Chapter 1

I'd had enough. We had experienced cold, snow, and more cold. It was turning into the longest winter I could remember. I needed to get out of the state and into a place where I could run around in shorts and a t-shirt. It was to that end that I began looking at a map of the southern United States.

The previous week I had taken off early. It was a sunny day with a sky so blue that you just wanted to dive into it. On a whim, I decided to grab my lawn chair and lay out on the driveway. The banks of snow around me were, in some places, four feet high. The only area barren of snow was my driveway. Otherwise, the landscape around me was white and beautiful.

I put on my jacket and boots. I lay back and closed my eyes. Silence was all around me. Occasionally I would hear an icicle fall as the sun warmed the shingles on my roof. Peace and quiet and a feeling of warmth enveloped me. Despite the fact that it was twenty five degrees outside, I soon found myself drifting off into a warm and womb-like rest.

A passing car woke me from my slumber. "What kind of nut is lying out in the sun", I imagined him thinking. I looked around and noticed that the snow drifts were sparkling. It looked as if someone had sprinkled colored pepper on the mounds of snow. The small flakes of glitter were mostly colored blue and yellow. They twinkled and shimmered and brought an additional dimension of beauty to my range of vision.

That little respite gave me the incentive I needed to plan my trip. I knew that a storm was coming and days similar to what I had enjoyed would become few and far between. I made up my mind; to the ocean I must go.

Work would be picking up soon. The present sounded like a good time to leave. I searched the map for a place that would provide me with the warmth I needed. I had been to Galveston recently, so that was out of the question. Florida was a possibility, except for all the kids. South Carolina kept making its way to the forefront. Charleston looked like a very nice choice.

I informed my employer of my vacation plans and began to gather my gear for the trip. I always placed my camping supplies in one special area. All I really had to do was to load them in the car. I double checked to make sure the poles for the tent were in the bag. I never wanted to make that mistake again.

The next Saturday, I sat in the car and entered my destination into the gps. As I prepared to leave, I heard the sound of birds flying overhead. Cranking my head, I was pleased to see a pair of trumpeter swans making their way over my house. I took that as a good omen for the start of my journey.

As I drove, I would occasionally check my progress. I calculated twenty miles from the odometer readings. It sure seemed like more than that. The next observation yielded thirty seven miles. I began to realize that my trip of thirteen hundred miles was going to take a bit longer than I thought.

I studied the world around me. The city gave way to farmlands and fields. I spotted a group of turkeys, a pair of deer, and a beautiful red fox. The snow covered fields ran on for miles, some displaying drifts that any snowmobiler would love to explore. I became entranced in the world around me. It was at that point when the miles began to fly by.

At one point I drove along a high wall that followed a winding river. Water that had seeped between the rocks had frozen into strips of clear and frosty ribbons. The sun caught the icicles in such a way as to display them in amazing color.

Sparkles and rainbows were everywhere. I wanted to stop and gaze, but there was no place to pull off. At the speed of fifty five miles per hour, I only had a brief glimpse of the frozen scene. Fortunately, it was enough to keep my attention for the next twenty miles.

Further down the road, I noticed the huge blades of a wind turbine rotating in the sky. It didn't take me long to realize that there were many more. The white sleek blades looked very futuristic and impressive. In my creative imagination, I could see them as space robots sweeping across the fields leaving devastation and destruction in their wake.

As I continued along, I started counting how many of the large white objects stood in a row. Doing some quick math, I figured there must be around five hundred units in this massive field. It was by far the largest wind power farm that I had ever come across.

Eventually the sun began to make its way toward the hidden horizon. I had stopped to gas up and was fortunate enough to be able to watch as it dipped slowly below the hills. When it was gone, a flash of colors filled the sky; one last hurrah before the impending darkness.

Somewhere around ten, I began looking for a place to sleep. I never liked the thought of shelling out a pile of money just for a place to close my eyes. All I really needed was to lie down in a clean and quiet place. Most of the signs I saw were for rooms priced around a hundred dollars. I wanted to find a place that was half of that.

Just before I drove through Lexington Kentucky, I saw the sign for a budget motel. From previous trips, I knew they were usually clean and efficient. I called the number from the GPS and learned that there was a room available. It looked like I would have a warm bed for the night after all.

The room turned out to be what you would expect for a cheap hotel. One of the cushions had a dark stain. I put the remote in a clear plastic bag. From what I had read, the remote control was one of the items that contained the most disgusting of germs.

I pulled back the bedspread and looked at the sheets. Seeing no creepy-crawlers, I prepared myself for bed. I had driven almost nine hundred miles and had made good progress. I would finish my trip by the early afternoon of the morrow. I closed my eyes and gradually drifted off to sleep.

I arose early the next morning and headed down to the meeting room for breakfast. A quick look around reminded me that I was not staying at the Hyatt. Would it really have been so difficult for someone to put a little more effort into wiping down the chairs and table? I looked at the plates and figured that they had been run through a dishwasher. The selection of food was sparse, but it would give me a good start for the day.

I watched the news as I ate. The pastry was dry and I ended up eating only a few bites. I filled myself with cereal and an apple. I was pleased when I saw an attractive woman walk into the room. She walked over to the waffle iron and began to pour some batter onto the dimpled surface.

The matronly looking lady monitoring the area immediately walked over to engage the woman.

"The sign states that you must spray the surface before pouring your batter," I heard her say.

"The surface does not always need to be sprayed," the pleasing looking lady retorted.

"Oh yes it does!" came the emphatic reply.

"I am a professional cook and I happen to know how to make a waffle," said the tall slender redhead.

Just then the machine beeped that the waffle was done. The woman opened the device and easily popped out her waffle. With a shrug of her shoulder, she proceeded to move over to the area where the butter and syrup were made available. I headed out of the room before the scene became more tenuous.

I grabbed my bag and headed toward the car. It looked like it would be a nice day. The temperature was already in the fifties. After another stop for gas, I was once again cruising along at a comfortable speed. It was when I arrived at the foothills that the scenery around me began to change. As I climbed higher, I became surrounded by a world of beauty. The ground was still covered with a layer of snow and many of the deciduous trees were just beginning to bud. The evergreen trees provided the greatest amount of foliage.

The lack of foliage resulted in a whole new view to the landscape around me. I was able to see much further and could see various objects that would normally be hidden from view. Cabins and outbuildings were suddenly exposed for my pleasure. Creeks and streams were flowing in abundance. Several times I was moved to pull over and observe a beautiful sight. That brief stop would remain in my mind for the next few miles until it was replaced by another.

I saw another section of wall in which the water had seeped through the rock and had formed ridges of sparkling frozen water. Once again I could find no place to stop. That section of road happened to be on a hairpin turn which had no shoulder. To my chagrin, I was forced to continue on my way.

The Appalachian Mountains provide you with a very picturesque drive. In fact, at one point, I turned off the road when I spotted a sign that informed me that there was a waterfall ahead. The pavement eventually ended and I found myself following a winding road that led down into the valley. It turned out to be a greater distance than I had originally thought. I also found that I needed to drive slower because of the gravel and wet spots on the road. The drive was impressive and I spotted many trees that still contained their large and waxy leaves. I believe they were a variation of a magnolia, but I was not completely sure of my identification.

Just when I thought I would never reach my destination, I viewed a turnout just ahead. Sure enough, I found a sign that pointed toward the falls. I had only taken a few steps on the wooden walkway when the first view of the falls came into my line of vision.

I spotted a large outpouring of water that descended from a considerable height. I would estimate that the falls was about twenty feet wide. A white foamy spray hide portions of the falls and other portions were obstructed by trees.