A few birds seen during our first trip to Central Park this year.
Central Park May Birds
Author: Sherry Felix
Beaver Creek Doors
The historical homes on Beaver Creek Road, Hagerstown, Maryland are lovely.
For Thursday Doors
Beaver Creek Inn & Spa
We had a lovely overnight stay at a charming Bed and Breakfast The Spa at Beaver Creek | Hagerstown, MD 21740 (beavercreekinnandspa.com). I would love to go back there someday have the time to properly enjoy the amenities there. We even had to skip breakfast as it was served to late for an early start. The owner kindly made us a picnic breakfast. We needed to get going early to arrive back in NYC before dark. A small disappointment was the bathtub in our room. I could not make the plug stay closed (there was a trick to it that I didn’t know) and I needed assistance to get out of the huge bathtub. I don’t have a bathtub at home and a nice soak would have been a treat.
Hager’s Fancy Maryland
On the way to Beaver Creak (our B&B for the night) we stopped at 1739 – Hager’s Fancy | Historic City Park and were given an excellent tour of the place. More information: Hager House (Hagerstown, Maryland) – Wikipedia
North Through Virginia
We drove through a small part of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and up through part of Pennsylvania back to New York. There was fog early in the mornings. We spread the trip out over three days and stayed overnight at two places. The drive from Gatlinburg is 710 miles and if we drove straight would take over 11 hours. I took these with a Samsung Galaxy S22.
Salt and Pepper Museum
There are thousands of different salt and pepper shakers at the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum in Gatlinburg. We went out of curiosity. I was amazed. Of course I had to buy a set (second from last image). At an antique store on the way home in Beaver Creek, Hagerstown, Maryland I bought a frog teapot (last image).
Nantahala Gorge Scenery
Some views from the Great Smokey Mts RR train.
The water level in Fontana Lake in the gorge was way down on purpose for dam maintenance. We were told it will be refilled in May for the summer. Then the floating cabins will float.
The train makes a stop where the engine is switched to the other end. There I bought a shirt at the NOC Outfitters store by Silvermine Creek and the Appalachian Trail. The shirt was labeled my size but when I tried it on later found that it would cover two of me. I use it as a night gown.
Nantahala Gorge GMS RR
The word “Nantahala” is a Cherokee word, meaning “Sun between them.” In some spots, the sun reaches the floors of the deep gorges of the forest only when it is high overhead at midday.
To give Marc most of a day off from driving I booked a day long trip on the Premium Open-Air Gondola with dining for the Nantahala Gorge Excursion | Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in NC. Visit their site Great Smoky Mountains Railroad for history and details. The tour guide was excellent and entertaining. The lunch was boring. And I underestimated the weather, so we were cold. Overall, it was great fun.
