Cruising the Blue Ridge Parkway

Recently, Larry and I headed up to Pennsylvania to see his mom. Usually we hop on I-81 and make the trip in a mere 10 hours. This time we decided to take the slow road. We hopped on the Blue Ridge Parkway at it's beginning near Cherokee, North Carolina. 575 miles and 4 days later we got off at the other end of the Skyline Drive in Front Royal, Virgina. Yep! That's the slow road, alright!

While we didn't see any roses to stop and smell, there were plenty of daisies along the roadsides, beautiful mountain and valley views, interesting settlers' cabins, farms, architectural marvels, unusual cloud formations and a few wild animals. There are also overlooks every few miles. We soon learned we didn't need to stop at every one!

I''m assuming you don't need to see 200 pictures of mountains, and valleys. (Just because we didn't need to stop at every overlook, doesn't mean we didn't hit a lot of them and take endless photos!). But I will share some of my favorite sights.

Our first stop was Waterrock Knob Visitors Center. Although the weather man had promised us sunny days ahead, apparently the mountain top hadn't gotten the message.  The winds blew the fog across the parking lot and the air was a chilly, damp 60 degrees. Of course it was 85 in the valley.

What we were supposed to see.... and what we saw

In spite of the fact that much of the morning was in fog, the drive was still pretty. "Enchanting" or "mystical" might be words to describe it. Spectacular came later.

Yellow daisies, Black-eyed Susan's and Wild Orchids lined the highways and overlooks. Since yellow is my favorite color, I was entranced. Yellow makes even foggy days seem cheerful!

We ended the first day in Marion, NC which made us laugh. We'd been on the road for almost 9 hours and we were less than 3 hours from home! However, much of the route on the southern stretch winds around a lot and a good portion went in a rather perpendicular direction to our intended destination. The parkway runs north-east while we did 40 miles heading due east on switch backs.
Day 2 brought straighter roads and we made much better time.

Linn Viaduct, Grandfather Mountain, and the Brinegar cabin were the highlights of the trip between Marion, NC and Roanoke, VA., our stop for the 2nd night.

Linn Viaduct intrigued us and reminded us of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway in Tampa. Designed to minimally impact the environment, this bridge rests on a pedestals rather than attach to the mountain. Because of it's unique design the equipment needed to build it was able to rest on the roadway as it was built, including lowering the pedestals the roadway would rest on. (I think I am explaining that correctly.)

This model shows the viaduct under construction, with the equipment on the road, rather than underneath, disturbing the mountain surface.

Tunnels are always fun. North Carolina had lots of tunnels to go through. Most were short, but this one turned out to be a double.

As you can see from this view of Grandfather Mountain, we had much better viewing weather the second day. Can you see the old grandfather, lying down and looking up at the sky? Seeing sights like this reminds me of the early settlers who inhabited the world and named mountains, rivers and constellations. How visual they were to see the world as they did.

The Moses H. Cone Memorial Park and Visitors Center was wonderful. Some wealthy guy had the foresight to buy, and settle this beautiful piece of land. Today it is a craft center on the parkway where visiting artists and artisans come and share their craft. The house is full of absolutely beautiful works of locally handmade art or artifacts, and is a top destination of shoppers and visitors to the area. As for us, we just enjoyed the views.

How is this for a front porch view!

Larry surveys the view....the Master of his Domain... if only!

We also stopped at the Brinegar cabin. Plaques explained how they built the cabins, made shoes, grew the flax and made their own cloth using only their hand tools. It always amazes me when I read about all the things people were able to do for themselves. Every time I hear it, I'm impressed all over again.

House on the right, shed/barn on the left

The spring house where they kept milk and eggs cold.

Mabry's Mill, just north of Mt. Airy, NC, has always been a favorite spot of mine. This picturesque mill provided food for much of the area in it's day.

Day 3 was a beautiful day. As we got up into the mountains, we came across this stunning view. The clouds had settled down in the valley and we were looking across the top of the clouds, as if we were in a plane. This view went on for 10 miles.

On the other side of the highway, the valley was clear.

We completed the Blue Ridge Parkway after lunch and entered the Skyline Drive. The Skyline drive is only a hundred miles long and the road traverses the top of older mountains. The drive can easily be done in a day, although the speed limit is 35 mph and we saw plenty of police cars using radar that day. Even with a road that winds around, 35 is slow!

After four days, we were glad to get to Mom's house, but we never tired of the drive itself. It was such a beautiful drive with so much to see.

We spent a few days visiting family and then it was time to head home.

As we drove south on I-81 on Monday, heading home, I had a different perspective. This time as we drove through the valley and looked towards the mountain ranges, I knew what it looked like from up there. High road or low road....fast road or slow road.... this is a beautiful country we live in. And we love driving through it.

A New View

Research is not my strong suit. My daughter and my husband are very good researchers. Not me. I only research when I am really involved in an immediate, or need to know soon, situation. For instance, our dishwasher just died and now I need to get a new one. I will research that, because it is an immediate need. Larry is different. As soon as he gets an idea of something he may want to buy or a place he may want to go, he will hit the Google switch and start researching. Several years ago, he started focusing on retirement (which would happen this year). At least 3 years ago, he started house hunting. I went along grudgingly. I mean, really! Why are we looking at homes when we have no plans to buy one for another 3 years or so? It is time to admit, that although, I never would have done it his way, and as exasperated as I got, that 3 year research project probably worked for the best.

When we first started looking for a house in this area we were focused on View, Style, Room....but not too much room, and land. One of the first houses we found that we fell in love with was a chalet style home overlooking a vineyard at the edge of a national forest with a fantastic view of the mountains.

I envisioned breakfast on the deck in the morning and drinks on the deck in the afternoon, watching the deer and wild turkey roam below. I imagined the colors the sky would carry as the sun set over the mountains. However, Eden is a hard place to find and can be pretty remote. When I accepted reality, this is what I had to face up to. 1) It was a 30 minute drive from ANYTHING on a very winding road!!! I do mean anything. Gas, food, town. In order to start going anywhere you had a half hour drive before you got to town so you could start your journey. And coming home...once you made it to town it was a half hour winding tour back home to this peaceful abode. 2)...no cell phone signal, period, and no chance of getting one. It was at the edge of a national forest! For most people, it wouldn't have taken long to rule it out, but for me, it was tough. I loved that house, and that view. In the end the drive and the cell phone and internet service did us in.

Even so, I carried that house in my heart for months and measured it against every other home we looked at for years.

As we looked at other properties, I slowly readjusted my priorities.  Larry refined his. 2-3 acres of flat land turned into 2-3 car detached garage and a house with usable land. That's important because so many places are what I like to call, Cliff Hangers, houses that are built on the side of a steep mountainside, with a single car garage tucked underneath it. Master bedroom on the main floor, became a bedroom and bath on the main floor. And my desire for a room with a view, changed too. In the beginning we had a vision. In the end I think we got exactly what we were looking for.

When I look out my cabin window, what do I see? Mountains?  Not in the summer, but as soon as I leave the neighborhood and head down the highway, I can see them all around me. It makes every drive to town a treat. For those of you who like water, we have that too. The drive to Wal-Mart follows the lakeshore.

Trees? Ah, that's what I see! We are in the woods.
When I wake up in the morning I feel like I'm in a tree house.

View as I lay in bed

There is no vineyard to look out over, but we have a large yard behind the house that pushes the woods back and gives us a clearing.

Today we saw a fawn and her mother run along the fence line at the edge of the woods.

As I sit on the back porch hummingbirds buzz by me on their way to the feeders. If you can see the blurr just in front of the flower petal, that's my miracle shot. They take off as soon as they sense the camera. But my presence doesn't scare them. They fly so close by me, I can feel them.

Two bluebirds are raising their second family in the bird house out back.

They come and go all day long bringing food for the babies inside. When they leave a chorus of loud chirps follows them and then dies down as they wait for mom and pop to come back.

The biggest treat for me was watching them on the day they left the nest. It amazes me to think that a bird that has never flown can fly from their house to mine, and then up to the tree tops!

Birds can keep me occupied for hours. The other day a Carolina Wren sat on the rail ten feet from me and squawked loudly at its mate five feet away. And I love trying to identify a new species to the feeders. But sometimes they have a hard time getting to it.

This species I recognize. It can turn mild mannered me into a crazy woman as I charge down the porch steps flailing my arms and yelling. But sometimes I just watch and take pictures.


It is the view I always wanted. The distant, majestic one was exciting at first. But as time went on, I realized I wanted the closer, more intimate one. A place where I could watch life in action right outside my door.

I wanted this view.

A Week With the Kids

My favorite time of year is the summer when the kids visit. For the last several years, the kids visited us in Pittsburgh. Our town had an arcade, outdoor games like go-karts and mini golf and a ball pit (a climbing zone in a netted cage with slides and foam balls you could play with). The ball pit gave the kids a day of fun for $5.00. It was a bargain for parents (looking for an outlet) and grandparents (looking for some peace and quiet.) When Warren heard we had moved from Pittsburgh to Georgia he cried, "I don't want to go to Georgia. I want to go to the Ball Pit!"

The challenge was on. Make Georgia as inviting as the Ball Pit.

We tried. How do you think we did?

Fields of the Woods, Bible theme park, with the largest Ten Commandments in the world, was founded in 1940 and is free to the public. The commandments are spelled out in 5' high letters on a huge hillside.

356 steps to the top! Here we go....

The view was awesome!

As we looked down on the parking lot, we could see more steps on the other side, so of course we did that too. Another 200+ steps! Our calves were talking the next day! It was an interesting place and the view was gorgeous.

View from the top of Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia.

Lake Chatuge

Paberry points out places to the boys.

A trail ride was a new experience for all the kids. Although they were a little hesitant at first, even the 3-year old didn't want to get off when it was over.

The highlight of the trip was the day we rented a pontoon boat and went tubing. First the kids had a chance to drive the boat.Then Larry did his best to give everyone a wild ride on the tube. Everyone loved it. And for the next 3 days, Zachary's favorite word was BOAT!

Everyone had two turns. When it was Samantha's turn to go again she decided she wanted to go with me, which was a surprise because I hadn't gone yet. Laughing was unavoidable. 

Samantha kept saying, "How dare you splash us, Paberry!"

I told Larry to give us a gentle ride. Next time I'll make sure we define the term!

 Jen and Jan got the final ride of the day.

Larry really wanted to flip the girls, but it didn't work. This tube was incredibly stable. 

As busy as we were there was always time for naps and quiet time in the afternoon. The kids made full use of the wrap around porch, the hammock, the rocking horse, and the easel that was set up on the porch.

Most of all, it was just a great time for us all to be together.

And come to think of it, I never heard any child say:

"I wish we could go to the Ball Pit."

Mission Accomplished!

The Party's Over...

"Turn out the lights, the party's over. They say that all good things must end." (Willie Nelson song)

The nest is empty, and very quiet. But, OH, What a blast we had!

My next post will include photos, but I haven't had a chance to go through them so instead, this post will just touch on some things I learned while hanging with the kids for the last 10 days.

• This little house holds 9 people pretty well. 
• We need a bigger table.
• The septic tank (rated for a 2 bedroom house) holds a lot more than I thought it would.
• My daughter takes great pictures.
• The same daughter takes TOO MANY pictures! (That's why I haven't had a chance to go through them to pick out a few really good ones to post.)
• A wrap-around porch apparently exists to be a race track for 4 little ones.
• Warren never stops. (This is not new news. It's just reconfirmed.)
• Samantha never stops giggling. (also reconfirmed.)
• We needed a lap-counter to track the number of laps Nicholas and Warren ran. 
• Zachary, the 2-year old, keeps up pretty well.
• There are 346 steps to climb at the 10 Commandments at Fields of the Woods. We climbed them all and then climbed another 300 to see more stuff.
• Zachary is a great step climber. He climbed all but 75 of the ones at the Fields. He climbed our steps to the loft 14 times a day.
• Bike helmets are a good thing. 
• My grandkids are tough. Not much slowed them down. Not their first trail ride on a big horse. Not a bike crash. Not a super fast ride on a tube with Paberry at the helm of the motorboat.
• Paberry does NOT know the meaning of  a 'gentle ride' when his wife requests that for her first ride on a tube behind the boat.
• You can not NOT laugh when you are riding on a tube. You just can't. Trust us.
• Laughing hysterically is the best stress reliever around. It is head clearing, mind clearing, heart and lung clearing, blood clearing. It's better than a good gin and tonic and head massage combined. I know. I had 9 people at my house for a week and a half, and after that ride, all was calm.
• Zachary loves boats. After the pontoon boat, for the next 3 days his main word was "BOAT!" 
• There is no time to read when the gang is here.
• The Hammock can take a beating. Just ask 4 kids. 

We had a wonderful time with the kids. They got to swim, boat, horseback ride and sight see. We went to Helen and played mini-golf and toured the town.

I think they'll be back.

I can't wait.

Meanwhile, I'm heading to the hammock with a book.

View from a Full House

Forget the empty nest. This nest is full to overflowing. Thank goodness the weather is good and we can eat outside most of the time.

Janice and Mike arrived last Tuesday night, and Jen arrived Thursday night. It is a full 2 day drive for Jan and Mike, but they decided to take a little longer this time. After a 3 day trip to get here, (and stop at Legoland and a few bouncy houses to provide a break for the kids) Jan and her family were ready to crash and regroup on Wednesday. By Thursday, they were ready to venture out so we headed for the lake and a great time swimming.

Jen, on the other hand, decided to make the 10 hour trip driving by herself with two little ones in tow, in one day. Her husband stayed home and worked this week. She too, was ready to crash and regroup on Friday.

When we bought our cabin, we made sure that although it was smaller, there was still room for both families to visit. 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 3 floors. As far as sleeping is concerned, there is room for all.

Get all nine of us playing, eating, and cooking in one room and it gets a mite chaotic! All through the day I think of things to blog about. After the last kiddo is tucked into bed, we sit, look at each other, and let out a collective sigh. And the brain goes dead. What was I thinking? Where are those thoughts? I have no idea. They have flown the coop.

Day 1 with everyone here and I noticed two things. 1) Larry announced he was taking trash to the dump (yes, we are THAT rural!), eating breakfast out, and 'doing some other errrands'. He also managed to squeeze in lunch out. 2) Mike had managed to schedule a Tee Time for the day. Hmmm, it seemed the men had flown the coop, too!

All in all it worked out well. The kids and moms kind of settled in and developed a pattern of play and quiet time. Kind of is the key phrase here. Sometime later that day, Jen remarked that it's not much of a vacation when you are one parent with 2 kids, especially when one is a two-year old.

Saturday, though, Mike and I gave the girls a morning out. (To be fair, Mike had no choice. I volunteered him for it.) We have an awesome Farmers Market that features everything from Alpaca wool and local jewelry and pottery to organic vegetables, flowers, and other local farm produce. There is even a booth with local grown and packaged meat. So while the girls had Sister Time, we stayed home and managed the four kids. Mike took the older ones out to play horseshoes (plastic, not iron), and I built blocks and painted with the littlest one. By the time they got back the two youngest had eaten lunch and were down for naps. I think we did ok!

It's a few days later and the kids are going strong. The adults...not so much. Between hiding in our iphones, swinging in the hammock, or rocking on the porch, we each have our escape mode. The kids are running circles around us. Literally. Let's face it. Why would Granberry and Paberry have a wrap around porch if it wasn't to run circles?

Nothing slows them down. Trust me. We've tried.

As tired as we are at the end of the day, this is one of my favorite times. It's our own family reunion, where the sisters reconnect, the cousins reconnect, and the family reunites. And each night as we gather around the table it warms my heart to the core to listen to four children's voices chiming in loud and clear:

"God is great, God is good, And we thank Him for our food. Amen"

Yes He is. Yes we do.

AMEN

Will We Be Ready When the Kids Arrive?

Two steps forward, and one step back. That about summarizes each day. Last week I got all the odds and ends off the kitchen island. It felt great to finally have that space exactly as I wanted it. Then, we got a couch, and rearranged the living room. Odds and ends that had been placed on a table that was no longer in the living room, suddenly found themselves on the kitchen island. And so it goes. Each day, I focus on one room and get stuff just the way I want it. But another room is holding the leftovers. When I work on that room, where do the odds and ends go? On the island. It seems like a never ending process.

By Noon Each Day

We are hitting the final stretch.

Truthfully, I can't complain about how it is going. We are making progress. In fact, I think we are almost there! But then I look at the kitchen island and I think, "two steps forward and one step back!"

In the beginning, unpacking is rather daunting, but moves fairly smoothly. 200+ boxes are stacked throughout the house, waiting, intimidating me, challenging me to pick one! I start in the kitchen. Most of the stuff I unpack finds a home. A few things are relegated to "the pile". "The Pile" holds stuff I'm not sure of. Will it find a home, or will it be set aside for a yard sale?

Two weeks later, my reality is different. "The Pile" would like to have a room all to itself. It is no longer a few boxes, but many boxes. Half of it is definite yard sale stuff. The other half is hoping I will find a home for it. An old friend called my stuff "chotzkes". Larry calls it.... no, we won't go there. But even I admit most of my stuff is trinkets connected with memories.

I am not in this alone, though! Oh no. Larry has his share of stuff. He just has an oversized two-car garage to pack it into, while I have a loft the size of a postage stamp with a small closet.

Then there is OUR closet. That's a whole other story. We've gone from two walk-in closets to one. It's a bit bigger than the ones we each had, but it's not as big as our two. And it is full. One thing we have in common is our collection of shirts. We both collect shirts.

Larry's collection is shirts he can wear to work. He has enough starched shirts hanging in clear, plastic laundry bags, to last him a month. I'm not exaggerating. It was not unusual for him to have two weeks worth of shirts at the cleaners and another two weeks worth packed in a suitcase as he traveled. And his closet was never empty!

On the other hand, I was an elementary school teacher. My collection is T-shirts. I have shirts from all 4 schools I worked at, in several colors, and many with my name on them. Then there are all the 'event' shirts I would want for school activities: Every season, holiday, Patriotic, even theme shirts for social studies units like Native Americans. Don't forget the shirts I need for the Corvette Club, or Nascar Race. And of course my Buccaneer and Steeler shirts. I can't possibly give up my Mike Alstott or Ronde Barber jersey!

Yes, we are both guilty.

And then there are the photos.

Ah yes. The photos. First of all, my dad was an amateur photographer who developed all of his own pictures. While I never learned how to do that from him, I did learn to take a lot of pictures. When he passed on, my sisters and I divided up all of his photo albums, which of course I still have, along with all of my own photos.

Most of all, I learned to love photographs in my house. There are boxes of framed photographs all waiting for a new place to perch. It's not going to happen. And so the hard process begins.

Organizing specialists say the first task is to separate trash from treasure. Granted, in these boxes of photos from over 70 years ago, there is plenty of trash. But there are a lot of treasures in there too. Do I hear Snapfish calling?

Some organizers recommend taking a picture of the object that holds the memory and then giving the object away. As I look at the boxes and bins of pictures I have stacked against the wall, that sounds like it's own type of oxymoron. And I think I'd be a moron to do it!

All of this is just a way of saying that when my kids show up this week (YIKES!) they will find one side of our wrap around porch lined with boxes of stuff for them to grab before it goes the way of all things once desired but no longer needed. And that will be one giant step forward for this person who believes that while history lives in the object, not just in the photo of the memory, sometimes history has to take its natural place in the world. That is, it is history! So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye!

And the never ending process? I think we ended it! We are UNPACKED!!! In just 23 days!

(Hmm, I wonder if that is a record? It is for me. If Guinness had been here they could have either documented it or at least handed me a cold Guinness as a reward. I think we'll go get a couple and toast ourselves! We did it!)

A Slow Moving Process

It's no secret life has been a bit crazy lately. So much is going on I haven't had time to think. We've moved. That part is over! Now we are unpacking. And unpacking. And unpacking.... oh, did I mention? We are unpacking. Does it ever end??

Tonight, I sit here in my new house. It's a cabin, really. Very rustic. About 1/2 the size of the home we moved from. I'm trying to collect my thoughts. I've heard it said that Geniuses work well under chaotic conditions. They have so much going on in their heads that to work in an organized environment is very hard for them. Once again, I have proof that I am not a genius! I can't think when my environment is too far out of sync.

During the move, and over the last week lots of comparisons, thoughts, reminiscences have crossed my mind, but I was unable to stop what I was doing to write a post. It turns out, when there is a lot to be done, writing takes a back seat. At night, I collapse and look at my computer like a zombie. Even if I can think, I'm afraid to start writing for fear I will be up for the next 2 hours when I really need to go to bed.

So hear is the update. The good news is that most of the boxes have been unpacked. The better news is that my kitchen, which is about 1/3 the size of my last one, has been set up and is working very well! On the other hand, the yard sale pile is growing. We knew we had more to get rid of, but it was hard to do until we actually got here.

I've stated before, that I hate to move. I have to admit, I'm not sure exactly why I hate it. Truthfully, moving is an adventure. There are new people to meet, new places to see, an opportunity to reboot my life, or join new groups and participate in new activities. On the other hand, moving means saying goodbye to all those things I came to enjoy about my current home. And it is a total disruption to my life. The most obvious is moving away from friends and a home I love. Listing a house and having to keep it in pristine condition while working or raising kids isn't fun. Then there is the packing. That is a huge job, but over the years, we have had movers do the lion share of the packing for us. At the other end of moving is the unpacking. Right now, it is the part I hate most.

Unpacking is a mix of adventure, discovery, frustration and wonder....that moment when you just say "Huh?"

There is the satisfaction of unpacking a box and finding places for everything. There is the frustration of not being able to find something I know must be here, but which box? Then there is that AHA moment when it is finally found. This move it was the DVD player and all the remotes. We discovered them nicely tucked into the bedding from the master bedroom. We would have found it sooner, if we were using that room. Instead it was the VERY LAST box unpacked.

There is the wonder at unpacking something I can't imagine ever having kept, like an empty jar.

So far my favorite find is a tall, narrow 1 quart empty jar. I can see keeping a wide mouthed jar, but I have no idea why I ever held onto this jar!

Best of all, there is the surprise at unpacking something I forgot I had, like an old momento that had been tucked away. Unwrapping that suddenly brings back warm memories of an event long forgotten. Like this little photo album my dad kept of all of us as children, as well as his grandchildren.

That's me at ages 5 and 4

The best part of this move is that after nine times, Larry is by my side, working just as hard as I am. That is a first. Every other time we have moved, he would go to work and I would unpack the boxes, one at a time, one day at a time. This time it is a team effort. And I think we are winning.

One day at a time...one box at a time.