Memorial Day

The festival sure was fun! The bands last night were terrific & it was a good street party. My sore knee kept me sidelined, but I managed to hang until 9:30, which for me is pretty good as many of you know. Old dead Fred never has been a late hanger. Also had a long, leisurely lunch with new friend Tilden yesterday, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The conversation was very stimulating once again
It started raining about midnight & just stopped a little while ago...about a twelve hour stretch. It made for some sound sleeping & recovery time for a sore knee. A good rest.
Rain took on a slightly different meaning when I started to grieve for LaVerne. It's father sky shedding tears to clean everything & keep life flowing. The tears are life giving. A fitting symbol for Memorial Day, too. The sun is trying to peek out & all is well in the real world.
Stickers. As you can see, I've started a collection & add to it at every opportunity. So now along with caps & T-shirts, I have another item of interest to stimulate my memory. Found an interesting place for the kokopelli sticker.
My friend Jan asked if I was planning to visit Raleigh & see folks. I really hadn't considered it, but I will. I do miss my Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill friends, that's for sure. Perhaps on my way to Charleston in September?
Time to ride. The scooter calls!

The festival

Spent most of the day at the White Squirrel Festival & had a ball. It started with an ensemble doing Japanese drumming, followed every hour by new artists singing, playing, all on the street. Of course there was plenty of junk food & the Craggie Brewery from Asheville had 2 new brews on tap. Both were excellent! One had spruce tips in it. Mmmm, delicious!
The sun bore down on the soap box derby & those little rascals got up to 40mph gliding down that hill. One did a little wobbling & threatened to turn over. Not to worry - they were very safety conscious, with roll bars, helmets, hay bales, old tires & EMT's every 10 feet.
The heat got to me so I took off for sliding rock, knowing it would be cool & packed & it was both. There was a long line waiting to slide. I watched for quite a while, realizing that I liked watching people being shocked by the cold water for the first time. It's breathe taking, that's for sure. The expressions on their faces are priceless!
(I'm on the porch of the house for pancakes, second day in a row. The mom does the cooking & the family takes care of keeping the supplies flowing. There's music playing & people coming d& going, a very festive little place. The folks who run this place are so friendly. I like it here.)
On my way home a big Honda Goldwing cycle decided to pass me, even though I was going the speed limit (55) or a little more. I easily stayed up with him on the flats & even through the curves up hill. I even had to back off a time or 2. When he turned off, I honked & waved & he didn't.

Hail yes!

Today I went to Moore Creek trail to see a waterfall. It was a good one. Two guys were there, obviously waiting for me to leave, so they could take a picture of the guy mooning the other guy under the waterfall. Hmmm. The falls were beautiful, though, just not in the moonlight!
This place has gone from deserted to a boom town overnight!!! There are people everywhere. It's noisy. I like it!
As I left Moore Creek the thunderbeings were definitely making their presence known. I was debating whether to take cover under the bridge or try to get to Sliding Rock & the shelter. I took off for the shelter & the rain started coming down in sheets, accompanied by BB sized hail. I was wearing a T-shirt & got pelted hard & fast. Talk about a good sting! As I pulled up to the attendant's shack, the bottom dropped out & I got off the scooter & under the eaves of his shack. After paying my $.50 day fee, he asked me to move the scooter - in the driving rain. Hmmm. Our government servants at work. So I was soaked, stung & very chilled.

White squirrels & a cousin

When I stopped at the office to ask about propane tank refills, the staff/family member said "hey cousin"..I assumed he called everybody that, but when he did it a couple more times I asked "What's with calling me cousin?"
"My momma was a Racey", he said, "from northern Virginia. They been there since 1775 & came over from England". That's about 5 times more than I ever knew about the Racey's right there!
Somehow it felt good to be related to this guy. He's a good fellow & always friendly.
I decided to fish the French Broad today & it was muddy & trashy with trees & limbs. But I saw 2 white squirrels in the park where I'd stopped. They were so easy to see from a distance. But when I tried to take a pic of them up in the tree, they were pretty darned hard to spot. See if you can see this one.
It was such a warm & sunny day, I went to Fawn Lake again to try my luck at bream. Though no fish to be had, I did see this gorgeous fungi that looked like a sponge. It is called crowned clavaria and is in the mushroom family. It was beautiful!
Going through a used CD store I found a Spanish guitar piece that I'm thoroughly enjoying. It is so relaxing yet lively at the same time.
Thanks to a new friend, I enjoyed finding the place called Poppies this week. It is similar to Whole Foods, but I liked it much better. The friend's name is Tilden & she is fun to talk to.
The campground is filling up quickly so the solitude I've enjoyed will be gone for a while. Probably a good thing having a few more people around. It's nice to have company.

Morning sunshine

This morning full of sunshine is a welcome relief from the gray, damp & rainy mornings of the past few days. The afternoons were sunny & warm, thank goodness!
Yesterday I finally fly fished the Davidson River after all these years of wanting to & got not a single strike. I did miss one, as I was gazing at the beauty surrounding me. A large, dead snake in the bottom of a clear hole was the most intriguing thing I saw. Several times I was tempted to try & retrieve it & see what kind it was. But I decided to leave it in peace & move on. There was also the large lady with the long cane pole getting fishing lures from the trees over the river. She could talk a blue streak! She waded into the deep part of the river with no waders or other fancy gear. I was wearing sandals & shorts so we were well matched.
No fish have been caught since the nice bream of several days ago, so I may return there as the thought of fresh fish is very compelling.
This weekend is the White Squirrel Festival & I'm looking forward to the crowds, food & entertainment. It should be a nice change of pace.
Getting from here to Fontana should be an interesting challenge. Mapquest can't even do it & I haven't tried the GPS yet. It'll be a fun ride, to be sure.

My whole schedule-for now

Several folks asked about my travel plans. So here are the ones that are confirmed/reserved:

May 18 - June 18 : Cedar Mountain, NC, Black
Forest Campground

June 18 - July 2: Lake Fontana, NC. Hope to extend through July 5

July 19 - July 26: Douthat State Park, Va.

August 3 - August 10: Hot Springs, NC

August 10 - August 24: Lake Powhatan, NC (Bent Creek) near Asheville

December 1 - March 31, 2011: Sarasota, FL

A friend is getting married at Kiawah Island, SC, September 25 & I plan to attend.
You can see there are several holes in the schedule. Some are on purpose, others aren't.
As soon as a destination is confirmed, I'll post it here.
Thanks for following, for your comments & your support!

Life is GOOD!

I'm loving this free flowing & easy going lifestyle. Am I happy? Have a look at these pics & decide for yourself.
After a year of resisting, I finally added a sticker to my Vespa. And no, I haven't, and yes, I might. The thought has crossed my mind once or twice.
Hugh arrived yesterday & we had a fine time hanging out together. He took me to a fine dinner at a cafe in Brevard & gave me flirting lessons with some very attractive ladies there. In fact, I just got an e-mail from one of them a few minutes ago. The guy really does have a touch with the women. I left my card on a windshield at Hugh's urging & who knows what may happen now! I drove his Mercedes convertible back to the campground - Wow!-what a nice ride!
After breakfast this morning we played 9 holes at a very nice par 3 course nearby. After telling me several times how many years it had been since he played, he proceeded to par the first hole we played & I bogeyed. It was so much fun, as I played fairly well the rest of the round - 2 pars & the rest bogeys. The greens were dime sized, with change, with one about the size of a nickel. A great little course!
Hugh departed after lunch & I scooted up to Sliding Rock for some great people watching. There were also a few interesting conversations with other observers, including one with a Viet Nam vet. Each person had a very clear agenda & was very outspoken about it.
Late this afternoon I went to a nearby lake, hiked in & caught some of the nicest bream ever. Alan woulda been proud! I may keep one or two for dinner if I'm that lucky tomorrow, as I hope to go back early in the day & avoid the numerous swimmers, though they are very nice to look at.
What a fine, fine day this has been. Even so, there were still some sad moments missing L. They don't last very long, but they sure do sting. We shared so much fun together, I would still like to do that - and I still do, I suppose, but in a very different way. Life is good!

After the rain

Rain began during the night & continued until mid-afternoon. It sure made for some good sleeping! It also made for a good day to slowly stroll through downtown Brevard, a nice village feel. I saw a Bob Timberlake painting of Charles Kuralt fly fishing like the one I won in a drawing. The price tag was $825! What a nice surprise that was!
Then I was off to K-Mart for fly fishing supplies. What a fun shopping spree. The trout should be very happy. I discovered I had a VirginMobile cell & internet signal in their parking lot so I made a couple of calls while downloading some info. All during the rain.
When the sun came out I headed for Hooker Falls. It was a short drive & even shorter walk. It was so overcast & shadowy that I couldn't get a decent picture. So I went up to Triple Falls & got some pretty good ones. Another scene from "Last of the Mohicans" was filmed there, canoe going over the falls. Yep, it was truly another gorgeous place! There are countless beautiful pictures here. Truly infinite.
Cascade Lake sounded interesting & not far out of the way, sod I went down several miles of gravel road & thoroughly enjoyed the truck as it did so well. It was curvy & steep, of course, so the drive was good, but lots of posted signs prevented stopping & enjoying the view. It was also very narrow.
I saw the most beautiful wild turkey ever & the pic doesn't do it justice. But what a setting. Another example of "what does serene look like?"

One o' these days...

Today the Vespa turned over 6,000 miles, a big milestone to be sure. I bought it a year ago and 5,300 of those miles are mine. I've enjoyed every single one of them! Laughing, singing, riding the crooked roads, having a ball. I bought it to bring me joy, and it has. Oh, and I rode another 80 miles today, mostly on the parkway.
Another milestone: just realized that this year I have lived in my mobile home more than my nonmobile one. And that feels very good. Life on the road is suiting me just fine, so far.
I decided to ride up to the parkway, via Davidson River & hghwy 276. It's beautiful & curvy & requires some concentration. What a great ride. Graveyard Fields was in mind as a destination, but I couldn't remember which way to go & didn't bring my map. So I headed south & in a little while, there it was. As I turned I realized I was at an overlook for Cold Mountain, yes, the real one. Not the fake one shown in the movie. That was filmed in Europe. Yuck....
Many, many times I've said "one of these days, when I have the time, I'm gonna ...". Walking to the upper falls at Graveyard Fields was one of those days I spoke of, and today was the day.
It was a long walk, about 1 1/2 miles, with the last part steep & rocky. Several times I started to turn back & remembered something I tried to teach Barbara & Derick: If you want to see the view, you have to climb the mountain. I had taken them to Mount Pisgah & we were walking to the top, with them complaining every step it seemed like. So we would stop & rest & I would say this to them, again. Today I said it to myself several times, & you sort get to see the view from the pics. I also walked to the lower falls, all total it took me almost 2 hours, excluding rests. I was whipped! I later realized that I was at 5100 feet elevation & that surely made a difference.
At both falls I lay down on a rock on my back & tried to listen to the stone people. There were several splendid butterflies about that kept lighting near me. They reminded me of LaVerne, as I had read in a grief book that the butterfly symbol was everywhere in the Nazi death camps. It reminded people that there was a life after this one. We just don't know exactly what it will be like. So here's a butterfly & the rock, and a butterfly & wood.
What another fine day this has been. Tomorrow may go to DuPont state park & see if I can catch a fish. Look out Alan! It's fly rod time!

Return to the river

Yesterday I had to go to Davidson River, the place of so many good times during high school. There was sliding down the big slick rock into cold water, rock hopping the creeks & even making love in the forest once upon a time. It's like an enchanted place for many reasons. The last time I was here was with Barbara, Jennifer & Jason Sierra when I guided them through the area on a sightseeing adventure.

Above is the best picture I've ever taken of Looking Glass Falls. The light was just right & so was my vantage point. The cool mist from the water was blowing gently toward me as I took this shot.

After touring one of the campgrounds, I went to the ranger station & secured a lifetime Senior Pass for $10. That means 50% discounts on camping at all national forests. What a deal! Almost makes getting older worth while (not really!).

At Sliding Rock is was pretty deserted. I talked with some folks from Missouri who had returned to reminisce & it was fun talking to them. No one was sliding, as it was overcast & quite cool. Even on hot summer days that place felt like it was air conditioned. It was - by mother nature.

My camera battery ran low so I returned to the campground to recharge it & did some more laundry while waiting. I won't ever wait 2 weeks to do laundry again!

Still feeling a little restless late in the afternoon, I took off for Bridal Veil Falls in DuPont State Park, only a mile & a half from here. It was a 4 mile hike that took me about 90 minutes walking time. Thought I was in pretty good shape until the last mile or so. It was worth every step.

A major scene from Last of the Mohicans was made there & I could see why. It's a huge, rounded, sloping rock with fast white water tumbling, churning flying downward very quickly. It was so alive! I climbed to the top, but the best view was really from the bottom. Again I got lucky with the light & caught the image of silver on the rock's face. It was quite a thrill.

Mother earth's smell in the forest was most memorable. It is soothing, exciting, and enticing all at the same time. What a fine day to be alive!

(The bottom 3 pics are of Bridal Veil; top is Looking Glass; next is Sliding Rock)

Cedar Mountain

Here I sit at the campground laundramat, the only place nearby where I can connect to the outside world. No cell phone signal here or in Brevard. Can't use my Virgin Mobile internet connection here, either, so I'm at the mercy of Black Forest campgrounds wifi. Better than nothin!
It was a gorgeous drive up here on a steep, twisty road. The trailer tires were on the edge of pavement most of the time coming up the mountain. It was slow, too, but the Chevy pulled well. Both the people & the place here are very nice. Very warm hospitality by Nancy & Matt. It's high up & hilly & very woody. I like it. Very cool air & it smells that fresh woodsy smell. Mmmm...
The trip to town was very eventful. Riding the curves, very cool air, sunshine. I was following a car & a couple of 2 wheelers into town. Up ahead a car was stopped to make a turn & a Suzuki motorcycle flew up behind it, hit the brakes, sideswiped the rear bumper of the car & flew off the road. I stopped & went back to see the motorcycle off the steep bank in the weeds & the young driver walking out cussin a wee bit. He was blaming the stopped car! Holy s--t. I couldn't believe this guy. He was lucky to be alive & giving crap to the poor young girl driving the car.
I told her I saw everything & she was grateful. (Is this starting to sound familiar to you blog followers?) Both she & her passenger were very young & very pretty, with many piercings & lots of ink. Not sure if we were flirting or what, but it sure was fun & it sure felt good!
After waiting around a while, I left my card with an EMT & asked him to pass it along to the trooper.
Upon returning home, all of them were still there. So I stopped to ask the lady how it was going & she asked if I could stay & talk. So the trooper was glad I stopped & asked me what happened. I said the biker got surprised. He just didn't appear to see the stopped car. The way he flew off the road I really thought he was killed. He just missed hitting a power pole as he flew through the air.
As for the young lady driving, that's another story....maybe....

Another Itinerary Update

Just made another reservation a little while ago. I'll be at the Fontana Village campground June 18 thru July 2, and maybe thru the 5th. I've always wanted to stay there and have only visited it once before. I have lots of memories of Fontana with my old high school buddy David Rickman. We had many fine times there.

The pic for today has nothing to do with what I just wrote. It's my good friend Alan on fishing outing just before I left Raleigh. He caught it on a fly rod, which was fun to watch. I caught one the week before that was a little bit bigger than this one. Of course Alan says his fish is bigger, but he's a lawyer so what do you expect? I miss my good friend & hope we can get together before too long.

Unity, Colts & a Birthday

Lindalee's birthday dinner was fun, at a restaurant in the middle of nowhere with good country cookin' of seafood & steaks. Since it was her 50th, everyone wore black leighs. The pic is of her & niece Rachel, who said she wanted to go on the road with me, but alas, she can't cook & doesn't like to ride the Vespa.
On the way to dinner I spotted these horses with their young ones nursing & just had to take a pic or 2. If someone were to ask me what serenity looks like, this picture would come very close. I stood & watched them for several minutes & felt totally at peace with everything.
Yesterday I went by the Unity church nearby to find out the time for the Sunday service. They were having a garage sale & bake sale & having a ball doing it! I learned this morning there were 16 volunteers & they made over $500. I talked with several folks and they were all very warm & friendly. A piece of fresh lemon cake shouted me name & I was very glad to have it. Nothing like homemade cake!
The service at Unity this morning was just what I needed. A guest speaker from Greenville presented the service on Bread From Heaven and she gave out baggies with coriander seeds inside, along with the scriptures from Exodus that describe what went on. The seeds represented manna to help us understand how much work was required to gather it. For me the gist was that whenever we're in the wilderness, God provides just what we need, no more, no less. When we're in the land of prosperity, being in "manna mode" isn't necessary. But when we're in a place of desolation, we gather what we need which God provides for us daily.
After the service I spoke with several people, including a lady named Maya, a channeler & author. After speaking for several minutes, she said she'd been told to give me a message so we stepped outside & under the shade of a Japanese elm tree. She spoke of my travels, saying I had much to give to people. She also said, very firmly, "pick up your pen". I actually reached for the one in my pocket she spoke with such authority. She'll be in Oregon next year & invited me to visit life center being established there, which she plans to be part of. I feel like I will see her again & also feel very blessed to have met her.
Overall, it was one of the best experiences I've had at Unity in a long time. There were about 20 people at the service this morning and I liked the small, cozy atmosphere. This church will be a factor in when I come back here, maybe in September before I go to Charleston. We'll see...

The quarry

This morning I asked Vic about all the cars parked just off the road near the campground entrance. He said that was the trail to a rock quarry where he & the sibs jumped/dived off high rocks when they were young. so we hopped on the scooter & went there.
What a serene place! A small cove with very deep water & rocks high enough to make the adrenalin flow if you're thinking about jumping off. I went back later in the afternoon & watched as young dudes jumped, flipped & dived off the rocks into the cool water. The testosterone was so thick along the cliff that it hung like a dense fog. Yep I even felt like a teenager myself for a moment or 2 although I didn't jump - this time.
Went to Clemson to see if there was anything of interest there besides the terrorist training place for squirrels. Never saw so many places selling university stuff, even in Chapel Hill & Raleigh. The town of Clemson IS for selling Clemson stuff & that's about it.

On the way there I stopped at the Old Stone Church, one of the places Lee showed me after I first met him. It was built in the late 1700's & the cemetery has graves from the colonial period, on. It is a very sacred place & feels that way. The inside of the church is spartan, at best. It, too, feels very sacred.
I did find a pretty cool bar called The Esso Club. The beer was cold & the bar maids young & pretty. Not much for this geezer to do except take a few pics & get in out of the heat for a while.
It has been a nice, quiet day again & I have enjoyed it. For some reason I had a few sad moments thinking about LaVerne & missing her again. They passed soon enough, but I still miss her today.
Tonight is a birthday celebration dinner for Lindalee & that should be fun. May ride the scooter but we'll see.

Itinerary Update

Since that's the title for today, better do this first. I'll be in Hot Springs, NC, starting August 3 & staying for a week. I wanted to go in June, but there was a Harley Davidson rally during that time & figured the Vespa might not fit in too well. Those folks can be a little snobbish when they wanna, ya know. My brother-in-law Lou rides a Harley & gives me good natured grief all the time. But I don't know if I could endure that for a whole week!
The past couple of days have been nicely busy but not very exciting. Going to the grocery store on the scooter is a daily thing. So is walking. Three or four meals a day is always on my list. Mostly home cooked & healthy. A bunch of us did go out for all-you-can-eat crab legs night before last. That was a fine time, for sure! In fact, here's a pic of Lauren, nephew Luke's lady friend, who helped me play a little trick on daughter Barbara.
Barbara was on Skype, the live computer video program, so I called her. After a couple minutes of chatting, I said I wanted to introduce to a lady friend, Lauren. I'd give a $1,000 for a picture of Barbara's face when she saw Lauren & probably thought she was my girlfriend. It was priceless! Barb was smooth, polite & said just the right things, but I could see her little wheels spinning off their axles! "Twas a good one!
A long walk & a long scooter rider only produced a pic of these goslings. They go in such a straight line when it's time to leave, & wander chaotically before that. Love to watch them.
Yesterday was big clean up day. Took the trailer to the grey water dump, as it was rising in the bath tub because it was full. The brothers helped a lot & everything was ship shape in short order.

Clemson squirrel returns!

With so much fun being had here every day, time has started to fly by. Sunday afternoon I went to a family cookout for mother's day at sister Lisa & Tony's house & had a fine time. In fact, here's a pic of Helen & me on the Vespa just before going for a spin. She loved it & didn't want to stop! Now if I can only get the South Carolina folks to stop calling it a moped....
Sunday night was also big fire night here at the campsite. We had scrounged wood from other sites, including one where the logs were still smoldering. The back end of my truck was only on fire for a little while & no damage done besides a horrific smell when the bed liner was smoldering. Gotta love the gumption of the brothers even though it doesn't always turn out as expected.
Lovely niece Rachel came up with the term "marshmellowing" when asked what she was doing. As you can see, not everyone likes the big fluffy sugar pills as much as we do. That's her dad, Phlip, making the ugly face. I ate my share of them while being watched by a small gallery of admirers. They admired how I could get the whole thing in my mouth without getting 3rd degree burns. What fun!
Yesterday the Clemson squirrel returned & was caught by the camera. Now I have clear evidence that he ate my chair as well as my table cloth. By the time Phlip saw him, the damage to the chair had already been done. I'm considering a letter to the local chamber of commerce or tourism folks complaining about this discrimination against North Carolina Tar Heel items.
A week from today I'll be on the road again, headed to Cedar Mountain, NC, near Brevard, for a month long stay. Sure gonna miss this Campbell clan, but I need a rest from the partying & a return to a slower life style.

The brothers out did themselves with the cooking they did yesterday. We had low country boil (shrimp, corn on the cob), grilled chicken, & other delights. These guys sure can cook. Unfortunately, we also filled up the grey water holding tank, so we'll have to take the trailer to a dump site nearby to empty it. It's a good thing we have lots of free time on our hands. Tomorrow is another golf day for me, as I had a ball with a group of seniors yesterday at a nearby course. Played badly, still had fun. Miss my golf buddy Bruce back in Durham. We play better when we play together.