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FEBRUARY
22 - MARCH 3
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ED NOTE:
This travel page is for our readers to submit their travel
stories and destinations. Please email your articles and
pix to mccartymetro@gmail.com.
This month's travel page is submitted by Margaret. |
Panoramic photo from Caesar's Head in South
Carolina
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Adventures
from the 10 day road trip Kelly & I took, which included a visit with
family in Tennessee, a wedding in sunny Florida, and
visiting a National Park in South Carolina, and lots of
other things. |
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DAY 1: We left on February 22 in a fog
in Michigan, which turned to pouring rain in Ohio. It cleared up in Kentucky, but started pouring again in Tennessee which lasted the entire time of our visit with
Larry and Gina. When we got to their house, Gina had prepared a delicious meal for the weary travelers. We finished the evening with a couple cocktails while playing
"Joke Boat", a fun
game.
DAY 2: The next day in the rain, we visited the Garden Conservatory at the Opryland Hotel. We met up with Bob Lopez who works there, and he guided us around before
going back to work. We enjoyed lunch at the Opry Backstage Grill where our waiter Josh
performed a country tune on stage. We continued on to sample moonshine
at Tennessee Legends. Then hung out at Jason Aldean's bar before going to Duck Pin Bowling. Lots of fun! We finished the day with a fancy dinner at Amerigo's
Restaurant.
DAY 3: After another great Gina breakfast, we went to Top Golf - Swing Suite. Lots of fun doing virtual golf, killing zombies, baseball, football, and carnival games. We had
dinner back at Larry and Gina's with Gina's brother Joe, his wife and daughter. Lots of good conversation, and another rousing game of
"Joke Boat".
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| Top Golf - Swing Suite
was a blast - We all took turns winning at different
sports |
DAY 4: We packed up, said our goodbyes to Larry and Gina, and headed for the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. We got in about 3pm and it was crowded. Lot's to see,
including beluga whales, penguins, tropical fish, albino alligator, and a sea lion show. After the Aquarium, we drove to Macon, GA and stayed the night.
DAY 5: This was basically a travel day which we got to Florida. On the drive, the temps got into the 80's which was wonderful. We got into the hotel in Bradenton, and had
dinner at Applebee's to close out the day.
DAY 6: Kelly and I took a morning walk in Heritage Harbor Park by the lake where we saw lots of birds and
tropical plants. We got back to the hotel to change into our wedding clothes for an early afternoon wedding and reception. We drove to Palma Sola Botanical Gardens for the outdoor wedding of friends Sue and Victor. She
looked like a princess and he was quite dapper in his suit. It was a wonderful event, and the weather was perfect. We won a prize for the longest married couple at
the reception. When we got back to the hotel in the evening, we did our Grand brad chat and Kelly did his brothers chat in the McCarty Metro Chat
Room.
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| A lovely
morning for a walk at Heritage Harbor Park - Temperatures
were in the 70's |
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| We wait for
the nuptials - A beautiful background to a beautiful event
- The bride and groom |
DAY 7: We met again with the bride and groom, and some other wedding guests for brunch before saying our goodbyes. Kelly & I then drove to Sarasota to go to the
Ringling Museum which is a circus museum of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey history along with the gardens.
DAY 8: We left Bradenton for an all-day drive to Columbia, South Carolina. We had dinner and planned for our park adventures the next day.
DAY 9: Went to Congaree National Park with was about a half hour from our hotel. They had a boardwalk running through the park overlooking Weston Lake, old trees,
animals, marshland, palmettos, and remains of an old still from prohibition. It was a self guided walking tour which lasted a couple hours. We then headed to Caesars
Head State Park, not before getting my Jack in the Box fix. Awesome views at the top of the mountain although it was a very treacherous, winding road up and down
the mountain, but Kelly handled it like a champ. From there we headed to Knoxville to stay the night.
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| Photos from our visit to
Congaree National Park |
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| Views from around the
park - Margaret trailing on the Boardwalk |
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| Winding road to the top
of Caesar's Head State Park - The official sign that we
made it - First view from the overlook |
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| Me taking a closer peek -
A breathtaking view - A Selfie from the top |
DAY 10: A full day of driving as we were coming home. GREAT TO BE BACK!
Also, we downloaded the License Plate Game from below... We saw
all the states on our trip except Hawaii, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
ED NOTE: Over
the 10 really long days cooped up alone in the car with me,
Margaret did a lot of reading e-books and doing research on
gardening. As soon as we got home, she went right to work in the
backyard. I wonder what she is going to plant?
Are you going on
a road trip? Make sure to let us know and we will share it here on
the Metro!
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