And with that came hot days which always seem to bother me more than everyone else. According to this article, and what little we know about the area, the lack of rain is noteworthy. Of all things, late yesterday afternoon it did rain for about five minutes time. We NEED more!
That however, is neither here nor there, in spite of the heat, a good time was had by all! Nancy drove Matt and Tom up from Orlando where they had been staying for a week in our condo. As has been well documented in this space, she is a road warrior, shrugging off every driving difficulty along the way, including the proverbial traffic back-up in Atlanta. The requisite stop at Buc-ee's did add to their driving time, and by all accounts, was well worth it.
In anticipation of the upcoming visit we returned to a few places again to judge their worthiness when time is limited for visitors. Although the appeal of being able to go into water was appealing, unfortunately, we never did make it to Fire's Creek (pictured below) with the family.
Nor did the family join us during, a stop again at the highway flowers. Before long they will be no more.
Sunday was meant to be a time to settle in, get groceries, and go on the river walk. All of which happened, but not before the air conditioner repair man, Bucky, as I recall, came to see why the upstairs was so hot. Thankfully it was a very simple fix that did not take long to diagnose. When we first moved to the house Bruce established an account at the place so, should we need them, they would respond in a timely manner. Indeed, it worked just as he planned.
I interrupt the narrative to show you this sweet watering can Nancy brought, a tool that is sorely needed this summer as watering plants has become part of my daily routine. No complaints here because I am very much loving the flowers.
A familiar theme of the week was me lallygagging behind the group, even on the River Walk where it is nice and flat!
A familiar picture for anyone who has been reading the blog for any length of time, I include it to monitor the seasons. This is the Valley River that runs alongside the pickleball courts.
One thing we did was a lot of driving beginning with Saturday night dinner in Hayesville at a very nice pizza place called Nocturnal.
The next day we made a similar drive, but a little further yet, to the Chatuge Dam where, guess what, I was taking up the rear.
Normally the views cannot be beat but on this day it was hazy for unknown, at least to me, reasons.
Bruce and I have done this walk before, but on this occasion, I'm still unclear how it happened, but instead of turning around at the campground, everyone crossed a small street and kept going. Oh look here... they are waiting on me!
Turns out it is a Clay County park with yet another campground along the water. What a great find for the future as people were swimming in the cool, clear water.
Packing a picnic to share, we enjoyed it in yet another park across from the dam. From there we took some winding roads amongst fields filled with summer wheat.
The Folk School was next as we wanted to show them the museum and the gardens. Perhaps you might recall that our last visit there to see the gardens earlier in the summer was disappointing? On this occasion, it was waning, but still pretty.
Can you guess what Bruce is doing? Of course you can...this is 2024!! Googling the plant name!
By golly, there are a few clouds in the sky!
Throughout their visit, Tom worked on a puzzle that Mary gave me when she and Sam came to see us last month. Never could I have finished it myself, but as we all have come to learn, Tom is a puzzle wizard!
Pretty amazing isn't it? While Tom was puzzling, Matthew was helping us with various tech related issues, including helping Bruce to set up a new wireless printer, and for his Momma, working on my voluminous photo library. Not to mention a pesky bill from T Mobile and the television. Lots to sort out in order for me to watch college football. Sadly, last week watching FSU on YouTube was disappointing, and it was not the fault of the platform! It is hard being a digital immigrant in today's world!
Tuesday more driving was involved as we had reservations at the Nantahala Outdoor Center to do some whitewater rafting, something neither Nancy or Tom had experienced before. As you sit there listening to the safety briefing, which is pretty darn scary I might add, one begins to question one's decision to pay money to do something that might end badly. Well, I am here to report that ours ended beautifully! Matthew bought a waterproof case for his phone meaning I'm now turning over the photos to him. It should be noted that most of what I know about photography I learned from him in my early days! Here we are on the bus to the put-in spot along the river. Anticipation was running high.
Another shot of his Mom and Dad in the boat. Bruce agreed to sit in the front because he is a nice guy, although I can't say he would never do it again, another time he would surely let someone else have the pleasure. It's hard to keep your feet in the right place is the main problem.
Our guide was quite good, entertaining us with river lore as well as when to paddle. As to the paddling, there was not nearly as much as we expected. The river was low due to the ongoing drought. Here is Nancy with our guide David.
And here is Tom.
Once we were on the water I don't think either of them were nervous at all. There were a few patches with ups and downs, as well as twists and turns, but by far the biggest splash came at the end. Matthew bought the photo package they offered and seeing all of them was an amusing and joyful experience.
We laughed and laughed at Nancy and her pose! The whole clan...
A few takeaways:
1. On a hot day, the water feels fantastic.
2. Try and only have your group in the boat, something we would probably do next time.
3. Don't be afraid because the rapids are not that big!
It was lovely to see this banner which was put in place for the parade held in her honor upon returning from winning a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.
Most nights we ate at home and on several of those nights, Ingles pies were on the menu. Very tasty indeed.
It must have been that same afternoon that I decided to investigate why the heck my hairbrush was wet when I reached into my handbag. Well, the laugh is one me, that's for sure! There was a squashed tomato on the bottom of my bag!!! When I had brought home some of those homegrown tomatoes from church, well, turns out I missed one. It had been in there for nearly a week!!! Nice to have a clothesline on the porch.
Wednesday we decided to take it easy, driving to Blue Ridge, GA to see what we could see. We tried out the
Rum Cake Lady Cuban Cafe for lunch and were not disappointed.
Except for the fact that our birthday boy Tom's order was incorrect! Thank goodness it was all sorted out before a party of about 15 people descended on the tiny restaurant.
On a side note, we sent our best birthday wishes to our brother-in law Danny who has the same birthday as Tom. Battling cancer for a long time, reaching 75 was never a given. 😍
Being a tourist will wear folks out so some of our party took a nice nap before we went to The Crown for Tom's birthday dinner. Located in nearby Brasstown, Matt made reservations for indoors because it was so hot outdoors. Turns out, that was both good and bad. We indeed were cooler, however our seats were in room with much noisy activity. Nancy is keeping her eyes on the developments.
That would be my chair, with the dry handbag hanging, so I missed it all! Well, except for the sound of buckets of ice crashing into the ice maker. Which, come to think of it, why was that anyway? Was it just a cooler of sorts? In spite of those disappointments, the food was delicious and without some mishaps, the story is never as memorable. Right?
The flight home to London was not ideal for being dropped off at the Atlanta airport as we thought when we hatched the plan, thus, instead Nancy was yet another great chauffeur and got them to the Orlando airport only two hours before their departure time. What a blessing to have a sister four years younger!
We learned some things on this visit. Having one shower for five adults, while not ideal, is doable. Meals must be prepared in shifts due to the small counter space was another lesson. A bigger fan is needed for the guest room. Because I am reluctant to remove the awesome light fixtures throughout the house and replace them with ceiling fans, this summer has tested that resolve. We shall see.
More flowers because I can and they won't be there forever.
Bruce worked on the ramp again today while I was catching up with you. A few more weeks and it will be completed if they can get a few more men to pitch in and we are confident that they can. Tom and Jane will be thrilled when it is over I'm sure. Perhaps their children will be as well because as time goes on, the role reversal occurs--kids worry about their parents! I know ours do.
your friend,
Gail
p.s. Our son Bill had a health scare, but he's fine now.
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