charlotte and us flight 1549

Wednesday 22nd October 2014

After a beautiful day in Charleston SC we wanted to make our was to Charlotte NC to see the Airbus A320, United Airlines airplane N106US that ditched into the Hudson River at  New York back on 15th January 2009, after hitting Canada Geese.  The plane is on display in the Carolina's Aviation Museum and this was on our list to visit.  It was about 350km to get there but worth it really.

The plane was amazing to see, there is a lot of damage to the plane due to the fact that it sank in the Hudson River and was there 2 days before they craned it out.  The majority of the damage comes from the ferry's that helped the passengers to safety and when it was strapped up to be lifted from the water.  Only the underside near the tail got damaged in the water landing.  The rest of the museum was good but the highlight was certainly the plane.

From here we are going to make our way south, we fly out of Orlando Florida on Saturday and head to Seattle for a week.

 



carolina's aviation museum

 

as it sat in the hudson

 

n106us airbus a320

 

 

this is one of the life rafts

 

 

other planes inside

 

dc3

 

planes outside

 

lifting the plane from the hudson river

 

trucking the plane 600 miles to the museum

 

greensboro to washington dc

Monday 5th August 2013

Today we spent the morning in Greensboro and took it easy for a couple of hours.  We had planned to meet Jade at work at lunch time before setting off.  Once lunch was over we hit the road to travel to Washington DC.  It was going to be about a five hour trip, getting us there around 7.30 pm.  Trip went well but we got stuck in traffic for the last hour around the city.  Tomorrow we are going to go into town and check out the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, reflection pool and the Lincoln Memorial etc.  Our room in Washington (Greenbelt) is really nice and we decided to stay two nights.  Went to Ihop for dinner which was just up the road.

greensboro and myrtle beach

Friday 2nd August 2013

Today we drove from Asheville to Greensboro to meet up with our friends Jade and Lance.  It was only about 3 hours and we were going to meet Jade at work to spend some time with her at lunch.  We met Jade and walked over to the mall where we ended up spending a couple of hours.  We then went to Lance and Jade's house where we got ready to go out for dinner.  We ended up going into the city and found a nice place to eat named Tavo.  A couple of drinks later and then it was time to go.  We needed to get up early on Saturday as we were driving to Myrtle Beach.  We grabbed some cheesecake from downtown and took it back to Jades and ate it.  Yummo!!

Saturday 3rd August 2013

Out of bed by 7.00 am and in the car by 8.00 am.  It was going to be around a 4 hour drive to the resort and we wanted to make the most of the day.  The trip was good and we stopped off for lunch just a few miles from Myrtle Beach.  Once back on the road we got stuck in traffic for over and hour with less than 10 miles to go.  It was frustrating as the traffic was hardly moving.  Once at the  hotel we checked in and then walked to the beach.  It was about a 2 kilometre walk and it was probably not the wisest decision.  We hit the beach and went for a swim and the water was awesome.  The beach was packed out due to it being summer vacation here and hot.  We then walked south along the main street near the resorts and we popped into a couple of bars and had some cheeky margaritas along the way.  After a few hours we walked back to the hotel when we decided to have a dip in the pool.  That evening we went to the Broadway area where we found a nice place for dinner.  This area was only a couple of minutes walk from our hotel.  We had a great night which was even better as Jade's birthday was on Sunday.  So as soon as it hit midnight it was party time.  That said we didn't stay out too late as we had a long day and were all tired.

Sunday 4th August 2013

Bit of a slow start today but an early morning swim for me.  The others stayed in bed for a bit longer.  Once checked out we went back across to the Broadway as we had not looked at the entire thing.  Managed to find an awesome place for lunch (Carolina's) and then it was time to leave.  We had to be back at Greensboro by 7.00 pm as we were going out for dinner with Jade, Lance and some family.  We got back in time and then went to Green Valley Grill for dinner.  The dinner was very nice and we got to meet Lance's sister in law Nandi.  Tomorrow we head for Washington DC as we now make our way back to Detroit.




myrtle beach

 


on the beach

 

going for a swim

 

drinks right on the beach

 

 

 

the boardwalk

 

the sky wheel

 

 

 

view from margaritaville

 

more food and drinks

 

the boardwalk

 

the pool at our hotel

 

corn fields on the way back to greensboro

 

interesting sign!

great smoky mountains

Monday 27th August 2012

 

from soco lookout

 

soco lookout

 

smoky mountains

 

entrance to park

 

nice wildflowers

 

lookout along the way

 

beautiful valley view

 

clingmans dome

 

on the walkway

 

view from top

 

1/2 a mile from here to the top

 

poser!

 

lovely

 

on the border

 


cades cove

 

cades cove

 

deer

 

nashville city from our hotel

 

some street art

 

red rooster

 

our first white castle

 

Today we hit the road for the Great Smoky Mountains travelling basically north from the bottom up over the mountains and down the other side.  Nashville is around 500 kms away so it was a fairly full on day.  Stopped at the visitor centre first and got some info and then hit the road.  The Smokies are beautiful.  The views are breath taking.  The road network through the mountains was fantastic and easy to drive considering it was windy road and up and down hills.  We stopped at various vantage points along the way and took in the views.  Once out the other side it was about 3 hours to Nashville on the motorway where we arrived just before dark.  We are only in Nashville for a matter of hours as we fly to Seattle tomorrow at 2.00 pm.  We are going to check out the city/downtown area and then get to the airport and give back the Chevy to Hertz!!

maggie valley

Sunday 26th August 2012


on the way to maggie valley

maggie valley

j. arthurs restaurant

soco lookout

Today we spent the first few hours in Greensboro after sleeping in and seeing Jade and Lance before heading off at lunch time.  We had about 300 kms to travel and were going to stop at Maggie Valley which was right on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains.  We arrived late afternoon and checked in to the hotel.   This town was amazingly pretty and the mountains around it reminded me a little of Halls Gap.  We went and had some dinner at a local restaurant, J Arthur's and then drove to a lookout just at the far end of town.  The lookout its self was closed, but we still had a great view of the mountains.  Tomorrow we drive through the Great Smoky Mountains as we head to Nashville.