solo travel

Travelers Rest

Posted on by Seniye Groff

Nine miles north of Greenville is the quaint, charming town of Travelers Rest (TR). Since I am traveling solo, I plan “field trips” to find things to do and places to explore. TR has a continuation of the Swamp Rabbit Trail and bikers and walkers crowded the lanes despite the heat and humidity today.

I walked the trail to Trailblazer Park which was a large green space and event venue. Then back on the trail I noticed all the beautiful murals. I stopped at Upcountry Provisions for lunch and just enjoyed my peaceful walk.

Two miles away is the esteemed Furman University. It is the oldest private university in South Carolina. The grounds were stunning and the campus buildings dignified. I think this campus is one of the prettiest I’ve seen. The lake trail is manicured with ducks lazily gliding in the water.

The Belltower

Greenville, NC

Posted on by Seniye Groff

I decided to brave the rain and take advantage of a short dry spell and explore downtown Greenville. Even with the lousy weather, lots of people filled the sidewalks, restaurants and shops. Parking was challenging but I landed a spot, grabbed my umbrella and headed to the riverwalk and over the Eugenia Duke Bridge. It is named for one of Greenville’s female entrepreneurs (Duke’s Mayonnaise). It crosses the Reedy River and pointed me perfectly to the Liberty Bridge and Reedy River Falls. This beautiful 345 foot suspension bridge gives pedestrians a perfect view of Reedy River Falls, the gardens (Falls on the Reedy Park) below and an entry point to Swamp Rabbit Trail. The park allows you to get right on the water and take pathways to swings and other seating.

I walked down South Main Street to the West End. Apparently this area was the former location of Furman University. While walking around I enjoyed beautiful public art in the form of murals, statues and glass art including a Dale Chihuly. Pedrick’s Garden was next to the Chihuly piece. This two-acre garden honors a local community leader and was in full bloom.

I visited a fabulous bookstore in the former Greenville County Courthouse. It was another great example of repurposing a historic building for a new era. This bookstore had several nooks, murals and creative displays. It hosts lots of writing classes and events, too.

Greenville feels small in size but large in personality. The downtown area was clean and very walkable and served as a great introduction for my two weeks in Greenville. I look forward to exploring more in the upcoming weeks.

Old Fourth Ward in Atlanta

Posted on by Seniye Groff

Never wanting to get too comfortable, I accepted a dog sitting gig with Trusted Housesitters in the city (as opposed to where I am staying in the suburbs). I’m staying in the Old Fourth Ward which is MLK Jr.’s birth place and a popular neighborhood to live in Atlanta since it’s on the Beltline, Ponce City Market (a previous Sears warehouse) and Krog Market (food hall and shops).

What I love about the neighborhood is its walkability and numerous cafes and restaurants. There’s also a ton of green space including the Historic Fourth Ward Park.

It’s obvious it’s trendy because there is construction everywhere. But the kind of construction I hate. Small, modest, historic homes are being replaced with monster modern monstrosities. I know it’s the thing to do – it’s happening in Portland, too.

The dogs got lots of walks as I meandered the neighborhood. Scotch and Pete got along well and the weather was perfect. It’s so easy to make a dog happy with just walks, treats and scratches behind their ears!

National Center for Civil and Human Rights

Posted on by Seniye Groff
Entrance

Today I visited another amazing museum. I’ll be honest I didn’t have high expectations after the Legacy Sites in Montgomery. After visiting so many civil rights museums, I do really enjoy seeing the different ways of presenting information and the power and impact those messages can make.

This museum decided to address human rights, in addition to, civil rights. Upon entry, the civil rights section was really crowded so I decided to go upstairs and do the human rights section first. I’ll admit I got emotional almost immediately. This museum leads with powerful stories and shares how average, ordinary people took risks to promote human rights. The exhibit “A Mile in My Shoes” was particularly powerful as I listened to personal stories of complete strangers. Each story is linked to a real pair of shoes worn by the person you’re listening to. This delivery really humanizes their experiences.

The second floor also housed the Action Lab. Of course, I’m incredibly action oriented and so this exhibit definitely struck me. The visitor learns about a variety of issues and causes, and then is given ways to find resources and opportunities to be involved with that cause.

Downstairs is focused on civil rights. There was a ton of information, pictures, videos, and other multimedia that presented details about civil rights. For example, there was a full sized depiction of the Freedom Riders bus with all the pictures of the Freedom Riders. You could pick up a phone and listen to their stories. There was also 1,100 books from Dr. Martin Luther King’s personal library. And two quilts from Gee’s Bend!

But the most powerful thing in this museum was the lunch counter sit-in. Museum visitors are invited to sit at the lunch counter with a menu in front of them and place headphones over their ears, close their eyes and place their hands on the lunch counter. Audio begins and depicts what folks at the lunch counter heard and experienced. The sound quality of the audio was really amazing. I could literally hear somebody breathing in my right ear. I felt that there was somebody right behind me and the screaming was truly scary. The audio lasted one minute and 25 seconds and mimics being at the lunch counter. It is an experience I will not forget. And it really showed me how courageous the college students were that sat at these lunch counters.

There are so many layers to this museum and I loved how it coupled civil rights with human rights. If you’re in Atlanta definitely visit this museum.

Centennial Olympic Park

Posted on by Seniye Groff

This morning, I got my workout done early so that I could head into Atlanta to visit the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Since it wasn’t open yet, I decided to take a walk and I landed at the Centennial Olympic Park. What a nice surprise since I didn’t realize it was right next to the museum.

It was raining, but plenty of people were out. The park is beautiful and I love the different features, including, of course, the Olympic rings the various water features, flowers and open spaces. Definitely a nice walk on a Sunday morning.

Atlanta History Center

Posted on by Seniye Groff

Today I visited the The Atlanta History Center. It is one of the most varied museums I’ve seen with a large museum, three historic houses, and 33 acres of gardens and trails. Key things to see include the iconic Cyclorama painting, the elegant Swan House mansion, and the interactive Smith Family Farm.

The Golden Isles

Posted on by Seniye Groff

The Golden Isles of Georgia are comprised of four barrier islands: St. Simons Island, Sea Island, Little St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island. Since Sea Island is private and Little St. Simons Island can only be reached by boat, I am exploring the remaining two islands.

My day started in Savannah and an easy hour and a half drive south landed me in St. Simons Island. I visited Fort Frederica first. This fort was built in 1736 to protect General Oglethorpe’s Georgia colony from the Spanish in Florida. It sits on the Frederica River and was a perfect stop to stretch our legs.

Fort Frederica

We then headed to Pier Village where my hotel is located but since check-in wasn’t for a few hours, Pete and I walked the pier, the iconic lighthouse and the beach.

With more time to kill, I decided to drive to Jekyll Island. Although not far away in miles, it is not exactly a straight shot so it took about 40 minutes to get there.

I drove to Driftwood Beach first. A short sandy path drops you onto a breathtaking beach that you truly don’t expect. Once a forest, erosion and salt water created this symphony of tree trunks littered on the beach and in the water during high tide.

I then drove a few miles to the Historic District on Pier Road. Originally this area was an exclusive winter retreat for the wealthiest families in America. It’s 240 acres and now contains shops, in addition to a luxurious hotel.

We drove a few more miles to the west end of the island to see St. Andrew’s Beach. It’s supposedly the spot for sunset pictures.

It was truly a perfect day with sunny weather and beautiful sites. The busy season is just starting here and I can easily imagine lazy summer days in this unique area.

Beaufort, Bluffton and the Wildlife Refuge

Posted on by Seniye Groff

Just five minutes over a beautiful bridge from Savannah pops me into South Carolina. And an hour drive (about 38 miles) lands me in the surreal, charming town of Beaufort. Beaufort is the second oldest city in South Carolina with its downtown considered a historic district filled with mansions with Victorian, Greek Revival, Neo Classical and federal styles. Wealth came from cotton and indigo plantations and trading. Beaufort has quite a history and was one of the first areas captured by the Union in the Civil War. I visited the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park which shared the history of how freed slaves grew wealth and prosperity in Beaufort, too.

After wandering the historical downtown with its shops and homes, I drove over the Woods Memorial Bridge to Lady’s Island. I wandered Whitehall Park and viewed Beaufort from afar across the marshlands. I returned to Beaufort for lunch and met a man who has lived in Beaufort for 45 years. He told me it is the place to live and he invited me to stay with him and his wife to experience the real Beaufort. Even crazier, his kids live in Bend. It truly is a small world. We exchanged numbers. For lunch I enjoyed a Lowcountry shrimp melt. Pete managed to eat about half of my fries!

Once lunch was done, I got into the car and headed to Bluffton about an hour away. It was another picturesque town on the May River dating from the 1820’s. The Union burned the town on June 4,1863. 13 houses and two churches survived and the town grew once again. Although no longer a center for trade, many summer homes and a bustling historic area continue.

After Bluffton, I drove another hour to the Savannah National Wildlife Reserve. This protected land has a four-mile drive-only loop with beautiful marshland, birds and alligators. I saw several alligators and was more than happy to stay in the car!

The beauty of this area astounds me. The green, lush foliage coupled with all the water make this area stunning and although hot and humid in the summer, I would definitely return!

Thunderstorms, tornado warnings and Savannah

Posted on by Seniye Groff

I was inconsiderately woken up by a thunderstorm at 4:53 this morning. I have to admit that Georgia has mild, balmy weather which at this time of year is so much better than Portland’s rain but the thunderstorms are vicious (different from the weepy, slow drip of Portland rain).

Once I got out of bed, I checked the weather for my drive to Savannah today and there were tornado warnings south of Atlanta. I know nothing about tornadoes as my world has been about earthquakes. I talked to a neighbor and he did some research and reported back to me that by the time I reached the tornado warning zone it would be over.

Savannah was a five hour drive south and east. I checked into my hotel and immediately headed to the historic district with Pete. Wow, I was blown away with the beauty. I visited Savannah for St. Patrick’s Day about 40 years ago (and if you haven’t been, trust me it’s a big deal)! But we drank and left.

This visit I sauntered through the old, historic streets. Gardens, parks, statues and historical markers are everywhere. And the architecture varied and divine and includes Victorian , Greek revival, gothic and Romanesque. Mansions galore and just beautiful Spanish moss tree-lined streets. Pete and I parked at Forsyth Park and walked to several of the squares including Pulaski, Madison, Lafayette and then down to the river. The gold-domed city hall was impressive and there were tons of restaurants, shops and cafes everywhere.

Forsyth Park