Oct 11, 2009 - Moses H. Cone Memorial Park

We had another special day today. We awoke to overcast skies but around 10:00 Bill said he knew that I wanted to watch football today but he wanted to go to the parkway. Of course, I can’t get enough of it, so we packed a picnic lunch, threw the girls in the back of the car (they wanted to go too) and off we headed. On the way up the mountain, the sun popped out and the colors came to life. It was like someone had dumped buckets of paint. Much more vivid than Friday. Again, we didn’t know what we wanted to do and headed towards the caverns....

Oct 10, 2009 - Relaxing Day

It was supposed to rain today so we decided to stay at home, sort of. Bill needed a haircut and I needed nails done. Even though we are down a country road and surrounded by forests, the Wal-mart is only about 4 miles from here. We picked up some groceries while there and came back home, had lunch on the deck and sat in our chairs and read a little. It did sprinkle rain but we were under the awning so we just enjoyed being outside. We now have neighbors from Kannapolis beside us and we spent some time talking to them. They wanted to see the...

Oct 9, 2009 - Mount Mitchell

Guess where we went today? The Parkway of course! We were thinking about going to the caverns and maybe drive all the way down to Ashville. We didn’t do either one. There was more color today so we stopped at several overlooks and met a couple who told us about Mount Mitchell and that is where we headed. It’s 6684 ft. above sea level, the highest peak east of the Mississippi. This is in the Black Mountains which are named for the dark hues of the spruce and fir forests. There was a nice concrete deck built on the summit with great views. We...

Oct 8, 2009 - Grandfather Mountain

We have been having such a good time but today was the best so far. We headed out to Grandfather Mountain. A couple of days ago I mentioned that our GPS had died so I was using Microsoft Streets and Trips with GPS on the computer but it didn’t have a voice. Well, today it talked to us! Apparently I had the sound turned down the previous day. Give me a break…I’m old and didn’t have a grandchild to help me!! It took us on a route behind Grandfather Mt. and we ended up on a dirt road for several miles that wound up and around the mountain...

Oct 7, 2009 - Linville Falls

We woke up to rain again this morning but a little before noon the sun popped out and we popped into the car and headed to the Parkway. We had intended to go to Linville Caverns but it was such a beautiful day that we decided to spend it outdoors instead of underground! We stopped at a visitor center and discovered that Linville Falls was only twelve miles down the road. Off we went and after stopping at a few overlooks, we arrived at the trail to the falls. It was an easy trail and well worth the walk. There were three places to view the...

Oct 6, 2009 - Mast General Store

After a day of rain we decided to head out today and see some more sights. I called a friend, Sharon, in Rodanthe, NC because I knew they had a house over here. She said her husband, Fred, was in Blowing Rock. He bought a coffee house and bookstore on Main Street but was going back to the Outer Banks early afternoon. The plan was for them to sell their hotel in Rodanthe and move there permanently but the economy stopped that idea. Our destination to Mast General Store in Valle Crucis took us through Blowing Rock so we stopped at the coffee...

Oct 3, 2009 - Tweetsie Railroad

Today we went to Tweetsie Railroad. I have a picture of me standing on the locomotive when I was nine and I wanted to return to get an updated picture (50 years later)! I have always had a love of trains and this was something I really wanted to see. Melissa spent the night with us last night and went with us. The park was decorated for Halloween and since it was a beautiful fall day, we had a great time. The train took us on a very scenic route and there were 2 shows along the way with cowboys and Indians. I felt like a little kid again!...

Oct 1, 2009 - The Blowing Rock

Things are beginning to calm down and we are relaxing and enjoying the new lifestyle. Yesterday we put out our chairs by the stream and read and talked. Then we took the dogs for a walk on a path by another stream. It is so beautiful here and we are really enjoying this park. Today we decided to do some sightseeing. Our first stop was Blowing Rock. I had seen this on a family trip when I was nine so it has been a long time and I did’t really remember it. The pamphlet states The Blowing Rock is an immense cliff 4000 feet above sea level...

Sep 29, 2009 - Finally On Our Way

Day 3 began again at Camping World. Discovered tire monitors won’t work on toad because a repeater is needed and Camping World doesn’t sell that. Back inside dully on MH is reading 78 lbs but alarm is going off. Will probably just take it back. Turned GPS on this morning to get directions to campground and GPS decided to die. I have Microsoft Streets and Trips with GPS so used that and it was more difficult without voice but we arrived at Green Mountain Park Resort with only one missed turn! The campground is awesome. This is our first...

May 9, 2009 - Southern part of the Blue Ridge Pkwy.

Southern end of Parkway Woke up this morning to rain again but we are determined to make the best of today so out we go. The rain was still coming down but not as heavy so we stopped at a Toyota dealer and had the oil changed in the car. By the time they were done the rain had stopped and we set out for the southbound side of the parkway. The sun started to come out and lift the fog. The day ended up to be a great day with beautiful views. In fact we were only able to see part of the south side so tomorrow we will try to see the rest… if it...

May 8, 2009 - Northern part of the Blue Ridge Pkwy

Blue Ridge Parkway We are camping at Green Mountain Park Resort, which located in Lenoir, NC. We are here for 7 days and will view the parkway by car. The Blue Ridge Parkway is located 20 minutes away and the entrance is just about in the middle. Today we headed north on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It has been rainy the last couple of days but today Mother Nature shined on us and gave us a sunny day. The views were spectacular, it seems you can see forever.

May 6, 2009 - Lenoir, NC

Arrived in Lenoir, NC which is located about in the middle of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We decided to camp here for a week and see the sights by car. The campground is nestled back in the hills making it very quiet but no cell service so the trip journal is not going to be updated till we go into town later on this week.