Join My Journey

The Journey Is The Destination 

I know my posts are very long. That is purposeful. I want you to spend time sitting with the history of these places. I want you to think about the ways humans have shaped these natural areas and how resilient nature can be when protected. I want each post to add to your understanding of the varied ecology and culture of the southeast. I want you to think about the civilization that existed here for thousands of years before the invasion from Europe. I can't tell these stories without mentioning the atrocities of slavery and its affects on our society. I want you to see what industry and commercial development can do when left unchecked, and enjoy the beauty of land reborn. In many places around the country we are in quarantine, bars are closed, there are no nightclubs, restaurants have limited seating or are take out only, people are working from home, kids are online learning, you have time to read a long blog and take your mind off all that. I have included links throughout my blogs so you can do your own research and learn more about all the people and places. If there is a term you don't know, likely it will have a link attached. If there is a historical person mentioned more than briefly the name will be linked. If I mention another of my blog posts, it will be linked. Feel free to use my blogs as your entrance to the rabbit hole of history.

So far we have traveled together three times. In South Carolina, we visited a castle built by trust fund philanthropists, learned about antebellum rice plantations with their overstuffed owners, and met the woman who made indigo a Carolina cash crop.

 In the mountains of North Carolina we traveled through time and up into the hills of Cherokee territory, witnessed the disneyfication of a culture, got a picture with Chief Henry, peered down at the poor neglected bears, put quarters into Skinner box style ‘animal arcades’ and spent the night in the Pink Motel. 

And most recently we traveled from the Piedmont to the Cape Fear Coast, busted a gasket in the swamp, met the native people, pirates, lord proprietors, and briefly pondered such mysteries as the swamp Beast of Bladenboro, secret stashes of Nuclear weapons, Nazi submarine attacks, and a near death experience that inspired a name for an entire region and its people.

What next? Where would y’all like to go? Or where have you been that I should learn about?