Busy Days

Well our last few days have been busy ones. We have continued with our various activities, having a great time with bingo, happy hour and nickel bingo, dulcimer practice, etc. We went to the Hendersonville Apple Festival. It was cute. I think I'm spoiled because I'm so used to the wonderful Macintosh Festival, the Mt. Dora Arts Festival, the Micanopy Arts Festival, etc. this one was more along the lines of the Ocala Strawberry Festival. Much smaller but still fun. One of the girls at the campground entered a quilt she made in the apple craft and she won 3rd place. So that was terrific!!

While all of that was going on our dulcimer group got ready for another performance. Next year I need to suggest that donuts can be eaten in the afternoon too. We have to be there at 8:30AM. That's obscene!! It was another great time and everyone there is so gracious with their praise. You just can't ask for better than that.

We were told about some nice drives not too far from the campground. There were some waterfalls and scenery and white squirrels. Can you believe that? So we took a drive to Brevard in hopes of seeing white squirrels. Of course I wanted to see the Looking Glass Waterfalls, but I was really hoping we'd catch a glimpse of the squirrels. It was a beautiful drive out to the falls but don't you know while we have had wonderful weather almost the entire time we've been here, the day we take drive we get rain. We were able to get to the falls I took some photos, but no squirrels yet. We went to the Visitor's Center and while we are inside it starts to rain. GREAT we won't be spending a lot of time walking around looking for squirrels. It's OK, I'm not deterred. This will just have to be the first thing we do next summer. That's right, I can just shelve things till next year. All the pressure is off this way. Oh we didn't get to that restaurant, we'll go there next year. We didn't see that don't miss spot, no problem it will be the first thing we do next year. You get the idea here. So we drive from Brevard to Jumping Off Rock to check that out. That was a nice drive. The road wound around and up, up, up to a little park kind of area in the middle of a neighborhood. We did see a ground hog just walking right along not all that concerned with us at all. We got in the car to come back and we were enjoying the ride when damn if a WHITE squirrel didn't run along the side of the road. Now I've given this some thought and I figured these squirrels would be maybe a light gray color but these babies are really white. Not only white but starkly white. Of course the camera was put away and we were driving with nowhere to pull over and he ran off but I did get to see him. That's what really matters. 

Our last full day was a great way to end our trip. Sunday was the next meeting of the Western North Carolina Dulcumer Club and Lynn said if we were going to go she'd like to come too and then her friend Stan decided to join us and even offered to buy dinner. So we went and played with that group for a couple hours at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway, afterward took a nice drive along the parkway to a Chinese buffet in Bervard and had a good dinner with good friends. It was just so perfect to end our trip on that note. (Get it, "that NOTE", a musical reference, WOW am I punny or what?)

So wrapping up, we are now driving through the great state of South Carolina. We'll make a stop in Savannah then home to Salt Springs. As always Steve and I had another wonderful adventure. We have met some really wonderful people, made some great friends, and thoroughly enjoyed our summer. Thanks for following along. I'll be talking with you again real soon. 

 

Almost Time To Head Home

I just can't get over how time flies. We will be driving away from North Carolina in just 12 days. I realize that is better than a week and a half but it seems like we just got here. We still have lots to do. . . Oh well there is always next year. We will probably make some stops on our way home. 

We have been doing pretty much the same things, we have dulcimers, crafts, happy hours, games, etc. I played bingo once. That was a lot of fun even though I had no idea what I was doing. Man, I always thought bingo was a simple little game, well hell no. There are shapes and it is very complicated and you have to have all sorts of gear. I was a fish out of water, but the girls took care of me. The last time I even thought about playing bingo I was with Kim and Catherine and we were all at a loss, so I didn't feel too bad, plus we were playing for meat. Come on, what could possibly be better than that? No meat this time and no winning either but at intermission we did have ice cream, so it's all good. Steve and I did get to the WNC Nature Center. It is a little local zoo. It wasn't really much of a zoo especially when you consider the fact that we have seen some of the best zoos the country has to offer, but it was a nice outing.  

This weekend is the apple festival. I'm so excited about that. It goes on all weekend and it seems like it's a big deal up here. I'm going to be on the look out for my Hang'm High Christmas ornament. You just never know where you'll find a good one. Steve and I are on our way to the movies. He wants to see "A Walk In The Woods". I wanted to see one with some blood and guts but hell he has to win sometimes.

OK, I miss judged. I figured the movie would be good but it was VERY good. Oh my gosh we laughed and at the end I was teary. Robert Redford and Nick Nolte were just hysterical. They got into predictable trouble of course, but there was stuff we didn't see coming that had us laughing out loud. Oh and at this big multi use shopping center where the movie theater is there is an REI store that we see every time we go and I keep saying I want to go check it out, but we haven't yet. Well today we had a few minutes to spare and we stopped and looked around before going to see the movie. This is a cool place and they have everything for the outdoor enthusiast (of course by outdoor enthusiast I mean the REAL enthusiast; camping in tents, real hiking with big packs, cooking over camp fires, not camping like we do it with all the luxuries of home), still it was a neat place to check out. Anyway, not more then two minutes into the movie don't you know they go to REI to outfit the hiking of the Appalachian Trail. That right there gave me a giggle. 

I almost forgot, we had another great craft day. I'm including a few photos. Well I guess that's about all I've got. We are on our way home, Steve is going to grill some chicken for dinner. God, I am blessed with a charmed life. Talk to you again soon.

 

Still Hanging Out In NC

Well I have to say, I'm shocked that we have been here a month already. I'm so not ready to go home yet. Thank goodness we extended our stay. Friday Steve Smith stopped by to play with our dulcimer group again. Everyone was so happy to have him join us again. He was very gracious with his time. He practiced with us and taught us a new song or two. It was a great time, then he played Hector The Hero for us. The man is just so wonderful on the dulcimer, hammered or mountain. 

Steve (my Steve) has decided he is going to learn to play the ban-jammer. The ban-jammer is a combination dulcimer and banjo. We went to a shop in Tennessee to talk to the man that makes the ban-jammer. We fell in love with the shop and the instrument, so we placed an order. Mike Clemmer has a backlog of 12 ban-jammers ahead of us. Our anticipated delivery timetable is mid November. Can you believe that? We even searched Craig's List and eBay for someone selling one and talked to the people in the dulcimer group to see if anybody knew of one for sale and no luck, so we placed our order. We can wait till November. After all of the options were selected we had something to eat then went back to the shop for a free Saturday night performance on the "Pickin' Porch". The Clemmer's have a spot out back where they put on free performances in the summer. Mike Clemmer and his wife played a few songs and demonstrated a few different instruments then Stephen Seifert played for about a half hour. There were probably three dozen people in a back yard sitting on lawn chairs listening to music while the frogs sang along. It was a great experience.  

Today at summer camp was craft day again. We made crafts out of corks. Gosh we are having a good time here. I lined a tray bottom with corks and I think it turned out great. Tomorrow night is another Happy Hour and Nickel BINGO. I can't wait!!

Just An Update From Up North (a little bit)

Well things are great at summer camp!! We are having the times of our lives. I have been spending a lot of time practicing my dulcimer, the girls are working on Steve to play his, but you know how stubborn he can be, so that's going no where fast. I was playing Pegs & Jokers on Thursday night again. We were able to get two games in while the debates were in intermission. Everyone one was really excited to see the republican debates. 

Sunday Steve and I went to the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I'd been told there was a really good mountain and hammered dulcimer player there that did group sessions on the second Sunday of each month. Well how could we know that we were going to find a real treat. It wasn't really a group session that we found, it was the monthly meeting of the Western North Carolina Dulcimer Club. The man that was in charge is Steve Smith, and he is a two time world champion hammered and mountain dulcimer player. To say that this man plays well is the understatement of a lifetime. This man is so very gifted. His playing is inspired by angels and the Folk Art Center makes the perfect backdrop for this group. We stayed for the group playing and got a chance to speak with Steve. I mentioned to him that our group practiced twice a week and he'd be more then welcome to join. Since he still has a Monday through Friday job he said he wasn't available typically unless it was this week. Well don't you know our group was going to be playing on Tuesday for the coffee and doughnuts meeting. Well the rest as they say is history. He said he might stop by, on Monday while we had our last practice I mentioned that we'd gone to see him and he might be able to stop by and the entire group was so excited. I didn't realize what a big local celebrity he and his wife are. Tuesday morning we were graced with the attendance and participation of Steve and Jean Smith. They played along with our group and then did several songs for us. Oh these two people are very good. It was just so exciting. 

Wednesday night we had our Happy Hour and Nickel BINGO again. This time the lodge was full we had more in the other room as overflow. Our table played two great games. Steve and I had fun even though we didn't win anything tonight. So anyway things go on pretty much the same. FUN, FUN,FUN!!!!! We miss everyone at home, we are making great friends here that will be missed when we return. I'll be sure to give you another update soon. . . 

P.S. Our dulcimer group was a huge success and Steve videoed the performance, but the files are way too large to post on the blog so you'll just have to take my word on it.   

Adult Summer Camp

Well I have finally figured out what we are doing here, we are at an adult summer camp. We have been so busy here at Lakewood that we haven't even done too many things outside the campground. 

Steve wanted to celebrate his birthday by grilling a steak and having mashed potatoes for dinner. He is so darn easy to please. He was a happy and well fed man yesterday. 

Today was Craft Day. This Craft Group gets together in the beginning of June. They display different crafts, decide which ones they want to make and decide who will teach which week. For a $1 donation we were able to make a note pad, recipe holder, and matching pen. Oh Happy Zone ladies we will be making these when I get home. They are adorable and easy to make. I can't wait to show you. I took some photos of the process and some of the finished projects.

 

Just A Small Update

Well not much to tell, we went to Happy Hour Wednesday evening. We ate some good finger foods and played more Nickel Bingo. Today we had a great dinner at the Haus Heidelberg. In case you couldn't tell it's a German restaurant, in Hendersonville. After dinner I played Pegs And Jokers at the lodge with some of the new wonderful people we've met. We have been made to feel so welcome with these people. Steve and I are feeling right at home. 

Well I guess that's pretty much my update. Oh HECK!!!!! I almost forgot, we've decided to stay another month here in North Carolina. So you guys at home have a reprieve, we will be gone till the middle of September. See ya then, and be sure to keep up with my blog posts. 

More From The Not So Far North

My goodness have we been busy since my last blog post. I think I mentioned in my last post that I might crochet some dishcloths to add to the Christmas Boxes for the elderly. Well I have six done and I'm out of yarn. I may make a run to get more yarn and make a few more. They are easy, I can do it while sitting outside or watching TV or chatting, whatever. 

Friday I went to another dulcimer practice. I'm getting better but these ladies really know their stuff. I'm having a great time sitting in with them and playing (a little bit). They are planning a performance for August 11th. I'm not too sure about that, but we will just have to see. Friday night for dinner we'd planned on some pork chops and those buggers didn't thaw at all, so we had to have a fall back plan. (Aw shucks!! Don't mention this to Steve but you can really retard the thawing process if you put things back in the freezer. Gosh I hope he doesn't figure that out. This little plan could work again.) Anyway I really had been jonesing for pizza and there was a place I found on Yelp that had excellent reviews so off we went. Oh the pizza was GOOD!

Saturday we went back to the curb market in Hendersonville. The Pegs and Jokers game Lester made for me didn't sit right if you were only going to play with four. Since Lester had never heard of the game and looked it up online to see if he could figure out how to make one it didn't really surprise me that it needed tweaking. He immediately picked up on what I wanted and promised to fix it for me. This man really is very nice. I'm so glad we chose to support a local business instead of just ordering something mass produced from the Internet. 

Sunday we were relaxing as is our way anymore, and there was a knock at the door, of course this was a surprise cause we weren't expecting anyone. Don't you know it was Rich and Carole!!!!! They had mentioned they may visit on their way back to Florida but that had been almost a week prior and when we didn't hear anything else we thought it just didn't fit into their plans so we forgot about it, and yet there was Rich standing there with a sheepish grin. It's always good to see friends. So, as is the Happy Zone way, we pooled resources and put together a nice dinner and ate and talked and just had the best time. 

Monday Carole sat in with the dulcimer group and she had a toe tapping good time listening to us practice and joke and mess up and laugh. The group of ladies enjoyed getting to meet a new friend too. It just so happened that Rich and Carole picked the best two days for a drop in. Talk about your serendipity, Steve found in the local Sunday paper that there was going to be a bluegrass music group and cloggers in the Hendersonville square on Monday night. So we had our plan for the evening. After a light dinner we packed up lawn chairs and headed into Hendersonville. We found out this was the 97th Annual Street Dances in town. From mid June to the middle of August they have live music on Monday nights, Friday nights, and Saturday nights. Friday and Saturday nights they throw in a classic car show too. It was so darn much fun. We were there in plenty of time to get our chairs situated so we could see Bobby & Blue Ridge Tradition and right in front of us was square dancing and the cloggers performances. What a great area of the country this must be to grow up in, summer nights you're entertained with live music and dancing. It was fun.

We made sure we said our goodbyes to Rich and Carole when we got back to the campers. God knows they like to see the sun come up and be on the road right after, that is NOT our way, so we knew we would't see them before they headed off. We got on the road early ourselves, although nowhere near as early and we drove to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It was a perfect morning for a drive. There was a light mist and clouds hanging low over the mountains. It made for some pretty driving. We got to the Pancake Pantry, of course there was a line, but since it was just the two of us our number was being called before Steve made it back from parking the car. Breakfast was the typical Pancake Pantry, VERY GOOD!! From breakfast it was off to Cade's Cove Scenic Loop. Well let me tell ya, there wasn't much to see. Of course the vistas are spectacular, but no wildlife today. We were there at the wrong time of day for the wildlife viewing. I did get to see a woodpecker going to town on a fence post, Robert and Celeste will appreciate that. I guess there weren't many picnic tables to feast on for the poor guy.

After going through Cade's Cove we drove home by way of Cherokee. We had no plans other than a nice drive and scenery until Steve announced he wanted ice cream. Don't you know after that we passed a sign that scared the hell out of me, I thought I might be having a stroke. I couldn't read the sign, the letters didn't look right, but it was a sign on the road! Then I realized it was written in Cherokee. I had to get a photo of that. We made a turn and there was an ice cream shop, again serendipity. 

Well enjoy the photos, I'll write again soon.

 

 

 

North Carolina Blog Post 2

Ok, just to bring you up to speed on what we've been doing. . . Sunday we just relaxed. Actually we got caught up in a "Back To The Future" marathon. Six hours of Marty and Doc. Brown and the gang. I'd forgotten how much I love those movies. You watch the first one and the second one comes on and you start watching it, and before you know it the third one is on and well hell you've invested four hours already and you have to see it through to the end, plus let's face it, the third one is the best. So I guess it's safe to say we just relaxed. 

Monday I went to the dulcimer group again. These women are just so nice and welcoming. I am having a great time playing with them. After we were done with the dulcimer group Steve and I went to the movies. We saw "Terminator Genisys". Oh my gosh really, really good. I was skeptical because I just wondered how this was going to mesh with the 1984 original and work in and around that story line and those actors, we'll let me tell you, with few exceptions it worked and worked well. LOVED IT, but then I really am a sucker for sci-fi.

Tuesday we went back to the farmers market to check on the progress of our Pegs And Jokers game. I was so surprised, Lester was done and he did a good job. He used reclaimed barn wood so it is rustic and very cool looking. We will have this game forever and it will be a great reminder of our trip. 

Wednesday we went to Happy Hour/Nickel Bingo. Oh my gosh people start saving your nickels. This game was right up there with Left, Right, Center. It was so fast moving and fun and required absolutely no skill. Steve and I won two games out of four.  It was just great and I can't wait till next week to play again. 

While at Happy Hour one of the men got up to discuss the Christmas Shoe Boxes for the elderly. This group supports Christmas Shoe Boxes for the elderly and they accept donations to fill boxes right here at the campground. What a great charity. Our next trip to Walmart we will be picking up some of the little ideas on the list and I think for next year I may crochet some dishcloths in Christmas colors and bring them down. If only I'd known ahead of time. 

North Carolina

July 18, 2015

Hello everyone. Steve and I are on the road again as I'm sure you know. We left Florida on Monday and had an uneventful ride to Savannah. We were able to meet up with Becca, Henry, and the kids for dinner at Corleone's in Savannah's Historic District. It is always such a joy to see Becca and Henry. We had a nice leisurely dinner and the kids were so well behaved and just adorable. It was a good time, but we were on the road again on Tuesday so we made it an early night. 

Tuesday we had an easy ride to Flat Rock, North Carolina. It was exciting to see the misty blue mountains ahead of us as we traveled north. We were back in the mountains and that's a good thing. We are so lucky with the campground we found for our stay. Given all of our travels we have chosen plenty of campgrounds sight unseen from descriptions on the Internet and customer reviews and trust me, there have been plenty of times we have been surprised, good and bad. This time however we have landed in a paradise. The people are so friendly, the owners, employees, and other campers. We met instant friends. Oh and did I mention activities? We could be busy seven days a weeks all hours of the day and night if we were so inclined. There is happy hours, nickel bingo, cards, dominos, parties, ladies luncheons, musical groups, and crafts (I'm sure I've forgotten something). And we are not only invited, they come down to remind us there is an activity. Tonight we went to a Welcome Back party. Everyone brought an appetizer; burgers, dogs, drinks, beer, and wine were all supplied by the campground owners. After we ate there was a DJ and dancing and we had a great time. We met more people and were welcomed by all. What fun!!!!!!

Steve and I also managed to carve out some time to visit the Carl Sandburg Historical Site, we didn't tour the house, but we did see the goat farm and I took plenty of photos, although I haven't had time to process them so they will have to follow. This afternoon we went to a farmer's market in Hendersonville and walked around the little historic part of the town. We were in and out of lots of stores and just had a good time.

We will be coming back here in years to come, again and again. I hope this finds all of you well and I will be talking to you again soon.