A friend of
ours used to take his wife and kids on long road trips and, no matter the
distance, insisted on driving straight through without even stopping for rest
rooms. Don’t ask. I’m the opposite. Every road trip I plan has side trips: take a hike, visit a sight, stop and shop,
scope out an artist or discover a local restaurant. Often they’re the best part.
Bookmark the website Roadside America and meet the country’s characters. Thousands of odd sights include an alien welcome center, topiary sculptures and a button museum just in
South Carolina. Driving cross-country to
Michigan,
the website led my niece and me to the fascinating
Temple
of
Tolerance in an unassuming suburban
neighborhood in
Ohio.
Jim Bowsher has turned his oversized backyard into a “retreat where people
could feel accepted, especially young people.”
“Beat” greeted us and introduced his scruffily dressed friends who were gathered in one of the massive rock enclosures that Jim made from the hundreds of tons of rocks and millstones, lintels, urns and foundation blocks that he painstakingly hauled from farm fields. Massive boulders became shrines and towers; some are buried upright like tombstones or formed into steps. A suburban
Stonehenge. It inspires Beat to come at all hours to sit
quietly and write. We were lucky to meet
Jim himself who boasted that his house is the only one where Jehovah Witnesses say,
“OK, we’ve got to go now.” He excitedly asked, “What show would Shakespeare
watch if he were alive? Jerry
Springer! Dysfunction is where the drama
is.” Jim has dedicated years to helping prisoners
publish their stories. The
Temple is his vision of a
tolerant world. He’s particularly
proud of a former Klu Klux Klan step. “I
ask Black people to sit on the step so they can liberate it.”
Roadside
America also led us to the “A Wiggle In Its Walk”, a 14-foot high, 200-foot
long series of serpentine arches, alleys and tunnels constructed from four
tractor trailers of twigs and vines by artist Patrick Dougherty and volunteers
in Wegerzyn Gardens near Dayton, Ohio. It
was a wonderful place to playfully wander, to stretch our legs and our
imaginations.
Billboards
for
Berea, Kentucky attracted us off the highway to its
small downtown chock full of artists’ studios.
Ken Gastineau created a pewter julep cup on his lathe while he told us
“instead of the idea that the town should support the arts, the arts should
support us.” Founded as an integrated community by an abolitionist minister,
the town has thrived by making the arts its foundation.
On an
Appalachian adventure we used the free directory and travel planner from the
Blue Ridge Parkway Association. If
you’re driving near any of the Parkway’s 469 miles from
North
Carolina to
West
Virginia, you can get milepost by milepost ideas for
nearby fishing, bicycling, camping, hiking, attractions and
accommodations. In
Virginia, the guidebook led us to Peaceful
Heart Alpaca Farm near mile marker 204 where the field was full of the cavorting
furry animals. In her workshop lined
with blue ribbons, Sharla Willis told us how she and her parents had reinvented
themselves from Ohioans to farmers by following Sharla’s love of knitting and
the glimpse of an alpaca’s sweet face on television. We also stopped at Mabry
Mill, one of the most picturesque spots on the parkway to learn about
Appalachian history and farm life and to buy some souvenir grits. With a little Google’ing we discovered that
Grayson Highlands was on our route. A short hike led us to a beautiful herd of
wild ponies that grazed peacefully while we took photos.
My most
go-to travel resource is Tripadvisor where you’ll find reviews by real people
about every destination. Enliven a trip
across the state by picking a small town on your route and putting it into
their search engine. You’ll get great
advice on restaurants or attractions. Going
west? How about world-class BBQ at
Sweatman’s in Eutawville? Or take a walk in the astonishing biodiversity of Congaree National Park. It’s only five miles off the interstate. Or tour
the Newberry Opera House. Driving south? Share our favorite picnic spot under the
Spanish moss-draped oaks at the Frampton Plantation House located right where
you need a break before getting onto I-95 from Hwy. 17. Heading north? Take a breather at Brookgreen Gardens
where the gorgeous flowers and sculpture will rejuvenate you. Surprise yourself
with an exotic lunch at Redi-et Ethiopian Restaurant in Myrtle Beach.
The trip
starts when you pull out of the driveway, not at your destination. You know the adage “the journey is the
destination”? That’s about side
trips.
If You Go
Blue Ridge
Parkway Directory and Travel Planner: 828-670-1924
