Evan and I journeyed east to the mountains of North Carolina. Here are a bunch of photos.
Thursday.
We boarded airplanes and learned some sign language (skunk, beaver, eagle, tent) from the video the very well-behaved 2-year-old girl was watching in front of us.
On the Aluminum Tube of Death.
We only got slightly lost on the way to Forrest and Jason's abode. We drove into the driveway and there was Karl, visiting from Montana. It was nice to see him.
Karl.
After a while, Forrest came home from work and it was just like old times.
Hello Forrest!
I ended up conking out early, probably because of the several beers I drank. There was music played and some Bocci after I fell asleep.
Friday.
Forrest and Jason went off to their careers, but Forrest first drew elaborate directions to go see things. We promptly got lost, but that was alright because I got to see up close some of the dense fields of flowers planted along North Carolina highways.
Poppies.
We got lost but winding our ways through the dense, lush, green vegetation, we eventually found some place near Lake James called Wolfpit and climbed part of the way up the mountain.
Evan and Mountain Laurel.
That afternoon we met Forrest and Jason for supper at Judge's. I had salad bar. The banana pudding was disgusting. In contrast, the fried foods were delicious.
Fried pickles and onion rings.
That night, Evan and Forrest played music. They had a good time doing so.
Forrest and Evan play music.
Saturday.
The next morning, Chas and his charming beau David arrived and we went to Morgantown, where I insisted on posing in front of the memorial. Seven of my direct ancestors were Union soldiers during the Civil War.
The Morgantown Confederate Soldier Memorial.
We had an excellent lunch at Yanni's. I recommend their eggplant sub.
Chas and David.
Back home, Travis showed up and it was great to see him. We said farewell to Chas and David, and then prepared to go camping in the woods. The drive was long and windy, I was glad to get out for a few minutes.
Pisgah guys.
Jason brought along his doggy, who enjoyed herself.
Judy.
After we found a camping spot, we had some trouble getting the fire started, but at last it caught.
Travis and Forrest.
We were way up in the mountains, and all I could hear was some crickets and a frog or two.
Trees at night.
Sunday.
The next morning, I was slightly sore from sleeping on a root.
Good morning Forrest.
We went to Ashville and ate at a vegetarian restaurant. Evan's food was better than mine.
Monday.
Evan, Travis, and I went to Table Rock, way and ways up in the mountains. I admired greatly the flowers.
Rhododendrons.
The trail was nice, not too scary, and if you fell over the edge you'd eventually catch on a tree or something instead of falling thousands of feet.
Evan on Table Rock.
At the top there was nice scenery.
Travis.
I wish Forrest and Travis could come live half the year in Tucson.
Three guys.
I saw many small lizards and even some yellow blooming cacti. This little feller surprised me on the way down the trail.
Green snake.
Below is my favorite picture that I took. Click on it to make it bigger, I order you to do so.
Pretty Red Flowers.
That night we played Glow-In-The-Dark Bocci and I was dismal at first.
Glow-in-the-dark Bocci.
Tuesday.
On Tuesday we drove west to Waynesville to see Chas. and the four of us drove up into the mountains and hiked up to the top of Max-Something-or-Other and admired the beautiful views. It was very Sound of Music-like.
Chas and David.
Homer and Evan.
We ate at the new Thai place and the food was great. That night Chas and Evan discovered that they had much of the same taste in music. It was awesome to spend quality time with Chas, he is a good guy.
Wednesday.
After leaving Chas' abode, we drove back to Nebo and hung out with Travis for a few hours. He took us to Bruce's in Marion and we had sandwiches and then cheesecake. I asked to go to cemeteries to look at tombstones. I liked this homemade one a lot.
Tombstone in Marion. Click picture to see inscription.
"WILLA * DUPRE
WOS BORND
DEC 20- 1922
DID JAN 9-1923"
The letter N is backwards.
I am famous.
We arrived safely back in Tucson, where is it now hot, but the swamp cooler is working really well. It was an awesome week away, but hard to say good bye to people I wished were closer. I was happy to introduce Evan to people, and happy that he and Forrest got to play a lot of music together. Many great memories were made.