The End and the Beginning

Although I have far more photos of our wonderful time spent with the family celebrating our 50th anniversary, after today's post, it will be the end of that chapter of our lives and going forward I will concentrate on the beginning of our next 50 years of marriage!! Wouldn't that be something?  Unlikely for sure, but one thing I do know is that it will not only be joyful but full of surprises somewhat like the photo below that I was looking at this morning.

When I begin a blog post, usually I go through my photos, choose ones that will fit a narrative and off I go. Obviously, at first glance,  the one above was about the big fat bumble bee until I discovered another living creature in the frame! Do you see it? But of course you do! Looks like a Damselfly to me.

We did spend lots of time at Deerwoode, but when we ventured off property it was either to a store to buy supplies, or something water related as was the case when we went to Dupont State National Forest to see, you guessed it, a waterfall! 

The younger folks climbed over the rocks, us old folks did not. I did, however, take my shoes off and stand in the nice refreshingly cool water.

Wonder what this dog was thinking? 

Getting to the falls required a small hike up and down with Nancy leading the pack; unlike her sister she did not take any rest breaks! Of course she is four years younger so there's that! The young folk took breaks only to help their parents which was very nice indeed. A nearby forest canteen provided welcome shade and victuals.

A highlight for me was when we drove by this place on our way to the falls,

and stopping in on our way back. Holy cow, the dahlias!

More dahlias up close.

And do I see a huge field of sunflowers behind them? Why yes I do!

Obviously I was in heaven and the only thing that would have made it better is if it were during prime time for taking photographs instead of underneath a blazing sun!

Some of the sunflowers were absolutely huge, the size of a dinner plate! There was a sizable track of multicolored zinnias attracting butterflies,

and bees. BTW, I took a photo with my phone of the flower below and the identification was a red dahlia. Now we both know!

The following day we decided to go tubing, something most of us had never done before. We were in downtown Brevard where we saw this fun display in front of an outdoor store.

After a yummy lunch at Sully's Steamers, we headed home to regroup. Water shoes--check! Towels--check! Hats--check! Sunscreen, double check! Deciding to go with Brevard Tubing, after a little faux pas on my part we met there to tube down the Davidson River.

Should you have clicked on the link you might have noted that their tagline reads: Just Sit Back and Relax. Ha ha! While there was a bit of relaxing on some folks part, I freely admit that for me it was far more about working than relaxing! This is one of the few adventures in my recent lifetime that I took not one photograph because my camera was left behind. Fortunately, Alissa, as well as some of the others, purchased cases for their mobile phones. She shared the photo below with me.

Because this blog is for memory purposes, I have to recap what happened so if it bores you, feel free to move on. In a nutshell, at about the halfway point I was getting out of the tube to cool off by the shoreline, and somehow it did not go as planned. The next thing I know Matt and Jonathan are hanging onto their mom for dear life before she is swept into the current. No rapids so I won't get overly dramatic, but there was decent water flow. So you might be tempted to think that when a second run was suggested that your favorite blogger would say, "no thanks", I will stay back with Alissa. Instead, on this trip down the river, while things started well for me, I ended up kind of stuck and Tom was kind enough to get out of his raft, ford the current coming against him and push me out of the mess I was in. I am using the term "ford" somewhat loosely. Another mishap on this second run was Bruce's favorite hat was stuck on a tree and much against our urgings, Matthew went back to get it. Whew!! Will I go tubing again anytime soon? Maybe, but at least this time I will already know that it is a "participation sport"!

A couple more before we leave Deerwoode, one more spider web hung from one of the freshly-painted Tree Swallow boxes.

And lookee here:

With everything tidied and all items packed, we went back to downtown Brevard, which if I failed to mention it, is only a few miles away, gathering for one last meal together at Morning Social, a delicious brunch where this photo was taken.

Gosh I love seeing this again in spite of the fact that I look pretty goofy! 

From there, Jonathan and Alissa drove North to Asheville where they were tourists for a day. Nancy drove Matt and Tom, who got to see the curves for themselves, while Bruce drove me. It is only about 120 miles but with mountain roads, all bets are off on how long it will really take. 

Rocks on both sides!

Lovely farms here and there with this one having exceptional flower gardens.

The views cannot be beat!

My goodness, once we were home we discovered that it was Third Thursday in Murphy, a perfect time for our family to see the life we have been living. Food trucks!

Entertainment!

Because there is an entrance to the River Walk behind the Depot where this was all happening, Matt and Tom took the opportunity to see what the heck I have been talking about for all of these months! 

While Nancy went to spend the night at Hank's house, Matt and Tom used the sofa bed in the living room with mixed results. At 7am, Road Warrior Nancy met us at the fire station where she took on her passengers and they drove like mad, making it to Orlando that evening. Who do you think was most tired after this week? Had to be Nancy who drove 1,500 miles or something like that! Without her help this trip might have been very different indeed.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the very special themed gifts from our family,  a beautiful gold bowl from Matt and Tom and a personalized 50th anniversary sundial from Jonathan and Alissa. (yet to be put on the accompanying stand)

We also brought home a bottle of champagne from J & A which we very much enjoyed at home. What a delightful surprise that it was from Biltmore Estates.

Nancy brought wine from both herself and a few of our dear lady friends at LPV.  Returning home after pickleball on that Friday, we were greeted by Laura bringing over a massive floral arrangement sent by Michelle and David. 

Whew! Long post, but it isn't everyday that a milestone anniversary rolls around, right? We never take for granted both the love of one another or our family. Or our friends for that matter.

Let the beginning of another half-century begin!!

your friend,

Gail