Exploring with Tom!

Tom and I have known each other for several years but have never met in person.  He reads my blog.  I read his.  He and I both have Flickr accounts and watch each other's photography.  When Google+ first started up, we tried a video chat Hangout for a few minutes.

Our only interaction away from the computer has been the one time that Tom stalked me at the Biltmore house.  Well, the mystery has ended.  Tom and I finally got to head out and do some exploring with our cameras.

Having such an online presence creates a unique situation when you meet someone for the first time.  You both know each other already.  You pretty well know what to expect when you meet that person face to face and this was true for me on our trip.

Cateechee school:  No trespassing was posted everywhere.  Would have been great to go in, but we respected the signs here.

Bridge to nowhere at Cateechee.  The old mill that this bridge used to lead to has been demolished.  This is the bridge that mill workers would take to go in to work.

Same bridge as above.

This is a tomb at the Old Pickens Courthouse.  It caught our attention because of the hand carving on the stone.  I also noticed that it listed the age to the day.  26 years, 6 months, 2 days old.

Part of a gate leading into a family cemetery located at the Old Pickens Courthouse.

This shot is in Liberty.  Behind an old warehouse we found an old rail line leading up to a loading ramp.

I believe this was in Newry.  This house is covered in vines and vegetation.  The roof has some wooden shingles on it and someone rigged a ladder heading up to do some repair work.

I'm not sure that looks safe enough that I'd try it.  

Tom planning his attack on the Newry mill.

Approach at the Newry mill.

Inside the mill.

It was very dark in there.  

This is with the flash on.  The air in this room was horrible.  Very stale and . . . I'm not sure how exactly to describe it other than stale.  It wasn't good. 

We didn't venture far from the entrance to the mill and this one room.  The wooden stairs were in bad shape and from our downstairs view, we could see holes through the 2nd story floor.

During our day we didn't get arrested for tresspassing and nobody got chased by a loose dog, so I would say this was a successful trip.

You don't often get to meet someone for the first time that you have known for so long.  The internet is good at creating these opportunities.  Tom writes on a lot of interesting topics on his BLOG so be sure to check it out if you haven't already. He's got some great photography to check out as well.