Inspiring travel stories, tips, and guides from a couple exploring the world one destination at a time.
Last Updated: May 2026
We stayed in Luray, Virginia to visit the famous Luray Caverns, Skyline Drive, and Shenandoah National Park. The site was spectacular but nature had some very specific plans for our stay — including liquid manure from the adjacent farm that effectively kept us indoors for two days.
Last Updated: May 2026
Natural Bridge is a 215-foot-high limestone arch spanning 90 feet, carved by Cedar Creek over millions of years — it may once have been the roof of a large cave. George Washington surveyed the area as a young man in 1750. Thomas Jefferson loved it so much he bought it. We paired the visit with a day at Monticello and came away with a lot to think about.
Last Updated: May 2026
We couldn’t resist touring the Mount Airy area in North Carolina after years of watching Andy Griffith. What we didn’t expect was to end up camped on land once owned by the world’s most famous conjoined twins — or to discover that North Carolina produces genuinely good wine.
Last Updated: May 2026
From Lake Toxaway we moved north to Asheville — arriving in a downpour, which is the correct way to experience western North Carolina in late April. The next morning the clouds had settled into the trees around the campground and stayed there, low and dramatic and completely worth looking at. We had the better part of a week, good weather eventually cooperated, and Asheville delivered on every front.
[Read more…] about Asheville, North Carolina: The Biltmore Estate, Linville Falls & the Most Impressive Flush Toilet of 1895Last Updated: May 2026
From Greenwood, South Carolina we crossed into the mountains of western North Carolina and settled in at Lake Toxaway — a 640-acre privately held lake in Transylvania County, the largest of its kind in the state. The mountains were just waking up for spring, the waterfalls were running full from snowmelt, and the Blue Ridge Parkway was almost entirely to ourselves. It turned out to be one of the most beautiful stretches of the entire trip.
[Read more…] about Lake Toxaway, North Carolina: 260 Waterfalls, the Blue Ridge Parkway & Where Robber Barons Once SummeredLast Updated: May 2026
From Savannah, Georgia we headed north to Greenwood, South Carolina to visit Sandy’s brother Eddie. Greenwood sits in the Piedmont region of the state, covers about 16 square miles, and has a population of around 23,000. It has everything you’d need — including, we noted, two Walmart stores, which is the modern benchmark for civilizational completeness. The area is genuinely beautiful, and it’s easy to understand why Eddie has lived here for years.
[Read more…] about Greenwood, South Carolina: Visiting Family, a Lakeside Motorcoach Resort & Sandy’s Complete Anti-Mosquito Arsenal