Learn more about mountain life, wildlife and nature with a class, workshop or hike with the Smoky Mountain Field School.
A cooperative effort by The University of Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, a wide range of programs are offered from March into the fall. Now in its 37th year, park rangers and UT faculty join forces to offer unique wilderness learning adventures and experiences.
Interactive programs range from learning how to fly-fish, backpacking with children, birding, and early settler mountain cooking, to numerous offerings about the animals, trees, flowers and even polliwogs living in the Park.
We attended a program about Elks and it was fascinating. Not only did we gain appreciation of these majestic animals and learn about their reintroduction into the park, but we also really enjoyed meeting our co-participants. To a person, they were interesting, intelligent and focused on learning more about the incredible environment within the 800 square mile Park.
For details and/or to request a catalog: smfs.utk.edu 865-974-0150
PS – for the uninitiated, the 865 area code stands for VOL
The “Greeter” at The Aviary, in Cauley Square Historic Village where the Rallye fun began.
Beautiful orchids, incredible variety, great prices (and more) at RF Orchids.
We love road rallies and this week we experienced one of the best. Robert Burr (of Burr’s Berry Farm fame), puts on a fun-filled day through the countryside of south Miami-Dade County. It’s a trip back in history as well as a peek into the wonderful locally grown and produced treasures of the area.
Even though our group was pretty familiar with the area we came away with some new experiences and some new favorites places to return.
The route started at charming, quaint Cauley Square (where the Tea Room is a long-time personal favorite) to register and pick-up our clue sheets. We hunted throughout the interesting shops in the area, briefly chatting with a raccoon trapper and rubbing elbows with the hundreds of others getting their start on the route.
Our quest led us to Burr’s Berry Farm, which I’ve described in an earlier post, as well as Phil’s Berry Farm, Knaus Berry Farm (famous for their fabulous cinnamon buns and baked goods) and the Fruit & Spice Park. We made time for lunch at the delightful White Lion Café in Homestead, a new spot for us and a real treat. The great food was only matched by the super –friendly staff. We will be back.
After our fortification we visited RF Orchids, Redland Hotel, The Florida Pioneer Museum, and uber-fruit stand, Robert is Here, before ending at Schnebly Redland’s Winery. We are also going to go back and try the Hotel Redland’s Whistle Stop Café and their Tea Room.
We learned, we had yummy treats along the way, and were very pleasantly surprised by Schnebly’s. This was our first visit and it was a stunning, beautiful setting. They have wine, beer and soft drinks as well as a few snacks; but you can bring your own picnic (just no drinks) for lunch or dinner. Friday and Saturdays they feature live music and dancing.
For a great day in the country, for any age, plan to visit the venues individually or take a #Redland Riot Tour. For information, visit www.redlandriot.com.
Just the Facts:
For more info on each of the places we visited you can check hours and details at the following websites or by calling:
- Once a bustling railroad village at the turn of the century, #Cauley Square now plays home to an eclectic collection of shops and restaurants; learn more at www.cauleysquare.com.
- #Burr’s Berry Farm is open from “sometime in December” through the end of April, for up-to-date info, visit http://www.burrsberryfarm.com.
- #Phil’s Berry Farm has lots of treats and the unusual Miracle Fruit, find out details at 305-905-2284.
- #Knaus Berry Farm is open mid-November until the end of April, and the lines get long on Saturdays (they are closed Sundays), so go early or during the week www.knausberryfarm.com.
- #Fruit & Spice Park is on 30 acres with more than 500 varieties of herbs, nuts, spices and unusual fruits; call 305-247-5727.
- #RF Orchids has thousands of orchids for sale and tours are available, call 305-245-4570.
- The historic #Redland Hotel first opened in 1904. Now featuring a popular restaurant, the renovated hotel is a perfect spot from which to visit all the sites described in this post, as well as Miami-Dade County’s two national parks, Everglades and Biscayne National. Check out the free trolley service, www.hotelredland.com.
- #The Florida Pioneer Museum is open November through May, Wednesday & Saturday 1- 5:00PM; 305-246-9531.
- #Robert is Here is celebrating turning 60, stop in for amazing fruits and vegetables, a petting zoo, and shakes extraordinaire (Key Lime is their most famous); www.robertishere.com.
- For tours and/or tastings, or just to relax in a beautiful setting, visit #Schnebly Redland’s Winery, http://www.schneblywinery.com.
Beer tasting at Schnebly Redland’s Winery: Big Rod Coconut Ale was my favorite.
I should’ve asked just how many orchids they have; this is just one area. #RF Orchids
On the beach at The Baths.
The Devil’s Bay Trail (note people on bottom right).
Virgin Gorda looks like a perfect script-writers version of what a tropical island should look like. It features beautiful seascapes with sparkling turquoise water, lots of park land, drivable roads and less obvious poverty.
This is a small island, and we could easily navigate the entire area, even while driving on the left. Traffic was relatively light and the road conditions were better than we have experienced on this trip. We rented a car from Mahogany rentals and it all worked out fine, even though I had been worried about their very casual approach. We called a day ahead as instructed and they brought the car to us at the Spanish Town Yacht Harbour where we tendered in; when we returned, we parked, closed the windows and left the key under the driver’s side mat. It was all very relaxed.
We drove through 250-acre Gorda Peak National Park (elevation 1375’), and since most roads here are coastal, really enjoyed the stunning views along the route. We skipped the hiking trails in the interest of time; there were lots of spots to pull over and enjoy the vistas. One of the routes suggested by our Mahogany rental rep, was to follow signs to “Hog Heaven” to get us to the other side of the Park for our return drive. Hog Heaven is a small restaurant with a striking vista and since it was early we did not linger. I later learned from another passenger who stopped in for lunch that Morgan Freeman, who has a home here, was there.
We saw the North Sound and Nail Bay areas, along with the rougher white caps on one side of the island and beautiful beaches and harbours on the other. We eventually worked our way to the complete other end of Virgin Gorda to The Bathsand Devil’s Bay National Parks a striking, unusual beach with random boulders and rock formations that look like a juvenile giant had tossed them during a tantrum. Made even more famous because of the international photo shoots here (as in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition), this small beach was crowded and there were numerous yachts and sailboats anchored just off shore. The walk through, under and in between the boulders on the Devil’s Bay Trail proved daunting because we were carrying too much stuff, so we only went part way. You need to use both hands, have rubber water shoes and not be burdened with backpacks, towels and bags that make it difficult to maneuver between the tight boulders, climbing the slippery stairs, and hanging onto the badly fraying rope ‘rail’.
From the entrance ($3 per adult fee), it’s a 150 yard trail to the beach. When you are done and back by the entrance, you will see Top of The Baths open-air restaurant and bar, which is a great spot for a nice drink and/or lunch.
Before heading back to town, we visited the Copper Mine Ruins at the aptly named Copper Mine Point on Copper Mine Bay, and watched the waves crashing and swirling. In use from the 1830-60s, the Mine sent more than 10,000 tons of ore back to Wales.
This peaceful island with its laid-back vibe and dazzling scenery was my favorite of the trip.
Typical Virgin Gorda beach.
Air France jumbo jet coming in at Princess Juliana International Airport.
- Beach-goers (or plane spotters?) brace against thrust from a departing jet.
Flight schedule at the popular Sunset Bar on Maho Beach.
Warning!
Azamara: Sint Maarten or Saint Martin
This little island is packed with diversity and lots to do. Half Dutch and half French, it’s an interesting blend of Afro-Caribbean with a European flair and some Spanish thrown in. In fact, as Miamians we felt right at home.
We had reserved a Jeep ahead of time and set off on our island adventure. We did a similar trip 20 years ago and immediately noticed a lot more cars on the road this time. Even with it being high season, we heard from some locals that there are just too many cars on the island at this point. And, other than a new bridge, the roads are in pretty bad shape. Driving is on the right and a GPS was extremely helpful, since the map we got from Hertz did not identify the major roads by name.
We circumnavigated the interior, taking in the small town of Grand Case and making the trek to Pic Paradise (Paradise Peak). We survived the rough one-lane road only to find a padlocked gate at the top (at 1,400’).
In the charming, crowded French capital of Marigot, we broke away from the crowds to lunch at La Belle Epoque along the small Marina Port La Royale; we have some good friends that have been visitors to the area for the past several decades and gave us some good insider info. They also warned us how difficult it would be to park and it did prove challenging. There are plenty of good (duty-free) shops, on both sides, to log in some retail therapy.
The highlight of our visit had to be stopping in at the Sunset Bar to watch the low-flying planes land over Maho Beach. The local Princess Juliana International Airport has a very short runway and it starts just behind the beach. We checked the arrival schedule earlier in the day, since our goal was to see a jumbo jet, generally KLM or Air France, land. We knew the larger planes were arriving between 1:30 and 3, so we staked out a perfect spot along the beach-side edge of the bar, ordered some rum drinks and waited. It was a blast in every sense of the word! People on the beach also get a charge from being blown away as the jets take off, not my idea of fun. I was just happy not to be directly under the planes.
We finished off the afternoon with a stop at the nearby Casino Royal, formerly of James Bond fame, but today famous for having celebrities Ludacris and Kevin Hart playing at the other occupied Black Jack table.
A nice drive through quaint Front Street in Philipsburg got us back with the car just before dark.
Tips:
Cabs are available to get to Maho Beach and back. The Sunset Bar posts the daily flight arrival schedule and other patrons are pretty friendly, so don’t be shy about asking to join someone at their table if there are available seats. There is a $40 minimum to charge, or you will need cash; they do serve food.
