Trip to Western North Carolina/South Carolina State Fair

Our friends Rosie and Betty came for another visit the week of October 17th.  The main purpose of the trip was to see 'The Buddy Holly Story' at the Flat Rock Playhouse in Flat Rock, NC (a few miles south of Hendersonville). The rest of the time, we spent sightseeing west of Hendersonville and along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The last day (Friday) we drove down to Columbia, SC to check out the South Carolina State Fair.

Lunch at Genny's Home-Style Cookin' in Chimney Rock.  The Rocky Broad River is in the background.

Looking west up the Rocky Broad.

Looking east.

Chimney Rock.

Walking along the Rocky Broad.

Downtown Chimney Rock.

This is about 7 miles SE of mile marker (MM) 412 of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Looking Glass Falls. This is on US 276 on the way to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It's notvery tall, maybe 50', but it is supposed to be one of the most photographed waterfalls in the US.

Sliding Rock from the bottom. A mile or two from the waterfalls.

Sliding Rock from the top.

I've seen this on the map for years and always wanted to check it out.

A cabin built in 1882.

This has seen better days !

Commemorating the forestry school.

Portable sawmill from the early 20th century.

Ride 'em cowgirl !! Why did they have this along the trail ??  Who knows.

Another gnome habitat.

Enjoying the walk along the trail.

 We are now going north on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  This is the Cradle of Forestry overlook (4,710').

The Pink Beds overlook (4,822'). So called because of all the pink rhododendrons that bloom in the valley below.

Forgot to note what this overlook is.

Hominy Valley overlook (3,980').

French Broad (River) overlook (2,100'). This is just a couple of miles from Asheville at MM 393.

Here we are in beautiful Columbia. Yes, that's Caroline; someone always has to get in the way !

All the food that's fit to eat !

And when you're done with that, there's more !

Best of show competition.  The one with just his butt showing on the left was the winner.

A sand sculpture to help Columbia celebrate its 225th birthday.

This shows you how big it was.

5,000 lbs. of cotton. I hope you can make out how much clothing it will make.

Any state fair would not be complete without pig races !!

Charlotte Oktoberfest & a SC moonset

My friend Ernie (we met in the Air Force when we were stationed overseas in the late 60's) and I went on October 8th to check out the 13th annual Charlotte Oktoberfest.  There were over 100 breweries and over 350 different beers.  There were brewers from Maine to Florida, the Mid-West and at least 1 each from Colorado and California.
For the admission price, there was a small souvenir glass that held a 5 oz. sample, free potato chips and water, entertainment and most important, unlimited amount of samples.  We didn't try all 350, but at least we had a designated driver. Caroline wanted to check out some stores near where the festival was held, so she drove us there and picked us up when we were ready to go.
There was a good crowd; read on the website that all 5,250 advanced tickets were sold out a week before the festival started.

A big welcome !

They had beer tours, but I don't know what you got to see.

Lots of people.

They even had home brewers.  I tried a couple and they were very good.

This one was 10 miles from where I grew up on Long Island, New York. They had a good toasted lager.

We have some friends from Fuquay Varina, so I figured I would try the beer fromthere.  We must have been there maybe an hour when I found this, but they were out of beer.

One of the entertainers, Amy Broome Band. She's a local girl, from Charlotte.

And what was this doing at a beer fest ??  I don't know and I don't know why they were one of the main sponsors. Go figure !!

The souvenir glass: 4 1/2" tall.

Caught this moon set on the morning of the 14th.  Just below the moon is Jupiter.