Where Are We?

 Hey Y'all!

So, we told you the plan was SC, but we didn't really say where...

Spartanburg- for the next week or so, then we'll continue down I-26, before heading back to TN for Christmas, and PET Scan.

Our travel day, Saturday, was nice- we took our time through TN & NC. And got to SC around 4pm or so. In TN everything looked pretty "normal" until it didn't. The devastation cause by Helene is still very evident in and around Erwin. Though 26 is open, there is a spot where it's one lane. No loads over 10ft wide, and no commercial vehicles allowed, as of November 9th. Things cleared up for a bit after that, and the weather was fantastic.

We spent over an hour just meandering the NC welcome center, and doing the short hike to the overlook.

As we reached the actual mountain towns, and cities- the sites were unrecognizable from previous trips. A lot of work has obviously been done, but the impact of the storm really became apparent very quickly. The highway is in pretty good shape, but lane changes happen frequently, and without warning. I would not travel in the dark, but during the day wasn't too bad. There are spots that are still pretty dusty/mud covered, and crews were working everywhere (on and off the highway, on a Saturday). We thought about spending a night or two in (or around )Asheville but for us things either weren't open enough, were full (YAY for them & their economy) or were more than we could spend currently. Maybe in December, our our way back through.

The downed trees, and landslides continued through most of our journey- Helene was brutal. We spent the night just off one of the exits, and booked a campground for Sun- Sun. 

Since we couldn't check into the campground until 2pm we spent the day killing time, and running errands. We grocery shopped at Aldi, spent some time walking around Walmart, the bookstore, and a few other retail places, bought a few things at Sam's Club, and slowly meandered towards Pine Ridge Campground*. It was a nice little drive through the small town of Roebuck, SC and we'll have to pass through it again and see if they have a park.

We got to our camp site and it started misty raining. We decided to set up the canopy anyhow, and got all the other necessary set up done, then just hung out in the van, watching YouTube and playing on our phones. During a break in the rain we went on a short walk around our area of the campground, then returned to the van, and were both asleep before 9.

Monday we spent relaxing around camp, reading, working, and walking the grounds. 

Our plans this week are a few museums, parks, and wildlife areas.

Today (Tuesday) we went to Hatcher Gardens & Woodland Preserve. We had a good time, and if you check out our other social media we've shared some photos. (Mainly TikTok & Facebook.)

Thanks,

The Outlands 

*Review to come.