The Taj Mahal Of Tents

As promised in this post, here are some photos of our new "Taj Mahal of Tents" that we camped in while on vacation in North Carolina.











Not shown in these photos is that the tent has a cool built-in light in the ceiling that is attached to an 8-D cell power pack that also comes with a...REMOTE CONTROL! Approaching the tent at night in the pitch black darkness, it was beyond cool to turn on the interior light with my little clicker. Yeah, I'm easily amused by electronic toys.

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Balsam Mountain Inn

Thursday afternoon our tires arrived and we drove into Waynesville to have them put on the truck and then made our way to Blue Ridge Books & News, which you can read about here.

Cindy's mom and dad had made 5pm reservations for the four of us and Cindy's uncle and aunt to have dinner at the Seven Springs Restaurant inside the historic Balsam Mountain Inn, about 2 miles from Moonshine Creek Campground. However, we had been granted permission to arrive at 4pm and tour the hotel's three floors of rooms which weren't currently occupied that remain, for the most part, as they were when the hotel opened in 1905. It reminded all of us of the Grand Hotel in the movie "Somewhere in Time" starring the late Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.



The occasion for the dinner treat by my in-laws was to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary. That anniversary was back in March, but since I had not been home any length of time since then to observe it, they were kind enough to make this meal in these very elegant surroundings an anniversary gift to Cindy and I. "Thanks, mom and dad."



The tour was a lot of fun and I have many photos that will be posted on Flickr. Each room has its own style of decor and every room is unique in its furnishings. A couple of rooms were very feminine and a couple were very masculine and the rest were gender neutral, but all were interesting in that they maintained the feel of the early 1900's. There is no air-conditioning (a sign, kept from the original opening of the hotel in a lobby display case, reads, "Air-Conditioned By Nature"), and no TV's, radios, DVD players or other electronic items, though each room does have electricity. Most bath accommodations are in-room, but bathtubs are the norm (except in the masculine rooms which had shower stalls) and all are in the old "Claw leg" style while sinks are the pedestal type and usually mounted in corners. It truly is as if you have stepped back in time.

No self-respecting inn would be without its ghosts and Balsam Mountain Inn is no exception. One room, 205, is supposedly haunted, but it was occupied by a guest so we did not get to go in it and see if we felt a "presence."

I did see a shelf of blinking wireless routers, so I assume they offer Wi-Fi, but I forgot to ask. They also have a wonderful reading room off the side of the expansive lobby that was stocked with a wide variety of reading materials and furnished with an equally wide variety of furnishings for sitting and relaxing. Front and back covered porches allowed for sitting quietly in rocking chairs while taking in the beauty of the grounds or enjoying conversation with companions.

After the tour we made our way to the waiting area of the Seven Springs Restaurant to chat prior to our 5pm dinner reservation. Before we knew it, the hostess was escorting us to the hallowed alcove dining table, reserved for special parties. Our server, Lindsay, was a jewel; making recommendations and answering our questions. The food was absolutely exquisite. We all shared appetizers of Fried Green Tomatoes and Fried Brie (except for Cindy's dad who ordered a cup of Peanut Chicken Soup), before moving on to our excellent entrees. Cindy had the Coffee-Rubbed Ribeye with Garlic Mashed Potatoes; I had the Angus Filet with Mushrooms; Cindy's mom had the Coconut Crusted Salmon with Asparagus; her dad had Venison (Bambi's mom, we kept telling Cindy, to her great distress), as did her uncle and her aunt had the Pecan Crusted Catfish. For dessert I had the Bourbon Pecan Pie; Cindy had the Creme Brulee; her mom had the Chocolate Torte and her dad, aunt and uncle all had the Pumpkin Cheesecake. All of this wonderful food was washed down with glasses of wine.



It was, for Cindy and I, a wonderful anniversary gift of great food and drink, coupled with the enjoyment of excellent company. If you are ever in the area, I highly, highly recommend the Seven Springs Restaurant inside the historic Balsam Mountain Inn. Especially if your wonderful in-laws are treating, lol.

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Going Home In 2 Weeks

Two weeks from today I'll be flying home for a break. I'll arrive Friday in the early afternoon and Saturday I'll get our camping gear down from the attic so that Cindy and I can drive to Maggie Valley on Sunday for a week of camping in the mountains of North Carolina. I hope it is as relaxing as our last trip there in May was, because I could sure use the down time.

Plus, we just ordered a larger 3-season tent to keep us comfortable and warm in the forecast 30 degree nights. The last time we were in the mountains in October (a few years ago), our small, cheap tent was flooded by ice cold rain and sleet that came in from Tennessee over the Smokies. Had it not been for Cindy's mom and dad being there with their A-line trailer, we would have had to pack up and head for a hotel or home. The tent we used this past May was more for a backpacker and, when sitting outside in the evening under our canopy, we were exposed to a huge number of myriad kinds of bugs that are attracted to city people when they visit. This new tent has a room for sleeping, a room for dining or storage and a screen room for enjoying the evening without unwanted company. Plus we can sit in chairs inside the tent or screen room and I can even stand inside without hunkering down like Igor. It should be nice.



As of today, I'm expecting to be back here in Iowa on Friday, October 24th but that could change at any point over the next two weeks or even during the 2 weeks while I am home, so we'll see what happens.

I'll be perfectly honest; winter in Iowa does not appeal to me. However, I don't have much of a say in the matter. Of course, I could say "No thanks" but that leaves a bad taste in the mouths of those who assign these trips (or those who request you because you have skills and talent they can put to use) and anyway you are only allowed a certain number of those kind of responses before they decide to ignore your availability.

And I am torn. I enjoy the chance to help those who have experienced disasters and the traveling (not the getting there, but the being there, lol) involved in assisting them, getting to see different parts of the country. I always learn something during my travels about the parts of the country I'm in. But there are lots of things I'm missing that I would also enjoy getting to do and if I were home I could. I missed a certain convention in California in July and one in Orlando that same month and two blog conferences in Orlando this month.

There is a writer's conference in Orlando I would love to attend in November and a certain convention in Orlando later this month and in November that would be fun. If I'm home, I'll be able to give some attention to those parts of my life that interest me as well. Not to mention, of course, time with my wife and family.

But if the opportunity to work is presented, I just cannot turn it down so, as mentioned above, we'll see what happens. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to that break in a couple of weeks.

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Paddle Faster, I Think I Hear Banjo Music III

Thursday we drove by Cold Mountain on the way to the Pisgah Inn, a beautiful lodge and restaurant at the base of Mount Pisgah, for lunch. We were able to get a table by the large window that looks out on several nearby mountains and valleys, and the view was spectacular. Some pictures are here. After lunch we drove into the Pisgah National Forest and hiked up to Slick Rock Falls. Even though it was a treacherous, strenuous and dangerous hike of one-tenth of a mile, we arrived at the falls safely and took pictures that are here. On the way out of the Forest, we stopped at Looking Glass Falls and pictures of that are here.

Friday we drove 32 miles from the campsite to the Biltmore Estate just outside of Asheville, touring the gardens, parts of the ancestral home and enjoying a delicious lunch at the Estate's Stable Cafe. Lots of pictures here from that delightful day trip, but unfortunately none from inside the house because they don't allow photography of the interior.

That evening, our new tent received its baptism of fire when we were hit by severe thunderstorms AND a hailstorm around 10pm and another severe thunderstorm around 11:30pm. The tent kept us warm and dry, though in the daylight of Saturday morning we could see where the rain fly fabric had been "dented" but not ripped by the hailstones, which were about the size of a dime and smaller.

Since Sunday would be another 11 hour day of driving to get back to Orlando, we spent Saturday just relaxing around the campsite. Cindy reading her Kindle and me reading, writing and going through our photos and deciding which ones would make it up to Flickr for your viewing pleasure. As night fell, we packed as much of our gear as possible into the truck so we'd have only the tent, sleeping bags and ground tarp to pack Sunday morning.

Around 3am Sunday morning severe thunderstorms arrived in the area and when the alarm went off at 6am it was still storming. We hoped to wait for it to end before exiting the tent, but you know how the sound of water running makes you have to go to the bathroom...? Yeah, so do we. At 6:30 we couldn't wait any longer so we had to try and get the bedding into the truck as quickly as possible to keep it from getting wet and then we worked in the rain to take down the tent and fold up the tarp. Can you say muddy mess?

After showering we stepped out of the building to find the rain had stopped, of course. As it turned out, we ended up leaving just 20 minutes after I had intended to leave, so that wasn't bad. We had a nice drive back to Orlando and arrived home safely about 7pm.

After not seeing each other for 6 months while I was on the road (we had about a week at Christmas time and 2 days at the end of January), Cindy and I truly enjoyed the time we were able to spend together in North Carolina. We have another week together at home and then I'll be on the "available" list to be sent back out on the road again. In the meantime I'll get to spend some time with our grandchildren, visit with friends and go to various medical appointments (three in one day!).

Oh, and the title of these last three posts? That came from a tee shirt we saw someone wearing while we were at a general store in Waynesville. It made Cindy and I both burst out laughing because the day before we had seen someone on our way to Cataloochee who looked like a "Deliverance" character and I had hummed the "Dueling Banjos" theme from the movie as we watched him.

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Paddle Faster, I Think I Hear Banjo Music II

After a day of driving, we had planned to spend Monday relaxing around the campsite, but a camping stove that refused to work (resulting in granola bars for breakfast) necessitated a trip into nearby Waynesville to replace said stove. I like Waynesville. It reminds me of Mayberry, from the old Andy Griffith TV show. I mentioned that to one shopkeeper and she gave me the hairy eyeball, so I guess they don't care for the comparison, but it evokes that "small town" quality that I always imagined when I thought of Mayberry.


We came back to the campsite, had lunch and a nap, and then spent the remainder of the afternoon hiking the trails in and around the campground. Pictures are here (not of lunch and the nap, but of the trails).

Tuesday was the day to visit our property on Sheepback Mountain in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. We spent about an hour and a half there at mid-morning, walking the property and taking pictures. Cindy collected a little of the water from the creek that runs along the western edge of the property to bring back home, and we envisioned where the log cabin home would be placed and how it would be oriented on the property. We finally settled on a placement that would put Cindy's candle workshop and my writing den on the side closest to the creek, with the front outside deck and inside living room facing toward a mountain peak a few miles away. During the Spring and Summer, trees will obscure the view of that mountain but in the Fall and Winter, when there are no leaves on the trees, it will be a gorgeous sight. Pictures of the property are here.

Afterward, we met our realtor, Kelley, and our contractor, Dennis, for lunch. We agreed to meet at Maggie Valley's famous Snappy's Restaurant, but discovered they no longer open for lunch. On Kelley's recommendation we drove down the road to Nico's Cafe and enjoyed a delicious lunch as well as a chance to catch up on each other's lives and to talk a little "shop" about the planned construction of Casa de Wetherington in about a year. After lunch we all drove to a couple of log cabins, one that Dennis had just finished and one that was about a quarter completed, to get an idea of what to expect. We also looked at various plans and settled on the one we think will suit us best as a place to live for the rest of our lives.

We said our goodbyes to Kelley and Dennis, then drove over to Cherokee, NC, about 20 miles west of Maggie Valley, to visit the Museum Of The Cherokee Indian. Pictures are here. I thought the roads through and over the mountains to Cherokee were winding, steep and narrow, until we left there to drive to Cataloochee Valley, about 20 miles north of Maggie Valley, to see the daily appearance of the wild elk (which were reintroduced into the park in 2001) at sunset in part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, THEN I discovered truly winding, steep and narrow mountain roads. You drive up and over the mountains on a single lane road with hairpin turns, drop offs that descend hundreds of feet and NO guardrails. Driving up is tough on the transmission, down is equally hard on the brakes and both will test your nerves. I would not want to drive an RV or even tow a trailer on those roads, like this guy did. But it was definitely worth the drive and pictures are here.

Wednesday was a day to relax some. We drove to Maggie Valley to mail out our Mother's Day cards because Cindy wanted them to have a Maggie Valley postmark, and stopped at a little used book store just outside of town (THAT is a story of its own) before returning to the campsite to read and rest the remainder of the day.

More to come, including the explanation for the title of the past two posts, in case you haven't guessed it yet.

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Paddle Faster, I Think I Hear Banjo Music

Well, I have some catching up to do, don't I?

I flew into OIA on Friday, May 2nd and Cindy picked me up from the airport around 4:30pm. We stopped to get some salads to go from Chili's and then went home to "get to know each other again", if you catch my drift.

Ten minutes later we were happily eating our salads and watching TV.

Saturday we spent the day getting our camping gear out of the attic, checking to see what we needed and then stopping in at various stores to buy those things we needed. Saturday night was Amber's birthday party and I got to see several family members at the party that I hadn't seen in months.

Sunday morning we were up bright and early at 4am and on the road an hour later. Three gas stops, two meal stops and eleven hours later, we arrived at the Moonshine Creek Campground in Balsam, North Carolina. This campground is about 30 minutes from our property in Maggie Valley and is very, very nice. It has sites for tenters like Cindy and I, RV's, and cabins, along with lots of trees, creeks and short hiking trails. Much more to our liking than the first one we looked at that, while closer to Maggie Valley, was like camping on the Wal-Mart parking lot. Flat, barren of trees and laid out like a military grid. Moonshine Creek is much more natural and what we prefer. Pictures are here from our first day at the campsite.


More to come, including the explanation for the title of this post.

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