much to the area’s ecosystem but it results in greenish/gray cloudy water. Perhaps it was also that time of year when the ocean churns a bit. Also, tropical storm/hurricane Florence was making its way toward the Carolina coast. She would make landfall in Wilmington a few days after we departed the area.
I much prefer the white sugary sands and crystal clear water of the Gulf Coast of Florida.
I never post photos of my travels on Facebook while we are away from home for obvious safety and security reasons. However, there was one exception which I posted to my storyline so that the Challenger Demon Club could see that I was at the Wellborn Auto Muscle Car Museum. This is the private collection of Tim Wellborn in Alexander City, Alabama. It’s a mecca for all things Mopar from the ’60s and early ’70s. All the cars run and are driven to keep them operational and in tip-top shape. My Facebook is open for anyone to see so please feel free to check out the photos that I have posted.
Remember that ’69 Dodge Charger that I wrote about in the delayed gratification article? One of its sister cars was there along with all of the other model years during that muscle car era.
My biggest thrill at Wellborn was having the privilege of sitting in one of the Vanishing Point 2 Challenger Movie cars that were on display. They had stunt car #2 used in the film. I saw stunt car #1 during the trip at a museum in Gatlinburg, TN.
Here’s a bit of trivia. None of the Challengers from the 1971 original Vanishing Point movie are known to exist. Back then, they did not see the value in preserving many of the movie stunt cars as they do today. There are a few exceptions. The ’68 Bullitt Mustang came out of hiding in January for the unveiling of the 50th anniversary of the Steve McQueen movie Bullitt. Known as the best car chase in movie history. An 11-minute chase through the streets of San Francisco. Yet, I digress, but you can catch it on YouTube.
At Wellborn, Anton was ever so kind to move some motors and parts out of the way in the display to allow me to sit in her. She fit like a glove.
A bit of movie magic for me to experience, in all places, Alexander City Alabama. Thanks to our tour hosts, Steve, and Alton for helping preserve this slice of American history. I’m quite certain that my generation will be the last to appreciate these cars.
The other benefit of traveling to Alabama was checking it off the list of States that I had visited. I have only a few more to go. Oklahoma is going to be a tough one unless we make the drive to Albuquerque via Route 66.
End Part 2.
Coming Next Week:
Part 3, our experience in Memphis and Nashville.
If you are still interested, we are offering Mrs.fromthebachrow’s referral link on your first Airbnb booking. If you sign up with her link, you’ll get $40.00 off your first trip.
Go to my Contact Page and send me an email and I’ll respond to you with a link to the Airbnb referral program.
** This is a limited-time offer and only available to the first nine friends who read this blog.
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