Carl Sandburg, Pisgah Forest & Ribs – Sat. Nov. 4

Carl Sandburg’s home for the last 20 or so years of his life is only about 5 minutes from our house so we went with there with Lynn and Bob.  Another sunny but cool day (mid 50’s) so perfect for sightseeing.  The farm grounds are beautiful.   Mrs. Sandburg was very well known for her herd of about 200 goats with extremely high milk production.  The prize goat could do 3 gallons of milk a day! There are still some goats on the farm as well as a big tiger cat who warmly greeted us when we arrived.  Since we have been here we have seen huge crowds of cars by this home and were so glad that when we went there were only a few other people there. 

I must admit that my knowledge of Mr. Sandburg was pretty slim.  I had forgotten what a talented poet, writer, musician, biographer of Abraham Lincoln, Nobel prize winner, and writer of children’s books he was.  Of course we took the house tour so those of you who are interested can ask me about all the “insider informaton” we got.  I would certainly recommend this as a place to visit.

After that we went to downtown Hendersonville to see the famous Curb Market where they feature only homemade food and crafts.

Our last afternoon stop was out to Pisgah Forest where we showed Lynn and  Bob a couple waterfalls that we had seen our first week here and also a stop at the Ranger Station, which we had not visited before.  Did you know that this is the birth place of modern forestery?  It is called the Cradle of Forestry.  Visit the web site to find out more.  Without a doubt, the mountains of NC are a dream come true for anyone who likes to bike, hike, camp and fish.

To finish off the day we went to Breakwater Grille in Hendersonville for dinner. Blackwater Grille is Carolina’s original Appalachian Grille, serving an upscale chef-inspired Southern Highland Cuisine.  Delicious.  The young chef was a delight.  I can’t remember when I last had the chef come to our table several times to meet us and talk about his food and restaurant.  I tired collards for the first time and liked them.  The main entree was a whiskey smoked ribs with a blackberry BBQ sauce.  Yum!

Tanya enjoying herself

Tanya’s favorite spot is on the corner of our bed.  Bob’s also working in this room so she loves to hang out with him all day.

 

Here other favorite spot is watching the faucet in the bathtub.  I bet she is in there at least 20 times a day.  Once in a while we let the water collect in the tub and she loves waiting for the faucet to drip.  Yes, her water dish is full of fresh water.  Whatever makes her happy!

Suitcase trauma for Tanya – Sun. Oct. 22

Kris and Greg were on the road by 8 a.m.  They had time for a quick cup of coffee and muffin before they left.  Tanya seemed just fine, hanging around like usual at the table waiting to get petted.  They brought down their luggage and we hugged them good bye with many thanks to Greg for helping with the computer and to Kris for being such great company.

After they left Bob and I read the Sunday paper and planned our route to visit the open houses.  We went to say goodbye to Tanya and could not find her anywhere.  Finally after much searching we found her huddled under our bed and there was no way she was coming out.  The only thing we can figure out is that she saw Kris and Greg’s suitcases and remember what happened the last time she saw something like that (rode in a car for three days in three hotels) and decided she wanted no part of it.  We just let her stay there and when we came home several hours later she was fine.   Too smart for her own good. 

Our New Home

Home, Sweet Home until November 15!

Click on the small photos for a larger version.

We arrived at Flat Rock about 1:30 p.m. and were greeted warmly by Dot (Dorothy).  The place is just what we expected.  Homey and nestled in the woods is a perfect description.  It is very quiet and has everything you could possible ask for – all kinds of appliances, fireplace, garage with garage door opener, satelite TV and of course the internet connection. 

Dot knows her new residents are coming in tired and prepared a great welcome for us.  There is coffee, juice, bagels, cream cheese and more for snacks and breakfast.  She gets many big hugs for giving us such a warm welcome.

Bob was worried that he would not be able to get his computer connection and phone to work but everything connected just fine.  Cell phone signal is weak but we can get a signal. We made  a trip to the grocery store, took showers and fell asleep tired but happily settled in.  Tanya, the cat, is also happy in her new home.

Day 3 – Forts, Secret Cities and Mountains Sat. Oct. 14

Bob is a Daniel Boone  fan so we stopped at a re creation of the fort Daniel Boone set up right outside of Lexington.   It was a beautiful day and very few tourists.  We learned much about how the early settlers lived, the threat of indians and of course Daniel Boone.  Ask us for details if you are curious.

After that a beautiful drive through the Cumberland Gap.  We are into the Appalachian mountains now and about 2000 feet but the highway is great. 

We were planning on staying in Knoxville, Tn. but decided instead to go about 2o miles north and stay in Oak Ridge. Last year when we were here I heard Oak Ridge being one of three secret cities that was built there at the end of WWW II to develop the materials for “the bomb”, one of the other cities was what we know of as the Manhatten Project.   Beautiful town and a very interesting story!  Those of you who are interested in the war will definitely want to ask us about this.

We found a wonderful hotel and this time just snuck kitty in the back door. She thinks the bed is wonderful (and so do we).  She settles into a hotel room immediately now.

Day 2 – Pets allowed Friday, Oct. 13

An uneventful trip from Bloomington Ind. to Lexington, KY another 400 miles and 8 hours of driving through beautiful country. We decided to bypass Indianapolis, Indiana and found beautiful straight roads with very little traffic so Fay drove many miles.  A nice change from all the semi trucks we have been seeing.

This time we picked a place that did accept pets.   Ish!  Smelled horrible and I thought Tanya would go nuts but she did not care at all.  I was glad when we left!  The next two days will be much easier.

Day 1 – Breaking the rules with permission Thurs. Oct. 12

We left right on time at 8 a.m. and drove in snow flurries and 35 degree weather all the way to Rockford, Ill. about 300miles! 

We propped a big pillow up and spread a towel across it and Tanya happily stretched out on the divider between our seats.  We found out she does not like the sun in her eyes or the car fan on medium.  She meows, turns around or crawls in her little house/carring box until we fix it.  

The early part of Wisconsin is gently rolling hills and as we progressed into Indiana we saw huge flat areas of farms and beautiful fall colors.  I didn’t realize Indiana was that pretty and flat.

We stoped after about 400 miles to spend the night in Bloomington Ind.  I printed out places that said they would take pets and we stopped at one of them.  We asked the hotel check in person about pets and she told us that they did not take them.  Bob said, what if I don’t tell you I have a cat?  She politely checked us in and said that she has a Chiwawa that she travels with all the time and just puts her in the bath tub and she can’t get out.  Sure is good there are so many animal lovers.  Tanya hid under the bed for about an hour and then was just fine.  We were exhausted but happy.