More photos of spring in the mountains

This is near our home but is on the bottom of Cottage Loop.

My lovely wife still on the bottom of the Loop.  It is spring but rather nippy.  Note the coat and scarf.

Sunrise from our front porch.  This is the upper Cottage Loop.  Earlier pictures showed the Bradford Pears in bloom.

Evelyn and our friend, Jo Wooten, showing the prize she won at the Relay for Life survivors dinner on April 23.

This is the large bunk house at the hiker hostel for those on the Appalachian trail.  In the far background is the laundry building.  The girl in orange is the one who told us about this place.

It is about noon, and the hikers have gathered for lunch and conversation.  The building in the background is a place for cooking.  There is a fire pit in the middle of the group.

The owners of the “farm” must live in the home.  The portapotty is likely for the hikers.  For some reason this man was walking the 2 Llamas.  We don’t know why they are kept here, but they had been recently sheared but not by a professional.

Evelyn posing at the top of the stair we had climbed.  It is part of the Appalachian Trail.  Our SUV is in the background.

 

This may give a perspective on how steep and long this stair is.

Directions to far away places.

This a picture just to prove I was there too.  We walked on—Evelyn for about .4 of a mile, but I continued for .8 of a mile.  It felt much farther than that.

These are flowers strange to us along the trail.  A young man I walked par way with said in the spring the flowers change everyday along the trail.

Many exciting events

Saturday was a memorial for a church member who had died.  We had to take some finger food for the reception afterward.  We had friends for cards in the evening.  We played hand and foot for a couple of hours and ate some of the Magnum bars I had bought in the afternoon.  We talked about some trails to walk in the area.  He suggested one near the NC/TN border that we might explore sometime next week.

Sunday we were blessed with Holy Communion and a great message.  Our choir sang a great number about Holy Communion.  We had rehearsed it only once, and our director was very upset with our practice prior to the service.  The Lord in His mercy allowed us to correct our mistakes for the actual performance.  We left there with the Ramsey’s to have lunch at a local Mexican restaurant for which I had a Groupon.  To our surprise the restaurant has closed.  We went to an Italian restaurant for lunch.  Afterward they came to sample some cake that Evelyn had made.  We stayed home the rest of the evening and had our usual popcorn.

Monday is geezer day at the golf course, so Marty and I went to play 18 holes after Evelyn and I went to exercise.  We had to run a few errands before coming home near noon.  We had a good time but have played better.  I also lost one of my club covers while playing.  It came with my hybrids and is very distinctive.  I can’t understand where I could have lost it.  Evelyn also had a great day at home alone.  She is sometimes easy to please.  We watched Dancing with the Stars for a while and then went to bed. 

Tuesday we went to Silver Sneakers.  We had a different leader and had a good workout.  We came home to finish preparation for our lunch guest: Betty Golden from church.  She is a German lady, and we wanted to share our rouladen with her.  Evelyn is so creative and marvelous cook.  We had a little visit after lunch and then drove to Asheville to return a tablecloth we had purchased last week. It is too small for our table.  Evelyn had decided to make one herself.  We looked at Hancock Fabrics and JoAnne fabric and thought we had found a piece of material but it was too short.  We went on to Belk and found a large tablecloth that she can shorten and make napkins of the excess.  We also found some underwear that will support her back.  We returned home and went to a cancer survivor dinner held by a Christian church.  It is presented each year by the Relay for Life.  We met Jo and Rolene at the site.  We returned home for a quiet evening.

Wednesday was a fascinating day.  We decided to skip exercise and go on a hike.  We had talked with our Sunday guests about a trail near the border, so we drove there.  We weren’t sure where the trail was and asked at a rest area on the Interstate 40.  We were referred to the first exit in TN.  When we drove off on a gravel road we came to a hostel for people hiking the Appalachian Trail.  There were several buildings, some sleeping areas including a large dorm that would sleep more than 20,  a laundry, a place to cook food and a place to gather to talk about the events of the day.  I was impressed with the camaraderie of the hikers.  We drove back to the Interstate and noticed a stair that led to the trail itself.  We walked up and found the trail.  We walked a short distance together before Evelyn turned to walk back to the car.  I went on and was met by a young man headed for the hostel.  We walked together, and I learned many things.  I learned that hikers get a “trail name”.  His was reboot, and another young lady was “Loopy”.  These hikers must stay in the same hostels but hike at different times of the day.  They get to know each other.  We had met Loopy and learned that she had hiked from GA to Maine last year.  She was only going to do 500 miles this year.  Reboot lived in the DC area but loved to hike. I was surprised to learn that I had only walked less than a mile from the stair where we began.  We went from there to the location where Olivia and I went whitewater rafting last year.  We returned home for lunch and a nap.  We went to choir practice and then returned home for supper.  I spent much of the evening writing this.

Sleeping with the enemy

Friday was a drag for me.  I had awakened at 4:45 and couldn’t get back to sleep.  I got up and messed with the computer a while and turned on the TV to see the weather forecast.  Instead I got hooked on the continuing story about the Boston bomb blast.  I saw the story of the search for the 2nd perpetrator.  The first had been killed in an overnight shootout.  Evelyn left and went to exercise, but I went back to bed with the TV on in the bedroom.  When she returned, I was still asleep.  I wakened around 11.  We listened to the hunt throughout the day.  It is amazing how the press and the Washington gurus can avoid seeing the obvious truth: Al-Qaida is alive and well and continuing to come to kill us.  This bombing is just a continuation of the attack on freedom and Christianity.  It will never stop until Jesus returns to claim His children.  Our country is and has been the greatest ever established by God, yet our citizens continue to throw Him under the bus (a popular new phrase).  I guess not all people, but even the ones who are borderline believers will let the politically correct fools ignore the reality that surrounds us.  We will blame ourselves for the evil of Islam and continue to allow them to methodically destroy us.  We will go the way of the Mensheviks if Russia who allowed the Bolsheviks to establish the terrors of Lenin and Stalin.  We may not be able to prevent the eventual destruction of our way of life but could retard it.  Of course, we won’t because the Progressives will continue to submit to the encroachment.  We went to the ballroom dance in the evening and met Dallas and Karen along with some other dancers.  One of the couples was especially impressive in their fluid motions.  We retuned home to learn that the 2nd, 19 year old bomber had been taken alive.  Despite being a traitor to this country and a military enemy, he will likely be coddled and treated as a juvenile delinquent.

Back on the golf course

Wednesday was a lovely day.  We began at the Rec center with exercise: Evelyn in the class with Tim and I walking and riding the stationary bicycle with a fan on the front wheel.  That sure felt good in the small warm room where they are located.  We returned home so Evelyn could begin work on preparing a casserole for the lunch at the Rec center tomorrow.  I moved some things out of the shed onto the carport.  I will have more room when I move the trailer.  I have not talked with Gene much and wanted to see him.  He allows us to park our trailer on his small patch of ground across the street from us.  He is a retired military policeman and loves to tell stories of his past, both in and out of the military.  I have heard many of his stories before but politely listen to his telling in his rough language.  I often want to tell him that he doesn’t have to swear to impress me but don’t.  I doubt he would respond favorably as my cousin Don did years ago.  We had some rain in the afternoon and evening.  For the first time I can remember, we are nearly 5 inches above the normal rainfall.  We had our first choir practice this evening and are anything but ready for our song this coming Sunday.  We will have to practice at home before then.  Our choir director is sweet but embarrassed about our readiness for Sunday.  She was a professional performer and knows how things should be.  I talked with Jim after the practice, and he said he had ordered a part for our heat pump but won’t install it for a while.  The temporary one is working, and he is busy with other pressing jobs right now.

Thursday Marty and I went to Iron Tree to play golf.  The morning was perfect for playing.  The owner of the course was not there and has developed a different system.  He hides golf car keys around the place and asks us to call him before playing so he can tell us where the keys are.  We played until 10:30, and I was back in form, playing some good holes but not consistently.  Marty took me to the Rec center to meet Evelyn after her Bible study.  We enjoyed a potluck lunch with other members of the exercise groups.  The food at potlucks is always delicious but excessive.  A surprise was that our neighbor, Doris, was there.  Both she and we were attending for the first time.  We went to the grocery after, and there she was again.  We came home and I watched the Cubs play well for a change.  Evelyn napped and then worked on some muffins for a funeral lunch on Saturday.  We had eaten so much at lunch that we skipped supper.   Instead I invited Doris to come for an ice cream bar that I had bought while we were both at the grocery.  We had a nice visit.  She is a precious soul and loves the Lord.  I miss her in the winter.  I finally moved the trailer.  We have some clothes in it to take and leave in Texas.  I hope to stop having to haul so many clothes back and forth.  We will always need the trailer as long as we drive but not so many clothes. 

The beauty of the mountains

We were blessed with a sermon by our interim Pastor Roseman.  He has a refreshing style and sense of humor.  We had a nice banter during Bible class.  After worship, the elders served a chili lunch to the congregation.  It featured 6 different styles of chili.  We came home for a nap and some house cleaning.  Evelyn had cleaned the refrigerator yesterday while waiting for the smoked meats, so I vacuumed the floors.  We invited Gary and Linda to play some game during the evening.  We chose Yahtzee.  Linda and I are popcorn freaks and ate nearly 3 poppers full by ourselves.  She gets up early each morning and always leaves around 8 to go home.  We retired about our usual time while in the East: 11 PM.

Monday I finished packing one suitcase for our trip to Utah after we went to our exercise at the Rec center.  I took Evelyn to exercise and then went to the local garage to have the oil changed.  I walked about a mile to a grocery to get some Shout for spotting clothes while they worked and rotated the tires.  I returned to get her, and we came home.  We continued cleaning and prepared lunch.  I took some pictures of our house because the Bradford Pear trees were full of blossoms.

The final picture features Evelyn on our deck.  This is a marvelously beautiful area.

We watched Dancing with the Stars in the evening.  We are often baffled to find what dance is being performed based on the choreographed steps they are doing.  We do enjoy watching anyway.

Tuesday we went to Silver Sneakers and had a good workout.  We made what seems a daily trip to the grocery.  Evelyn needed some special items for preparing a covered dish for a noon party at the Rec center on Thursday noon.  She also has to prepare something for a memorial celebration of the life of one of the congregation who recently went home to be with the Lord.  She also had to get some materials for the Bible study that she and Rolene Lewis will lead for all of the summer.  We drove to Asheville after lunch and shopped at the bookstore, Pier One Imports, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  She wants a new table cloth to lighten up the dining area.  We brought one home.  She also found the study material.  We had a plan to meet Karen and Dallas for dinner and a baseball game but were about 2 hours early.  We just parked downtown Asheville and enjoyed sitting in the sun and drinking a soda.  We met our friends at an Earthfare market that had a half price dinner of chicken, mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables.  We both had a half chicken for $8 including tax.  They even gave us a senior discount.  Everything went fairly well until I took a couple of bites of my chicken.  Unfortunately, my esophageal sphincter failed to permit my food from entering my stomach.  I have this problem once in a while, but this one was unusually bad.  Often a sip of cold water will cause it to “turn” (I can feel it when it happens) but not today.  I spent all of the supper time in the bathroom spitting up.  I say that because I don’t bring up any bile as in a vomit.  We packed up my dinner and drove to the ballpark.  I was unable to recover all the way there and finally went to the bathroom and did vomit—bile and all.  That cured me.  We had bought tickets in the afternoon but learned that it was BOGO night at dinner.  I was able to get our money returned in exchange for 2 more tickets to be used anytime during this season. 

This is our single A stadium before and during the game.

The game was not good again, and the Tourists lost.  We did enjoy the company.  It was a much more pleasant night then last week but only 898 people were there.  We had to get fuel on the way home and arrived before 11.

Hitting the ground running.

We spent most of Thursday unpacking the trailer.  We had hauled a lot of weight from TX.  It was heavy to lift out as well.  Several neighbors came to welcome us back.  Evelyn had an LWML meeting, so I took her to church and ran a couple of errands.  I did some minor grocery shopping and went to the rec center.  I signed up to go to the Asheville Tourists game on Friday.  It was a blessing to learn about that trip.  We have brought too many clothes from Texas and decided to put some into the trailer for the summer to be returned in the fall and left there.  I could hardly get my clothes into my large closet. 

Friday we continued unpacking.  I met the newly weds who live across the street from us.  They both work, so they aren’t here during the day.  We have noticed that our heat pump is not working.  The blessing is that we really don’t need it because it is not too hot nor cold.  I have tried playing with the circuit breaker and the reset button without success.  We took the items Shirley Casterline ordered from Mexico to her daughter who works downtown.  We picked up some things I forgot before meeting at the rec center to ride in the van to the ball game.  A new man was hired during the winter to plan excursions.  He drove us to the game in the van.  It was a chilly night, but we dressed for it.  The regular game was only 7 innings because 4 innings of last night’s game had to be played first.  We had a big storm last night, and the game was postponed to be continued tonight.  We were home by 10:30.

Saturday morning was smoking day.  I prepared the smoker and smoked 8 pork chops, a turkey breast, and 8 small country style ribs.  I was careful to stand away from the smoker while removing the meat to avoid a reoccurrence of last summer’s burning of my arm.  We spent some of the afternoon selecting clothes to be returned to and left in Texas.  I put some of them into the trailer.  We took a nap and then walked a short way along Lake Junaluska.  I thought we could go farther but was glad we didn’t.  I must get into shape for walking again.  My legs are getting pretty old.  We spent the evening watching a weird movie called American Splendor.  It is set in Cleveland, Ohio, so we saved it for Tom, our son-in-law to see.  We also learned that there is a Bible class tomorrow morning for our edification. 

Coming home to NC

 

We spent the day visiting with Stacy.  Mom went with her to buy some flowers at  Home Depot, a place I would never buy anything because of their lauding of Sodomites.  We had talked with Olivia and Peter last night, but they were in school all day.  Tom had taken a vacation day and slept or rested until noon.  Evelyn and I ate half a sandwich for lunch and then Tom and I went to Blind Murphy, a place that sells growlers (quarts) of various beers.  The owner, a friend of Tom’s, was in the process of boiling some hops and barley when we arrived.  We bought a couple of growlers and returned home.  We had brought shrimp from Texas and prepared that with some potatoes and corn on the cob for supper on their deck.  Stacy had wanted to go to a wine tasting at a local wine shop owned by a former Northwestern University and Indianapolis Colts football player.  I talked with him and found him to be quite engaging.  A company from Spain was supplying the wine and we enjoyed it.  We returned home and watched some more of Parks and Recreation.  It was funny again but, like nearly all productions, became more and more risqué and somewhat vulgar.  We slept on the air mattress again.  It is comfortable but difficult to get up from to make trips to the bathroom during  the night.  We talked and prayed with Olivia before she went to sleep.  We pray God continues to empower her to accept His leading.

We were up and gone from Stacy’s around 9:30.  We filled our tank with fuel before leaving GA as usual.  Gas is 30 cents cheaper in GA due to the excessive tax in NC.  We drove to Franklin and ate lunch at the Caffe REL.  It is an interesting place to eat with some unusual items from which to choose.  We continued to Waynesville, stopped for some essential supplies, and came home.  We were welcomed by several neighbors.  We worked at cleaning the deck and the porch before putting the furniture back on it.  I also took some things from the trailer into the house.  We had bought some freezer items and had to put them into the freezer.  We unpacked one of the suitcases and 2 hanging bags of clothes.  I tried to hook up the Direct TV but couldn’t.  I had to call to ask for someone to come to hook it up.

Leaving LA—Louisiana, not Los Angeles

We were supposed to meet Roland Simon for lunch Saturday, but he was sick and could not meet us.  We went to the Acadiana Mall, once again pursuing a dress.  Do you know we couldn’t find a suitable one anywhere in that mall.  We are convinced that no one is making dresses with any kind of short sleeves.  We searched all over that mall.  Of course there were trendy ones for young women but none for Evelyn.  We went to the Piccadilly cafeteria where we usually go with Roland and were going to have crawfish etouffee, but they were in the process of making it.  Instead of waiting 12 minutes, we had catfish and gumbo instead. 
The manager was kind enough to bring us some etouffee to go since we couldn’t wait.  He didn’t charge us for it.  We returned to the Sleep Inn where we nearly always stay and rested.  We went back into town to meet Jimmy and Betty Trahan at a different restaurant—the Hub City Diner.  We visited with them and I enjoyed a better bowl of gumbo than I had enjoyed at noon.  We returned to the motel instead of dancing at Randol’s as we usually do.  This was the first time we can ever remember being in Lafayette but not dancing at all.  Evelyn’s knee was hurting and her throat was still a bit sore.

We dressed for church, and I went to the Best Stop to get some Cajun supplies for the summer.  We loaded the car and trailer with our goods.  We really made use of the 4 day cooler we won in Texas.  The things we had stored in the freezer at the motel were quite solid and will remain so until we get to Stacy’s or even Waynesville.  We went to the Bible study and worship service at Faith Lutheran before hitting the road for Meridian, MS.  We saw some people we recognized at church and were blessed by the message and the worship service.  One couple we danced with a couple of years ago didn’t seem to recognize us and took off before we could get to talk with them.  We have been able to get fuel for our car for around $3.28-3.39 most of the way.  I thought we would never see prices lower than in those in the Valley, but we even found $3.23 in Meridian.  We packed into the Sleep Inn in Meridian and enjoyed the etouffee from yesterday with some boudin from Friday night.  We watched a movie in the motel and will be ready for the trip to Atlanta tomorrow.

Big Boudin Festival

We had plenty of time to get to Lafayette, so we stopped in Iowa (pronounced I-O-Way by the locals) and went to an outlet mall to look lyfor a dress for Evelyn.  We looked until we found that they had none in that mall.  Therefore, we looked for things for me.  I had packed a pair of jeans that I must have worn 3 years ago.  Of course they were too small, so I needed a different pair.  I also got some other shorts as well.  I will have to get rid of some of my old clothes.  We ate lunch in the mall and left for Lafayette.  We arrived around 1 and took a nap.  We learned from one of the maids that there was a first annual boudin festival about a mile from us, so we drove there.  We were early and had time to look around.  The manager of Early’s Supermarket allowed us to park in their lot.  Every place in the area that makes  boudin was represented.  It was a beautiful evening but cooled as the sun went down.  We ate the product for supper and met a woman who loaned us some lawn chairs to sit in while we listened to the Zydeco music played by a live group from Houston.  The only bad thing of the evening was that the camera somehow fell out of my pocket and was lost.  It has been lost many times but never in such a crowd.  I looked everywhere and left my name and phone number with officials at the festival but have little hope of its return.

First day on the trip north.

We wakened earlier than usual Thursday and were on our way to Beaumont by 7:30.  We stopped in Raymondville for breakfast and drove on north.  We noticed that we were becoming cooler and cooler when we stopped at the Sarita rest area.  By the time we stopped for lunch past Louise, TX, we knew for sure that shorts were poor choices as wearing apparel today.  We found a Best Western that allowed us to eat our lunch inside their now empty breakfast area.  We chilled our way back to the car and drove on to Beaumont.  After finding our La Quinta, we looked into the trailer and found our jackets that were a Godsend.  We also changed into long pants before going to a local catfish restaurant for dinner.  Afterward, we went to the CVS to get some advice from the pharmacist and buy some medicine.  Evelyn is developing a cold, so we had to get some medicine for her.  She was able to snooze some on our drive but needed more steady sleep.  She went to bed early.

Everybody wants to wish us goodbye.

Monday was a serious packing day.  We had the trailer more than half full.  We had bought some sodas, and I gathered many odds and ends to put into the tubs we bought from John and Sue in case we sold our house.  We are using them instead of boxes.  In the late afternoon we played hand and foot with John and Sue until dinner when we had some steaks Evelyn had prepared.  I didn’t barbecue them because they were sirloins and don’t have much fat, leaving them dry.  We ate on our screened porch because it was a very pleasant evening.  We split a box of Rotel with them.  We had bought it and took my sports jacket to the cleaner so they could try to get the line on the back out again.

Tuesday was more packing.  I always marvel at the amount of things we haul back and forth.  The trailer was 3/4 full, but we still had 3 tubs and 2 suitcases to load.  The suitcases go into the car along with a medium size cooler.  We took many frozen items to the refrigerator in the Outback so Evelyn could clean out our refrigerator.  We continued eating as many leftovers was we could.  Evelyn had taken a lunch to Judy across the street and developed a sore throat.  Judy has been quite ill for more than a week.  I should not have let Evelyn go there because she gets hit very hard when she catches cold.  Bonny came to visit and invited us for lunch tomorrow.  They are wonderful friends—one of the reasons we keep returning to the Valley.  Don and Janice came to see us off, and we went to dinner with them at Arturo’s.  They are wonderful friends too.  All of our social friends are Christian friends as well.  We have a good time with them. 

Wednesday the trailer was packed to the roof.  I don’t remember its being that full anytime in the past.  I normally bring beer in the autumn, but I don’t have any to take back.  I do have some booze and vanilla to take.  Perhaps that is the difference.  Regardless, Bonny made a delicious fish lunch for us at their home.  We talk of cruising together and having them visit in NC, but we have little hope of seeing that come to fruition.  We came home and I did some maintenance item while Evelyn rested.  She slept a little but not much.  She had done 2 loads of laundry in the morning and 1 after lunch.  She can rest while the machines run.  We went to John and Sue’s  for a pork chop dinner and another round of hand and foot.  We came home early, hooked up the trailer and went to bed so we can leave early in the morning.

He is Risen!

We were up a bit later than usual because our service was not scheduled at 8:30.  Our Trail’s End group had agreed to come to Llano Grande to provide them with a pastor.  Their scheduled pastor was unable to come.  There were 212 in attendance and seemed to be blessed by the message.  One woman came and said, “I thank God for your message.”  That is the greatest compliment I could ever receive.  We were back home by 10, and Evelyn finished preparing our green bean casserole for the Easter dinner in the hall.  We had ham as our entrée prepared by some of the park residents.  The rest of the meal was a potluck with many delicious offerings including a trifle featuring strawberries.  We helped clean the hall before coming home to wash our own dishes.  We then took an hour nap before John and Sue came to play dominoes until 6:30.  We didn’t have a dinner because we had all eaten a great deal for our noon meal.  John tried to help me connect our XM radio.  I think it was partially successful.  I will work on it more tomorrow.  We watched a couple of movies John and Sue bought in Mexico.  They are both pirated, and we refuse to buy them.  I even feel bad about watching them.  We got to talk with Emily for a short while but thought it too late to call Stacy.  We wanted to wish them and their families a happy and blessed Easter.  We want everyone reading this to have the same.  Christ is Risen.  He is risen indeed.  Hallelujah!