An improvised trip
My favorite area in Western North Carolina
As can be read in several articles here on my Travel page, western North
Carolina is my favorite area in the USA, and not least I love the area in the
western part of Wilkes County and the eastern part of
neighboring Caldwell County. Several of my American friends live here, but even
before I got to know them, I visited the area regularly; partly because of the
nature and history, and partly because the inhabitants are generally extremely
friendly and curious towards strangers, which I cover in my book, "Land of
Friendliness and Beauty" (available from Amazon). One of the places where I have
encountered great hospitality since my first visit to the place back in 2004 is
the small open-air museum, Whippoorwill Academy and Village in Ferguson, which you can also
read more about in many of the articles. The museum hosts several events
throughout the year, but usually they take place at times when I find it difficult to
get time off from work, so I had never attended any of these. Most events are of a local
historical nature, including Daniel Boone Day, which typically takes place every
two years, and Tom Dooley Day, which takes place in opposite years. As will also
appear from this website (should you not already know), the Tom Dooley case is
one of my great interests, and therefore it has annoyed me that I could never attend this event.
In 2022, this event, which had changed its name to the "Tom Dooley and
Appalachian Culture Festival", took place on Saturday, September 24, with a
program that included, among other things, Appalachian Mountain Music, dance,
folk song and other performances in addition to contests, booths, raffles ,
lectures on the American Civil War, of course Tom Dooley and much more. I had
the week after this Saturday off from classes, so now I had the opportunity to
go. There was only one flaw! I had to teach on Friday, September 23, and even if
I left Copenhagen early on Saturday morning (where there was no relevant flight,
by the way), I wouldn't be able to get to Ferguson,
while the festival was still going on, and then the trip would be wasted. However,
the week before I was asked by a colleague if I could cover for her the following Monday
(Monday, September 19) so that she could visit family abroad for the
weekend and didn't have to fly home until Monday morning. Since I had this
Monday off, I agreed, and then suggested that as compensation, she could take my
Friday (which is only from 8 to 12). She agreed and then my plan could be
carried out as there was a morning flight on Friday that I could use and so get
there in time for the event on Saturday.
So Saturdayv September 17 I booked a plane ticket and a rental car. Since it was an extra trip - I had already been to the USA both at Easter and in the summer (see the previous trips here by following the marked links), I did something that I haven't done for several years, namely ordered a ticket in economy class (after I have become old and wider around the a.. I otherwise prefer to fly business class, which is significantly more expensive, but also significantly more comfortable). I was going to fly for the first time with Delta Airlines, which had a suitable departure from Copenhagen. This meant that I had to fly from Copenhagen directly to JFK Airport near New York, and from there on to Charlotte, where my car would be ready. I've flown to Charlotte before with major problems (just look at the Spring 2022 trip) and I don't like having to stopover in the US on the way to my final destination as it means going through immigration, baggage claim, customs and drop off the luggage again before you can fly on, and it can sometimes be tight with time. My recommendation to others is therefore that if you cannot fly directly from Denmark to your final destination, you should take a connection that has a lay over in Europe, not in the USA - if it can be done at all, and this of course requires that is a connection from Europe to the destination you are going to, and unfortunately this is not always the case. There are many regional airports in the US that simply do not have international connections. In this case, however, there was a 3½ hour wait from the time I arrived at JFK to the departure of my next flight, which I thought would be enough time. The car was booked from Alamo, with whom I have had good experiences when I do not order through FDM (Danish version of Tripple A). Knowing that I would be arriving late in Charlotte (around 10:30 PM) I booked an overnight stay at a hotel right by the airport so that I wouldn't have to drive at night after a long flight. Also at Easter I had stayed in a (different) hotel near the airport, but it was out of necessity, not out of desire, which you can read about in the article Delayed again.
Usually when I'm in the area I stay in an Airbnb right by the museum that my friends Margaret and Dick own, but since my visit was supposed to be a surprise that wasn't an option this time, so instead I booked a room for the rest of the stay at a hotel in the nearby town (about 20 miles from the museum - we're out in the countryside here) Lenoir. Normally I don't book many hotels for a road trip, but as I had to stay the whole period in the same hotel, and as I wanted to be sure of being able to get a room, I did this time And then I was ready for my trip.
On the plane from Copnhagen to JFK
Friday morning, Tim (my son)
drove me to the airport. I had checked in online via Delta's app, so I just had
to drop off my bag and I was good to go. Since I didn't have access to fast
track, it took a little longer than usual to get through security, but since I
was at the airport in good time, it didn't cause any problems. I went straight
to the gate and waited there until we had to board. I had booked aisle seat, as
I usually do. I don't care about the view, and it's easier when you don't have
to disturb anyone if you need to get up and out. The trip across the Atlantic
was as calm and boring as it usually is, except that the seat was quite hard, so
I had to get up and walk a few times along the way because my back hurt from
sitting on the hard seat for too long. The food on board was excellent, so
nothing to complain about there. Once we arrived at JFK, we had to wait in the
taxi area for half an hour before we could get to the gate, but since I had 3½
hours, I wasn't nervous. It was quite a long walk from the gate to immigration
and when I got there there was quite a long line. In fact, a sign said, "One
hour from here," but since I still had plenty of time, I still wasn't nervous. I
only became nervous when, after an hour standing in line, I had reached so far
that there were only two people ahead of me, because at that point everything
stopped. After approx. 15 minutes, an immigration officer announced that their
system had "broken down" and they couldn't say when it would come back up. It
did so after approx. another hour, so now there was not as good a time as there
had been. On the other hand, we had something to "talk about" in the line while
we waited. Once through, I collected my luggage and handed it in again at a
counter for domestic traffic. Then I had to go up to the 4th floor and through
another terminal with new security check, and then I had to walk from from Gate
1 to Gate 45 - and it felt like it was 45 miles, because now I was in a hurry.
However, I reached the gate shortly before they started boarding, and then I
could relax again.
There is nothing to say about the trip to Charlotte either. Peaceful and quiet
and with coffee served. We landed as planned, and when the luggage arrived after
approx. 15 minutes, I grabbed my suitcase and went towards the rental cars,
which are in a different building than the terminal, but within walking
distance. Here there wasn't anyone at the Alamo counter, but a sign referred to
one of the other companies, so in the evening they probably help each other. I
sorted out the paperwork and found the car without any problems in the parking
garage on the floor above the counters. After loading my bag and backpack into
the car, I set Google Maps to show me the way to the hotel, where I arrived
around 11.30 PM. I set the alarm clock to 6.30, and then I went to bed
immediately; ready for the third, but short, visit to the USA in 2022.
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