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Ashville, NC (April 18)
We visited the Moses Cone House. It was not open, so we just walked the grounds. I remembered going here when I did my trip with Mama, so I really wanted Ed to see it. The first photo is the house, the second is the horse stable. This is such a beautiful place!
I convinced Ed to hike up Banner Elk’s Rough Ridge so that I could take photos on the rocks. He wasn’t thrilled, but he did it! He can be a champ!
We had lunch at a great Mexican place called Los Arcoiris in Pineola, NC. Very Yummy! I’m a sucker for any place with good chips and salsa!
We pulled in to hike Linville Falls, and there was an elderly couple who had locked themselves out of their van! The lady looked very tired and dehydrated and their dog was inside the van!!! The window was down a tiny bit, but not enough to help. We tried to reach a ranger with no luck, as we had no cell service and the office was unattended. We drove to a campground that was a bit down the road and found the attendant mowing the grass. He attempted to reach a ranger and they said they would try to find someone to check on the couple. I searched around the check in shack at the campground and found a thin metal rod. We went back to the parking area and Ed was able to jimmy the lock open! The couple was so grateful. They left and we went on our hike.
Ed enjoyed some rock skippin’ (What is it about men/boys throwing rocks into water?!?! Gotta love ’em!)
Tomorrow will be Day 4 of the Blue Ridge Parkway…
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Boone, NC (April 17)
We left Floyd and headed on down the Blue Ridge Parkway for day 3 of our adventure. We stopped at a town called Meadows of Dan to visit Nancy’s Candy’s….guess who was the driving force for that stop? LOL!
We found this bench next to this gas pump funny…have a rest while this slow pump dispenses your fuel. LOL!
Along our route, we stopped at this small cabin. Mrs. Puckett was an extraordinary woman. If you are unable to read the photo of the plaque, look her up “Aunt” Orelena Hawks Puckett. I can only imagine how hard it must have been to lose 24 children in their infancy and then going on to deliver so many babies for others!
Our next stop was Mt. Airy, NC, which is the birthplace of Andy Griffith and the town on which Mayberry was based. It was such a cute place and so fun to wander around!
As we headed on to Boone, NC, we stopped at a few spots to enjoy some hiking and the views.
This was an interesting spot. I never realized the song “Tom Dooley” was a true story!
Tomorrow we continue …
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Floyd, VA (April 16)
We headed out on our second day of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Stopping along to enjoy the vistas and short hikes. We knew this would be a 1/2 day, as we wanted to see Floyd, VA and it was not far from where we began the day.
We stopped at a Mill on the parkway and explored a bit. Scooby was happy to be out of the truck for a bit. It was a little village of sorts and we had it to ourselves which is always nice.
Floyd, VA is a cool artsy town. I enjoyed walking around and exploring the area. There is a little country store in the downtown area that has live music in the evening and a small cafe. Unfortunately, we discovered it after we had already eaten, so we decided we will have to return someday to experience the live music and food. There was quite a crowd, so it must be good! The downtown area had a shopping center with an art studio filled with art from local artisans. I was fancinated with the plant nymphs. If I had more space, one would have certainly come home with me! Seeing the little bus camper, made me miss my June!!
We will be continuing on down the parkway tomorrow …
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Roanoke, VA/Blue Ridge Parkway (April 15)
We officially started our trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway. I traveled this parkway many years ago with Mama and it has always been a fond memory. I am excited to share it with Ed now.
We saw fun stuff and beautiful views on our first day!
We visited Natural Bridge and did the hike to the falls
Then we headed off to Roanoke for the night…stopping for the views and a short hike or two.
Tomorrow Day 2 of the Parkway and heading to Floyd, VA
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Staunton, VA (April 14)
We drove to Staunton, Virginia and stopped at the welcome center and the Covington Covered Bridge. I will forever have a love of covered bridges. I don’t enjoy driving over them when it is necessary, but I love to see them and appreciate their beauty.
We went letterbox hunting up a road-type that Ed and Mama both call “butt-clench” roads! LOL! It was a very narrow road with steep grades! It was well worth it at the top, however. The view was spectacular as was the hike! This cool car was up there when we arrived and the hikers who own it were jut leaving as we got there.
Staunton was a one night stay and tomorrow we start the Blue Ridge Parkway!
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Beckley, WV (April 13)
We stayed in Beckley just for the night at the Holiday Inn. We did visit Tamarack Craft Center. It was a cool place! Lots of interesting things and many were handmade items made by West Virginia Artisans. There was a letterbox at the information desk that I was able to get logged.
Headed to Staunton, Virginia next …
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Columbus, OH (April 7-12)
While traveling to Columbus, we happened upon Uranus, Indiana. Of course, we HAD to stop! We are ALL about the cheesy roadside attractions! It was a fun time! LOL!
As Ed had an appointment in Houston, we decided to book the Staybridge Suites in Polaris, so that we could have a kitchen and a more apartment-like space. It is wonderful! I was so happy to have more room to stretch out and a kitchen to be able to actually cook, instead of constantly eating out! I miss the RV…but this is a nice place and the area around has walking trails and is quite nice.
The hotel is right next to a Bass Pro Shop and behind the building is this cool pond area that has nest ‘capsules’ for the geese. There were babies a plenty, so the geese were aggressive when I walked by. Mean ol’ geese! They didn’t listen when I said I wasn’t gonna mess with them, after a few days of walking past them, they got a bit less testy.
This park was along the walking trail, it was nice and there was rarely anyone else there. It was behind a professional building, so maybe during the day, the employees took breaks there. I usually walked in the evening hours. I really enjoyed having such nice walking trails to enjoy everyday!
Of course, I looked up local FLAGS and visited! I grabbed the Deadpool sticker for James, as I figured he would like it on his car! LOL!
While in Columbus, as I mentioned, Ed flew to Houston for an appointment. I met up with Ashley, who used to be my sister-in-law. We are both no longer married to the brothers … LOL! So I guess we are former SIL’s and now friends. It was fun to catch up, heck, it’s been about 20 years since we saw each other and we had lots to catch up on. We spent two days doing so! We have remained in touch, but mostly via social media, which has it’s limits. As always, I am terrible at remembering to take photos when visiting with people! I like to think it is because I am enjoying the quality time and am not concerned with posting photos. LOL!
We are off to West Virgina next …
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Martinsville, IN (April 5 & 6)
We moved to Martinsville, Indiana for a couple days. We needed some downtime, so we just hung out in the hotel. I did some watercoloring and we walked around downtown a bit.
We visited the Free Little Art Gallery in LaFayette on the trip down and then the one here in Martinsville after we arrived, but for the most part just rested.
There was a cool little family cemetery right behind the hotel that had a few old stones. It was maintained a bit…interesting place.
Next up….Columbus, OH…
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Portland, IN (April 3-4)
After dropping off the RV, we stayed in Portland, Indiana for a few nights at Holiday Inn. It was a nice stay. We drove around and explored. I always enjoy Amish country. There is a certain peacefulness about it.
On April 4, we went letterboxing. We visited Annie Oakley’s gravesite and
We then went to Mama’s birthplace of Wapakoneta, OH. I Facetimed with Mama to show her the changes and she pointed out things she could remember. The town is very different now and it is difficult even on Facetime to orient oneself. It was fun to see Wapakoneta and think about my mother being there when she was a child, walking the same streets.
One place that was pretty familiar to her was the train depot. It has fallen in disrepair, but still looked pretty much the same to her. I snagged a loose brick to bring home to her as a momento. I am pretty sure they won’t miss it! LOL! Ed took a photo of my crime.
We decided we had to go see the touristy bits of Wapa that are Neil Armstrong related. They are quite proud of him, understandably!
While letterboxing, we found some cool sites.
Headed to Martinsville, IN next…
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Bluffton KOA (March 30-April 3)
Moved to Bluffton, Indiana today. This is the last campground for a while. We will be emptying all the contents of the RV, and I do mean ALL the contents, to storage. The RV has to be completely empty for the factory to do all the repairs and framework. So, all we did was pack, clean and empty the RV while we were here. Will will be returning to this same park when it’s time to pick up the RV, as the storage unit is here with almost everything we own in it!
The first photo is just for proof that Ed can vacuum and the last two are from the 3rd when we dropped June (the RV) off to get her makeover!
Now we are off to live in hotels for a while…
