Carolina Snow

Have you ever seen Carolina snow? It isn't what you would normally see up north and it isn't the type of snow that you want to be out playing in. This snow is a lime green color and usually starts to fall from the sky in the spring time. We had never heard of such a thing much less seen it. Well, it all started off at a normal pace. The Pine Trees that cover this vast area are starting to bud and produce this little flower on the ends of their branches. These little flowers also produce pollen and as the wind kicks up it gently stirs up the air with this lime green dust.

The locals tell me that this is just the beginning and that in a week it will be at its peak. Last night as we walked around the campground with our flashlights we noticed in the beam of the light being cast from the flashlight it looked as though it was snowing. I tried to take a picture to give you an idea of what we saw.

Over night the pollen continued to fall and by the time we woke up this morning everything had a fine layer of this lime green talc.

This afternoon the clouds rolled in and a few sprinkles fell and mixed with this talc creating a nice goo green past when you would try the windshield wipers on. Over the next couple of days they are calling for more rain so it should wash away the dust for now. The bad news is that next week should be the peak for pollen around here and I didn't bring our snow shovel. I may have to call on our RoadSide Assistance to come shovel us out. Hopefully Road Hazard will get traction in this stuff.

So now you can say that you've heard about Carolina Snow.

McCormick

I haven't been able to upload anything to the blog in awhile since we arrived in a small city in the southwest corner of South Carolina. Land of the Palmetto Tree and Crescent Moon. Just 50 minutes north of Augusta, Georgia. Tucked in between the hills and shore of the Savannah River lies the city of McCormick.

The temperature is still quite chilly when I wake up in the morning. Around the low 30's with the low laying mist hugging the ground until the sun warms up enough to burn it away. The campground is away from any busy roads and your only neighbors are the deer and raccoons that come by the campsite to look for anything we may have left out.
The other night we built a nice fire and sat enjoying the heat while talking about our past year on the road. What is it about a campfire that just relaxes you. Is it the crackling logs or the warm heat against your legs? Is it the smell of smoke or the dancing light across your partners face? We burned all the wood we had and then picked up what ever we could find around us not wanting the fire to die.

I have been working this State Park with my new job. Today, my first day, I spent in the small town of McCormick. I say small because there is a Main Street with a few side streets. The railroad tracks go right down the middle of town and still see quite a bit of traffic today. As I walk this Main Street and look into shop windows I can still imagine how life must have been back in the days that these small towns were so important to the Railroads. It used to be that the trains wouldn't run at night so they would stop here in McCormick for the night. Travelers would walk the block down to the local Bed and Breakfast to stay overnight. The local restaurants would be full of hungry travelers. The streets would be a hive of activity. Today, as I look around I am the only one walking around with very few cars passing by. Yet, these old buildings are still standing and telling their stories of years gone by. The faint musty smell gently hits you as you enter through the big tall glass doors. The squeaky worn wooden floor bends under your weight as you walk down the isles of displayed wares.
I am glad to be able to see yet another side of this country. Just when I thought I had seen it all I realize that there are these small communities tucked away like little gems waiting to be found.

Truck Stop

Tonight I am sitting in a huge parking lot filled with tractor trailer trucks all around us. Their big diesel engines running, the constant popping and whizzing of their air brakes and purge values going off. You might be wondering why? We are in transit to our next job site and decided to pull into this truck stop for the night. Since we are only here for the evening and will be on the road first thing tomorrow morning why spend money on a campground. We are headed up to the southwest corner of South Carolina. About 50 minutes north of Augusta, Georgia. The place we will be staying and working is called Hickory Knob State Park. It's more like a resort since they have an 18 hole golf course along with hotel and campground. We'll be there for the next two weeks as we work the area. I hope to get some golf in while we are there or at least go to the driving range a bunch of times.
For now I am entertaining myself by watching these truckers pull up in their big rigs. Maneuver them around, back them up between two other trucks with the ease of a two year old picking his nose. No thought at all.
I can only hope that the weather will continue to be hot as we move north. I think we got a little spoiled being by the ocean for the past couple of weeks. We really had forgotten how much we missed just hanging on the beach all day. Reading, sleeping, watching the waves roll in and people watching. We hope to be on a shore again soon. For now, here we come South Carolina!

Lift Off

After getting settled into our new location Sunday afternoon, here in Fort Pierce, we watched the clock closely and had the news turned on. This evening at 7:43 the Space Shuttle was to try and lift off after its three previous attempts were scrubbed due to faulty equipment. A small crowd started to gather at the swimming pool which had an unobstructed view of the northern sky.

As the clock got closer people would shout out of their rig excitedly with the time remaining. It was almost like waiting for new years with the countdown. Then as the small crowds started the countdown in unison chills started up my spine. Is it true? Was I going to witness the 128th Space Shuttle launch?

Then, as a silent star shooting across the dusk sky we saw the rockets fury as it pushed the space vehicle upwards. Too far to hear or feel the power of those engines, left to only imagine it.

Slowly the Shuttle continued to ascend. Even though it was going straight up, with the earth spinning at close to 900 miles an hour, the Shuttle looked like it was going at an angle.We were slowly moving away from the shuttle as it continued its journey to weightlessness.

We could see the two rockets get ejected off the Space Shuttle and slowly separate from each other and start the decent back to earth to be recycled and used for another launch. All that remained was a small white glowing star that got smaller and smaller. Soon all that remained to show that something spectacular had happened was the smoke left lingering in the warm Florida night sky. As the last rays of the sun bounced off the smoke it cast beautiful colors. All this took place in a matter of a minute since the Shuttle is moving at close to 16,700 miles an hour to get out of earths gravitational pull. Once it reaches 150 miles above the earths surface it will begin to orbit around the earth like another satellite.

Ruins in Florida

Not too far down the road from our campground sits a Sugar Mill Ruin, once a highly functional sugar mill. This area was once surrounded by acres and acres of Sugar Cane fields. An investor borrowed money from several banks to buy machinery and to build this mill. It was built and run by slaves.

Around 1835 the area was also home to many Seminole Indians and this plantation was right in the middle of their grounds. Soon the Indians began to attack this mill and with the help of the slaves they burned it down.

Today, all that is left are a few walls and scattered machinery parts. The large metal drums that were used to cook the sugar cane to extract the sugar and molasses are still here. The place has been forgotten and very few visitors venture back into this park. Its a part of history that doesn't get any attention and is never spoken of. We always think of Indian battles taking place out west but there were many bloody wars that happened here in Florida.

The Sugar Mill Ruins evoke a time long ago when the Seminole Indians fought the settlers, ending the area's molasses and sugar industries.

Scrub

How lucky can we be? That's the thought the kept racing through my head yesterday as the anticipation of the evenings events were drawing closer. I had seen it on television and watched with awe in movies and now I was going to get my chance of a lifetime. The Space Shuttle is going to launch tonight and it is only 40 miles down the road. We planned the entire day around this momentous event. We even left the beach early so that we could get ready and drive the 40 miles to pick our site for the launch. We wanted to get as close as possible. I wanted to feel the rumbling, the jarring deep within my chest when this space vehicle took off. If we could feel the heat and get a few hairs singed from the flames it would be a bonus.

We had our plans set and were executing them perfectly. I called ahead to the restaurant to book our reservations for a perfect view of the launch pad across the Indian River from Cape Canaveral. Instead of someone answering the phone a message came on. It informed us that the Space Shuttle launch had been scrubbed. Oh no! This can't be happening. Don't they know that we are in place for this once in a lifetime event? Don't they know that we planned the entire day for this moment. How can it be? What could have possibly have happened to scrub the launch? We found the restaurant, Paul's Smokehouse, and decided to go in and have dinner anyways. While seated at the bar downing our sours and waiting for our table we heard on the news that there was a fuel leak. They wouldn't be able to inspect the bird until Friday and the tentative launch date is set for Sunday evening at 7:43.

We were told the wait was only an hour for our table. After an hour and a half we checked back with the hostess. She said we were next. Another half hour and we finally got seated. When I asked to speak to the manager it took another hour for him to materialize and just hear excuses why their staff was doing such a poor job. Just when we thought the night was lost our friend Janice looked out the window and saw the perfect shot. The full moon had risen over the Cape and cast its light across the water.

So we didn't get to see the rockets red glare but we did witness one of natures nightly launching and its celestial show. We'll have to wait and see if our plans work out for the next attempt but we did learn a valuable lesson. Space Shuttle launches are unpredictable. That's why if you ever get the opportunity to witness a launch it truly is a once in a lifetime shot.

Going UP

The other day we discovered one of those weird oddities that you see on television sometimes. If you remember last year when we were in Oregon we visited an area believed to contain vortexes. Strange things happened while we were there that we still can't explain. So, when we heard about this one and it was only about 45 minutes from where we were, we just had to go. The story behind this location in the heart of Florida goes something like this. Years ago when the Indians inhabited many areas of Florida an Indian tribe found this great location to set up camp. It was located next to this fresh water lake that was stocked with all types of fish. Setting up camp on the hill side looking over the lake the tribe was happy with their new location. Months went by until one day a huge alligator took up residence in the very same lake. Soon, one at a time, villagers would disappear. They discovered that this alligator was coming into the camp at night and taking a victim. The chief, upon hearing of this, decided that it was time to confront this alligator. He took the blessings of the witch doctors and set off to find this alligator. After a few weeks he finally spotted this beast dragging another victim into the lake. The story goes that a huge battle ensued that took over a month. Every day the villagers would look for the chief until finally one day he emerged from the lake victorious. He had slain the great alligator. What they realized later was that during the battle the chief and alligator had formed a huge depression next to the lake that eventually filled with water. Years went by and the chief died of old age and was buried next to this smaller lake that he had formed. The legend says that the chief is still protecting this area and his power can still be felt.
Fast forward...today if you arrive next to this smaller lake and stop your car in a certain spot, your vehicle will mysteriously began to move on its own, up hill.

We stopped our car on the designated spot, put it in neutral and sure enough the car began to roll backwards up this small hill. I don't know how to explain this but we did this several times all with the same baffling results.

The chiefs powers were felt that day and I don't know how it is possible. Yet another mystery that we have been witness to without any logical explanation.