Falling into Color

fall color

On Monday we took a drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) in search of fall colors. One of the things I miss about the St. Louis area is the large tree diversity that results in brilliant fall colors. Here there are so many evergreens that you just don't get that burst of color. Except when you go to the higher elevations in North Carolina. We are fortunate in that we can get to the mountains in about two hours.

We left the house around 5:40 a.m. as we hoped to see the sun rise over the Linn Cove Viaduct. That part of the BRP is not only an architectural marvel, its complexity resulted in it being the last section of the BRP to be completed. The seven mile segment was completed in 1987. 

As we drove up it began to mist. The forecast for the area had called for partly sunny skies - perfect for photography - so we were disappointed to see the gray skies. Though tempted to turn around and go home, we continued with the journey. We rounded a curve (the BRP has plenty of those!), and there were blue skies.

We had a perfect day in the mountains. Crowds were larger than expected for a Monday, but we had forgotten that it was Columbus Day. That explained the abundance of children in the area. Nevertheless, we found parking spots at all the stops we wanted to make, and a favorite restaurant in Blowing Rock had outdoor tables available when we arrived for lunch. By the time we left it was packed.

Blue Ridge Parkway

All in all, it was a great day. It did my heart good to see all the glorious fall colors and to get out in the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Gateway City

St. Louis Arch

Following our Kentucky and Indiana stops, we drove the remaining three hours to St. Louis. Even after all these years, it remains a thrill to catch sight of the Arch as you cross the Mississippi River into Missouri.

The main purpose of our trip was to attend the 30th Anniversary celebration of SWT Design, the company Jim founded with Ted Spaid and Susan Trautman in 1995. What an accomplishment!

But the trip also gave us an opportunity to catch up with friends and family while we were in the area. We were able to see my sister's family, which was great, and Jim got in a bit of motorcycle riding with his friend.

While he was off the first day, I met a girlfriend at the Sophia Sach's Butterfly House. It was a pretty hot day so neither one of us wanted to go on a long walk outside. While the butterfly house is on the warm side, at least you are in the shade. It was great to sit and chat while the butterflies flitted around us. We grabbed lunch after that. 

Butterfly House

The next day while Jim rode, I picked up another friend and she and I went to the Missouri Botanical Garden. I have been to many gardens in my travels around the world, but I have yet to find one that is as wonderful as the one in St. Louis. It is easy to navigate while offering a different visual and sensory experience around every corner. As this particular friend is also a photographer, we were in perfect sync stopping to photograph the flowers and insects around us. When we were finished, we went to the Trainwreck Saloon for lunch. This restaurant is owned by a gal that I worked with at the American Cancer Society from 1980-1982. In all the times I have eaten there, she has never been around. But that Wednesday was my lucky day as Chris was in! We had the best time catching up, and since my lunch friend graduated from the same high school as Chris, they had things to talk about as well.

Missouri Botanical Garden

On Thursday Jim and I spent the day together since the party was later that afternoon. We first went to the St. Louis Zoo. Again, I've gone to a lot of zoos in my lifetime, and none of them compare to this zoo. And it is FREE to get in! SWT Design has done a bit of work in the zoo, so in addition to enjoying the animals it was fun to check up on the progress/maturation of some of their work. The nice, hot day necessitated a stop at Ted Drewes for some frozen custard - always a highlight of a visit to St. Louis.

St. Louis Zoo

That afternoon was the SWT celebration garden party. While it was hot, it was wonderful to catch up with staff members and clients. I don't think Jim and Ted ever anticipated what their dream would one day become. It's a huge milestone to make 30 years in the design field, and to know that their projects have made and are making a lasting impression not only in St. Louis but throughout the country.

Friday was our last day and we began it by playing pickleball in a nearby park with Jim's riding buddy, who has been playing even longer than me. Then the three of us had a late breakfast, and the guys dropped me off at the hotel so they could go pick up the motorcycle trailer. For a few months Jim's motorcycle has been garaged in St. Louis. But it is time for the annual inspection and licensing, so we needed to get it back to Charlotte. It seemed easiest to trailer it back so Jim wouldn't have to make that long bike trip on his own.

Saturday morning we left St. Louis as the sun was rising and made the thirteen hour drive back home. The trailer added time to the trip as we had to stop more often for gas, and be a little more cautious when driving through the mountains. So we saw the sun rise and the sun set, but made it safely back here.

sunrise, sunset

 

Read My Lips

It's now five weeks that I have been dealing with lip issues. My bottom lip is much improved, no question. But it is still sore and sensitive. I have my six month skin check with my dermatologist on Tuesday, so I decided to wait it out to see what she has to say. Hopefully there is just some prescription cream I can put on to finally heal it up. I'll also be hoping that she doesn't see anything that needs to be burned off or biopsied. We have guests arriving on Thursday and I don't want to have to deal with any of that while they are here. Fingers crossed...

The dog days of summer have certainly been here. We had excessively high heat here, like a lot of the country. We were in a drought, but this week brought us some much-needed rain. It was great to get a break from the daily watering of our outdoor plants. The temperature has also been a bit cooler the past few days.

We so enjoy having the lake out our back door. The other day we watched an eagle fishing. He caught such a big catfish with his talons that he could not lift up out of the water. Instead he channeled his inner Michael Phelps and did the breast stroke across the lake. When he got to the shore, he rested and had himself a feast. My camera lens isn't long enough to capture an image that far away, but it was certainly something to see. Fortunately I can always get a nice sky picture from my backyard.

Mountain Island Lake

It Never Rains in California

Manhattan Beach

"It never rains in California, but girl don't they warn ya..." I thought a lot about the song lyrics to the 1972 song by Albert Hammond while on a recent trip to the Los Angeles area to visit our daughter. Since she lives in a one bedroom unit (as the landlord calls it but it is really a loft with no doors), we decided to rent a two bedroom, two bath home on Manhattan Beach through AirBNB so she could stay with us.

It was a lovely place just one block from the beach with nice ocean views from the large deck. But what I didn't realize was that the whole area would be shrouded in fog all morning the whole week. I had only checked the weather for LA (my bad!) and packed accordingly. It was a good ten degrees cooler in Manhattan Beach, and without benefit of the sun it seemed even cooler. I only had one pair of jeans and a nice pair of slacks with me, so I had to launder those to get by.

Outside of the gray, though, Manhattan Beach was a great place to stay. It's very walkable, with grocery stores and restaurants to choose from. We were lucky in that our house had a garage, so our daughter could park her car there for the days we wanted to head out and play tourist.

We spent time in downtown Los Angeles visiting the museums, went to Huntington Gardens (my favorite place to visit) and sat down for High Tea there, took the ferry to Catalina Island and played some pickleball. It was great to spend a week with our girl and celebrate her birthday. That doesn't happen too often anymore.

Scenes from Los Angeles

First Birthday and Last National Park

first birthday

Our granddaughter turned one recently, and that is so hard to believe. It seems like yesterday that we were told we were going to be grandparents for the first time. We traveled up to Virginia to celebrate the big day, arriving on a Thursday. We had family photos taken on Friday, and considering that the little gal had her 12 month shots that morning, she did surprisingly well. Unfortunately it rained, so we could not have the pictures taken in a nearby park as had been planned. You know what they say about planning...

Saturday was the party, and again Baby W did really well with so many strangers in her home. Her naps were planned strategically, and she was content during the party. I think it was fun for her to have some other little people visiting. She certainly had no problem enjoying her birthday cupcake! She got a lot of fun as well as practical gifts, so I know she will be entertained for awhile.

Sunday we left the kids' house and drove to Hawks Nest State Park in Ansted, West Virginia. We wanted to visit New River Gorge National Park on Monday, and Hawks Nest is right next door to the national park. It has a lovely 31 room lodge, and that is where we spent the night. In this season between fall colors and Christmas lights, the lodge was pretty empty. We were given a lovely room on the 4th floor, with a balcony overlooking the gorge. We had dinner at the lodge, and our breakfast was included the next morning. We woke up to a lovely sunrise over the mountains.

sunrise at Hawks Nest Lodge

After we checked out of the lodge, we drove a quick 15 minutes to one of the entrances to New River Gorge National Park. Previously known as the New River Gorge National River, Congress in 2021 redesignated the area as the newest United States national park in 2021. Thus we were able to tick off one more national park in 2023.

The park is 70,000 acres, so obviously we did not see it all in one day. But we hit the highlight of seeing the New River Gorge Bridge. It is currently the longest single-span steel arch bridge in the United States and the third highest bridge in the country. We also drove Fayette Station Road, a winding 8-mile one-way stretch of road that takes you to the bottom of the gorge. The park service has an audio tour available for download that describes what you are seeing on the drive as well as the history of the area.

We very much enjoyed our visit, and will plan another trip back to the area. There is a lot more to see, and it is only three and a half hours away from us to boot.

New River Gorge National Park

Grand Canyon National Park

Having left Colorado, we arrived at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona after dark. We had chosen to stay two nights inside the park for easy access to sunrise and sunset photos in the park, plus the ability to just park our car and leave it while using the bus service within the park.

We had not been to this park since 2006, when I took Jim there for his birthday. Our daughter had never been. It is certainly a national treasure and one that all Americans should strive to see. There is nothing else like it, though I suppose Canyonlands comes closest.

We got up early the next morning for the sunrise before grabbing some breakfast. We spent the day on the park shuttles, getting off at each stop for photos. In the evening we went back out for sunset pictures.

Grand Canyon National Park

The next morning we took off to our final stop before heading home. We drove to the Hoover Dam, and took the Guided Dam Tour. This tour takes you on the original elevator down to historic tunnels along with a guided powerplant tour. It was very interesting to learn about why the dam was built and how it operates.

Hoover Dam

 Las Vegas is a short drive from the Hoover Dam, and we spent our last night together at Harrah's on the Vegas strip. It is not one of my favorite places, but it is certainly entertaining to walk there at night. Jim says it is like the bar scene from Star Wars, and that is pretty on point. 

Las Vegas

In summary, we put over 2,000 miles on the rental car, traveled through four states, and visited seven national parks and two national monuments in addition to a few other things. We recognized the vast diversity of landscape in this country, and found ourselves wondering why we travel so often out of the country when the United States has so much to offer. It was wonderful to spend this time with our daughter, and I'm confident more national park trips are in our future.

More National Parks

Following our stops at the Grand Staircase-Escalade and Capitol Reef, we arrived in Moab, Utah just after dark. For the first time on the trip, we stayed in one location for three nights. Our two bedroom townhome was equipped with a washer and dryer, which was perfect halfway through the agenda as we had all brought just carryon luggage and it was time to do laundry.

The unit was located very near Arches National Park and was also convenient to Canyonlands National Park. We spent Thursday, September 21st at Arches, going back in the evening to catch a sunset there. Arches was the only place we visited that required us to purchase a timed ticket ahead of time. While you did need to arrive within the hour time slot on the ticket, you could come back later in the day if you wanted.

There are over 2,000 natural stone arches in the park. What mostly impacts the rocks today is erosion from water. It's a spectacular landscape.

Arches National Park

Friday we left our unit early to drive to Canyonlands. This was another great park for hiking and sightseeing. The area was formed again by erosion, this time by the Colorado and Green Rivers.

Canyonlands National Park

Saturday morning we had a four hour drive to Mesa Verde to visit the Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. Along the way we stopped at Hovenweep National Monument. It was established as a national monument in 1923, and archeologists consider it to have the finest examples of ancestral Puebloan masonry found anywhere. The ruins were very fascinating.

Hovenweep National Monument

We arrived in Mesa Verde in time to check in and then enter the park for a short hike. We wanted to capture the sunset in the park, and though it was a little overcast we still saw some stunning skies.

Mesa Verde National Park sunset

The next morning we went back to Mesa Verde National Park to see the archeological sites in the park. We also had purchased tickets for a ranger-led talk about the Cliff Dwellings. That is the only way you can hike down to the actual site. The hike involved steep ladders and narrow stairs, but was so worth the effort it took to get down and back up. It is fascinating how these structures were built so many years ago in such a harsh landscape.

Mesa Verde National Park

When we finished with the tour and our drive through the park, we took off for the Grand Canyon, which is about a four hour drive. More on Grand Canyon National Park in the next post.

Seeing our National Parks

flying to Vegas

Last month we did some domestic traveling. We flew into Las Vegas to meet up with our daughter before heading out on a national parks adventure. Lots of discussion and planning among the three of us took place before we decided that we could visit six of the national parks, primarily in Utah, within our twelve day timetable.

We picked up a rental car and spent the night in Vegas. As none of us are particularly fans of the area, I selected a hotel on the north side of town to give us a head start on our three hour drive to Washington, Utah. Here we spent two nights so that we could visit Zion National Park. 

We hiked the park the first day. It is quite beautiful, but it was incredibly packed with tourists. We did not expect the crowds considering that it was mid-September.

Zion National Park

We drove though the park the next day. They do not warn you that once you do the drive and exit the park, you will be in no man's land with limited cell service. We considered turning around, but the line to reenter the park at this back entrance was easily a couple of miles long. And there was only one attendant at the gate. We ended up about two hours away from our hotel, which was only a 20 minute drive to the main park entrance. We made lemonade out of lemons, however, and found an interesting cave to visit as well as a cool spot to go for a hike.

Kanab, Utah

The next park on our itinerary was Bryce Canyon, which was a couple of hours away from our previous hotel. We did some wonderful hiking in this park. The landscape is very unique from other parks we have been to visit.

Bryce Canyon

The next morning we went back into Bryce to see the sunrise. It was worth getting up early to experience it. We did a small hike before going back to our lodge to pack up for the next leg of the trip. I'll cover Moab in the next post.

sunrise at Bryce

Beauty out Back

 

Mountain Island Lake sunset

The other night I was blessed to see this beautiful sky behind our house as the sun was going down. It is hard to imagine all the ugliness and cruelty going on in the world right now when I'm surrounded by such incredible scenes on a daily basis. Just in the last few days I have spotted an eagle on the lake, a lizard making himself at home on our porch, a praying mantis, and some of our perennials bursting with color despite the date and the cooler temperatures. We are truly blessed to be here.

Mother Nature at her finest

Making Up for Lost Time

Budapest, Hungary

This is a year of make-up travel for us. Because we stuck close to home for the first three years of Covid, we decided to take some trips in 2023. We recently returned from our first ever riverboat cruise, which was followed by travel on a larger ship on the Mediterranean Sea. There was a lot to love about both forms of transportation.

We flew from Charlotte to London on August 5th. This is the second long trip that we did with carryon luggage only. The South Africa trip made a believer out of me. No more hanging around the airport waiting for our bags to come off the carousel. And no more lost luggage! 

After a long layover (8 hours) we then flew from London to Budapest. We spent a couple days touring this beautiful city before it was time for our cruise. Budapest is a charming city, very clean with friendly residents and lots to see. I had heard that if I liked Prague, I would love Budapest. I have to say that while I enjoyed Budapest, I have found no city yet that compares to the storybook feel of Prague.

Budapest

Avalon View

On August 9th we boarded the Avalon View, which was docked a short walk from our hotel. I was not familiar with this ship line, but it was the only one I could find that worked time-wise with the later cruise we were taking with our friends. It turned out to be a great selection, as the ship was new, and the staff and food were great. The stateroom was a generous size, with a large bathroom and the bed facing the sliding doors.

This was a short cruise on the Danube River from Budapest to Vienna, with stops in Bratislava, Slovakia and Melk, Austria. Not knowing if we would like river cruising, this was a perfect trip to get a feel for the experience.

Bratislava is a pretty town along the Danube. We did a walking tour of the area in the morning, and then hiked up to the castle after that. We had met a couple from Louisiana and another couple from California on the boat, and the six of us ended up spending a lot of time together. 

Bratislava, Slovakia

Our next stop was Melk, Austria. There were low-lying clouds in the area when we docked, and the setting was beautiful. We took a short bus ride to the town center for our tour of the palace and the town.

After the tour we had time to walk through Melk before making our way on a path through the woods back to the boat.  

Melk, Austria

This cruise ended in Vienna, where we had an opportunity to have one last dinner with our new friends before we all parted ways for our next adventures. We had an opportunity to see a bit of Vienna before it was time for us to fly to Rome. It's definitely an interesting city, and one I wouldn't mind spending more time in.

Vienna, Austria

We both very much enjoyed the intimacy and ease of river boat cruising, and it is definitely something we would consider again for future travel. With only 166 passengers on board, it was easy to meet the other folks at meals and on the excursions. I'll cover the next part of our journey on a 700 passenger ship in the next post.

Where the Wild Things Are

One of my favorite things about living here on Mountain Island Lake is the interesting wildlife we see in our backyard. While we certainly don't see the deer, wild turkeys and groundhogs as much as we did when we first moved in three plus years ago, there are still interesting critters that come by. 

We have had a lot of hawks hanging around. Hopefully they haven't eaten any more of the mourning doves, but I'm fine with them keeping the mice and squirrel populations in check. And they certainly are pretty predators.

hawk

juvenile hawk

Most days we see the white squirrel scampering around the yard. We named him Whitey Herzog after a winning St. Louis Cardinals baseball coach. It is still surprising to me that he manages to co-exist with the gray squirrels as I understand that squirrels are very territorial. Perhaps he is someone's grandpa and that's why he's accepted. I enjoy having him around as he is not one of the naughty ones who insist on climbing the pole to get to my bird feeder. 

white squirrel

"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin." ~William Shakespeare 

Life is a Beech

Grandfather Mountain

Some friends invited us to come and stay at their condo near Beech Mountain, and though it is only a couple of hours away the temperature runs about 20 degrees cooler. In the summer, that change is quite welcome. They are avid pickleball players, so we spent quite a bit of time playing on the courts at Beech Mountain Club Pickleball.

On our way home we stopped at Linville Falls to do some hiking. It was refreshingly uncrowded, unlike the last time we went. That was during the heart of Covid, when everyone was pouring into the parks to escape being stuck at home. It's a nice area with moderately challenging trails. Some of the rhododendrons were still in bloom. We miss seeing them around here, so that was a pleasant surprise for us.

Linville Falls

Now we are back home in the heat and humidity. It's time to plan another escape!

Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain

For whatever reason our area is caught in a rain pattern right now. We are in our third day in a row of rain, with another three forecasted ahead. While there is a tropical storm out in the Atlantic Ocean right now, it is not anywhere close to the coast of the United States. So I'm not sure what is causing these storms. We did manage to get in a little pickleball early Monday morning before the rain began, but since then all outdoor activities have come to a halt.

Sunday I took my husband out to a local brewpub for Father's Day, and we stopped at the Mount Holly Community Garden to look at the garden beds. The flowers looked amazing, and since I am tired of the gray around me I'm posting a few of my favorites here. They are the only color we will see for a bit.

Mount Holly Community Garden

Hawk Eyes

Sharp-shinned Hawk

The other day we heard a loud bang on our sliding patio doors, and looked out to see feathers floating to the ground and a smear on the glass. When we walked out back, we saw a hawk up in the tree. We assumed it was the bird that hit the window as he sat very still on the limb. 

After a bit I went outside to wash the window, and I saw a mourning dove next to the patio doors. Its neck was bent at an unnatural angle, and it was not moving. It became clear that this was the bird that had hit the window. We assume the hawk was chasing the dove when the dove flew into the glass when trying to get away.

I asked my husband to dispose of the dead bird, and when he went out to pick it up he was startled by the hawk grabbing the dove off the pavers.  I guess the hawk was surprised as well since he ended up dropping the dove back to the ground. 

I know this is just the circle of life, but all I could think about is that some mourning dove will now be missing its partner since they normally mate for life. That made me a little sad.

When Friends Come to Call

early morning on Mountain Island Lake

Last week some friends from St. Louis came to visit us for the first time since we moved to the Charlotte area. It was fun being able to show them our new house, and drive them through the neighborhood to let them see why we chose this particular development. While our lot with a lake view certainly speaks for itself, all the other amenities such as the pool, game cabin, library, pickleball courts, sewing and ceramics cabins, fitness cabin, etc. were certainly a big part of our decision-making process. After showing them around, they said they understand why we made such a big move several years ago.

We also took them to a couple of our favorite waterfront restaurants, showed them some of the quaint towns in the area and drove to a beautiful old mill that we had visited in the past. They really enjoyed the history and beauty of it, as well as the covered bridge that is located a few miles from the mill.

cherry jam

The guys took off on a motorcycle trip, so I busied myself with pickleball clinics, attended a dueling piano concert here at our pool, and tried my hand at making cherry jam. I made blueberry jam for the first time a couple weeks ago, and I saw that our local produce market had cherries in stock. I absolutely love bing cherries and cherry jam, but had never attempted making it due to the hassle of removing the pits. But then I remembered that I had picked up a pit removal tool, and decided I would give it a try. At $5.99 a pound, the cherries were certainly not a steal. And it took nearly two pounds of them to make four pint-size jars of jam. But I have to say the results were worth it. It is delicious! Now I will keep my eyes peeled for a better price so I can make some more while the cherries are in season. Soon it will be time to make peach as the freestone peaches from South Carolina will be arriving in a couple of weeks. About the time my granddaughter will be coming for her first visit!

Remembering on Memorial Day

Memorial Day

It's always interesting to me that people don't seem to know what Memorial Day is all about. From decorating family members graves to barbecues, we often lose sight of the fact that the this day was set aside to honor U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. 

For the second year in a row our community chose to remember by having a parade, and I was proud to participate again. Led by residents on bicycles (the first of whom was a veteran), the decorated golf carts followed as the parade wove its way through the neighborhood. Patriotic music played, and residents lined up in their driveways to cheer us on. It was heart-warming to see all the flags on display, and to see the community come together. It was our chance to show that we understand that freedom is not free.

Memorial Day Parade

Professional Pickleball in Charlotte

The PPA North Carolina Open was held for the second year in a row in Charlotte last month. As in the previous year, Jim and I decided to volunteer at the event. Unfortunately the PPA cut out some of the benefits of volunteering this time around, such as no included lunch and no free access to the venue except on the day or days you were volunteering. We liked our volunteer positions last year, and those were only available on Saturday - the semi finals of all events, so a good time to be there. I worked in the VIP section, which was right by Championship Court. I made sure all people in the section had the correct arm bands on, and made sure they had enough to eat and drink and answered questions. It was a great group of attendees, so I was mostly able to watch the pros play.

Jim was down by the Championship Court ensuring that people who had purchased court-side seats had the appropriate arm bands and a place to sit. From last year's experience we knew that they had oversold the seats and Jim had to deal with angry folks who couldn't find a place to sit. That was corrected this year, and there were no problems.

For Sundays finals we had purchased court-side seats. We arrived very early to make sure we would get a good seat, and that ended up to be a good move. Between Saturday and Sunday we met and talked to many of the pros we watch on t.v. or YouTube, and it was quite a thrill for us. There is just something about being able to see them play in person, and the Charlotte audience is very enthusiastic and appreciative of the PPA having one of their tournaments here.

Last year we hosted two pros at our house, but neither one was coming to Charlotte this year. Though I had put it out that we were willing to host, apparently there was a problem at the tournament in Florida recently with misbehaving female pros at a host's home, so the PPA is no longer reaching out to people to arrange housing. That is too bad, because we had such a great experience and were hoping to repeat it again. Hopefully our guys will come back next year!

North Carolina Open 2023