Hey Y'all! Well, after a VERY rough week last week, I am finally feeling better. I returned to the living yesterday just in time to take a short day trip to the mountains with the Hub for our anniversary. It started out as quite the adventure, I must say. The Hub did his graduate work in Sports Medicine at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC and since we were headed up that way, he wanted to stop by the field house to check out their new weight room and say hello to a few people. Alumni are always welcome at ASU. But being Sunday, the field house was completely deserted. Much to the Hub's delight though, it was unlocked! We went inside and looked around for folks, but ended up just going out the back door to check out the football stadium. The Hub was SUPPOSED to stand there and hold the door while I took a look, but as soon as I turned the corner, I heard the door slam shut and his footsteps behind me. I asked him if we could get back in that door and he said "Probably not, but we'll just go out the gate on the side". The stadium looked great with the backdrop of gorgeous fall trees behind it. Just take a look...
Splendid, yes? Not so splendid however, was the fact that NONE of the gates were open and the place was locked up tighter than Ft. Knox! What were we going to do?! Not to worry - the Hub set off to figure a way out. For the half hour that I waited alone to be rescued, I sunned myself a little in the stands, admired the trees and enjoyed the cool mountain breeze, and drooled over this gorgeous hydrangea bush. Just look at this beauty! And the close-up is just yummy...
So eventually, the Hub shows up to let me back in the building. He takes me around to the front of the stadium to show me how he got out. This is where the brush with death comes in, in case you were wondering. He had to scale these fences and shimmy down a 30 foot drop to get out. Notice the spikes on top of the black fence? He said he questioned whether his footing was going to hold a couple of times, but he had to carry on so that he could rescue his damsel in distress (that's me). Check out how high this is...the picture doesn't even do it justice. Mostly because it's a really bad picture, mostly because we needed to high-tail it outta there!
Wouldn't that have been the BEST. ANNIVERSARY. EVER?!! The Hub in ICU and me in jail for trespassing? And larceny. Yes, I have a confession to make. Please don't let my indiscretion permanently cloud your opinion of me - I'm a good girl, I really am! You see, I just couldn't resist those enormous hydrangea blooms! They were gonna die on the bush anyway, and no one would miss them, it's not like I was in a National Park or anything, and I deserved a reward for my untimely incarceration didn't I? John couldn't believe I had snatched the blooms. He really couldn't help but laugh at me, but he was a little nervous as we walked out of the building and across the lot to the car. He was keeping a sharp eye out for campus security! My theory was - if we're going out, might as well go out in a blaze of glory, right? Okay, that's a little melodramatic - stolen hydrangeas do not equal a blaze of glory. It was a moment of weakness that I've already asked forgiveness for. It won't happen again. But look how pretty they look drying in this pitcher I got at the Goodwill for a dollar...
Now, on to the rest of our trip...the Wooly Worm Festival in Banner Elk sounded like fun, but get this - it cost $15 just to park. To PARK!!! So we spent a couple of hours riding on the Parkway - for FREE, no less! It was so crowded that we couldn't pull over at most of the overlooks, and I didn't feel quite like parking and walking a long way. I didn't get many pictures, but that was okay. It's difficult for me to capture that kind of beauty with a camera because I'm not as talented as my Dad, and sometimes I'd rather experience it moment to moment. I love how it takes your breath away as you round each curve and look out over the foothills. Here are a couple of the shots I did manage to get...
After the Parkway, we stopped at an antique place that was having a little outdoor market. Not much to see outside, but inside there were two booths with all kinds of antiques imported from France. Books from the late 18th century, old tins, exquisite enamelware that I would have loved to have had a piece of, linens, furniture - I was in heaven! All the things I love and would love to surround myself with in my own home. Sadly, the only thing I could afford were three bars of French lavender soap! I've learned that antiques brought from overseas are so expensive because of the cost in shipping them back to the States. If it doesn't fit in your suitcase, it will cost you a pretty penny to get it home! I bought a few inexpensive typography items when we were on our honeymoon that I didn't want to get squished on our way home, so I had them sent snail mail because it was the only method we could afford. We beat them home by several days and it cost way more than I paid for them to send them! At least I can come back to this shop anytime and dream, right? Then we were off to an early dinner at the Daniel Boone Inn. It's a family style restaurant where they bring bowls of home cooked food to your table and it is famous in these here parts! The line was long but it was so worth it. I haven't eaten much over the past week and I was starving. On the menu was fried chicken, country style steak, country ham biscuits, fried apples, corn, green beans, real mashed potatoes, cole slaw, gravy, more biscuits, strawberry shortcake, and banana pudding. I didn't even think about taking a picture of the food! That would have been so unfair to my poor readers though - my mouth is watering just thinking about it again. They bring you a little bit of everything to start and more of anything else you want. Man, that fried chicken was gooooood! So were the country ham biscuits. Oh, and the cherry preserves - mmm mmmm!! I was too full when we left, but it felt good to eat again. It was the perfect ending to a great day. I'll leave you with a few pics of the beautiful ferns and flowers on the porch of the Inn...
Happy Fall Y'all!
Toodles,
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