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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Marietta at my sisters

    11. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    We drove from Illinois to Marietta in one day, nearly getting flooded off the road just north of our destination by one of those horrific Southern gully-washers. But we arrived in time to celebrate my mom's 92nd birthday with mom, sisters and husbands. Other than that, we've been visiting, taking care of trailer maintenance, doing laundry, doing stuff for mom. We have a few social events while we're here. We'll resume regular posts when we get back on the road next week.Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    On the road again

    16. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    Sad to leave. It's been a busy week. Working with my sister Laurie to make some changes in mom's care. Visiting with old friend Richard from high school days. Finally taking the plunge to attend our first tango milonga dance with my sister Bonnie. What a dancer! Sorry I can't show videos on this blog.

    Got our flu shot and a bottle of Kentucky Buffalo Trace bourbon at a reasonable regional price. We are ready for eggnog when we get back in December. We were taken out for a beautiful lunch by Casey and Donna who watch out for the family finances. We managed to fit in a few cozy meals and movies with Laurie and John along with much conversation.

    The week is over too soon but we hope to pass through again briefly before heading for the Gulf Coast. Now we are en route to Cherokee Nirth Carolina where we will plan the next leg of our trip.    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    A day in Cherokee

    17. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    We spent the day here in Cherokee to explore. We took a short walk along the river by our campground and then headed into town. There we had a wonderful lunch at the Sassy Sunflowers Bakery and Cafe. We shared a bacon, avocado, spinach, havarti cheese and rosemary bread sandwich and we each had a cup of soup. Heather had smoked gouda potato chowder and Gordon had split pea with ham and bacon. Both soups were excellent.

    We then toured the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. We enjoyed most of it.    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Blue Ridge Parkway

    18. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F

    Cherokee is the southern terminus for the Blue Ridge Parkway, and it was a quick hop from the campground to start our way up. We’d done part of the highway with mom a few years ago, so her spirit traveled with us.

    Last time, it was early spring. The trees had not leafed out yet so the views of the endlessly layered Smokey Mountains were spectacular. This time, we experienced our frequent compaint about “Scenic Drives” … all you can see is the trees lining the road. The canopies were nice. But many of the scenic overlooks allowed just a peek through at the misted mountains. We did get a few spectacular views, and noticed that fall colors were beginning to peek through.

    I am including the last photo to share the Wilson Nicoll Memorial Tunnel Horn Honk, with a bonus Wilson Nicoll Memorial “*DAMN* the FLASH went off when it wasn’t supposed to!"    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Joey's Pancake House

    18. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    In Maggie Valley North Carolina since 1966. Heather was feeling abit peckish ... Sort of along the lines of one of those bears we didn't see on the Blue Ridge Highway ... So we stopped at Joey's on the reccomendation of s local. Bolstered by satisfied local leaving the restaurant and a plethora of bikers in parking lot. The bilers always know.

    Lots of locals. Many kitschy fall decorations in anticipation of imminent leaf tourists. Great food. Heather will live.

     We DID see a turkey on the highway. Moved too fast for a photo.    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Wytheville Virginia

    19. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F

    The rustic Appalachians gave way to rolling farmland as we entered Virginia. We're doing a quick overnight at the Wytheville KOA, where the high point was the welcoming committee of one cute deer with splayed feet and big ears. Otherwise, nothing much to offer. There was a huge trek uphill to substandard bathrooms, and in the middle of the night we had a SKUNK ATTACK! Fortunately, the odor disappeared fairly quickly, but we will be glad to get on our way.

    Today we head to Charlottesville, a jumping off point for Appomattox and Monticello, highly recommended by my sister Bonnie.

    SKUNK UPDATE: Leaving the campground we saw ... well ... let's just say Rest in Peace. 😒    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Virginia backroads

    19. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    On our way to Charlottesville, we noticed that Blacksburg was right off the road. Matthew, our nephew, had gone to school there. It was supposed to be a nice town. We decided to get off at that exit and just see the place.
    Who would expect a small city to have so much traffic?? And first we had to drive through Christianburg, which was having a STREET FAIR, for which streets were closed on our route. We got turned around, driving up steep narrow streets to nowhere before we got righted. Then, as we were dodging more unexpected traffic we both began sniffing the air. OH NO … what is WITH the SKUNKS in this area!? Let me just say, once again, Rest in Peace. We didn’t do it. But we were boxed in and we couldn’t avoid adding insult to injury. Fortunately the odor did not cling.
    We drove by Virginia Tech, but it dissappeared in a hurry, and all of a sudden, there was no more town! Heather pulled out the map, scowled and scoured the fine print, and said, “For sooth! A scenic drive there be but mere meters from here!” Gordon rolled his eyes, and said, “Great! Let’s GO!”
    It was truly a scenic drive, narrow, rough, rolling hills, and actually plenty of scenery, not just trees. The photos don’t do it justice … all the good ones were blurred. But we KNEW it had been a scenic drive when, at the end of the day, we opened the trailer and it was a DISASTER! Think Lucy and her trailer ride when she collected rocks. Bins all over. Socks on the floor. Open the food cupboard and it all came tumbling out. We fear the raisins are lost forever in the Raisin Bran. At least we couldn’t find any … probably the bottom third is raisins.
    But it was a glorious ride and we’re glad we took it.    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Getting Singulair and news of Ruth

    19. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Darn allergies! I forgot my Singulair pills so we stopped at Walgreens to get some pills. Got a call about Ruth. She has swelling in legs and arms, and has fallen again. Laurie is planning on a weeks respite at the beach starting tomorrow. Should we continue on? Should we stay nearby? Go to Charlotte as a half way measure? Go back to Marietta?Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Halloween Madness

    22. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    While in Marietta we have made a number of trips to that bastion of American bounty, Target, to pick up various necessities for Heather’s mom. Oh man, they have all the halloweed stuff out! It’s EVERYwhere!!! We have boxes of the stuff at home that we lovingly display every October, and in our trailer, nary a ghost or black cat anywhere! And no place for one, either!!

    In the $3 bin, Heather spied a black felt trick or treat bag with cat’s eyes on it. “Perfect for hanging in the trailer window,” cries Gordon! And look! In a nearby $3 bin, there is a wee spider-web rug!! “Perfect for our entry way!” cries Gordon!! Heather is powerless in the face of the PERFECT halloween bling for the geezer-mobile. We can hardly wait for October 1.

    We DO, however, have a gorgeous orange and green dappled acorn squash from the Fresh Market “stock the trailer” trip that can be artfully displayed next to the warm spotlight on our table, or, weather permitting, outside on the welcome mat. We are ready for fall.    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Festival barbershop

    23. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    In preparation for returning to our perigrinations, Gordon wanted to make sure he looked and felt his best. This barbershop is not only conveniently located, it specializes in military. "PERFECT" said Gordon.

    He sat down, specifying "Number one all over and please trim the catepillars over my eyes."    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Wither the weather

    24. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ 🌧 63 °F

    Actually, until last evening, our plans had us traveling West, with a sweet itinerary down through Alabama, ending in Mobile. We made the mistake of looking at the weather, however, and all across Alabama, Mississipp and Texas … OUR ROUTE! … for the coming week and a half the temperatures were in the 90s. The HIGH 90s. If we went north, the temperatures were in the mid-70’s and low 80’s, promising the start of a beautiful autumn. We could finish the Virginia/North Carolina tour that had been aborted, and see Heather’s nephew, Matthew, in Charlotte.

    Oh the irony. The rain started a little south of Charlotte. Now it is quite vigorous. Checking the radar … oh My God! It’s a superstorm that covers 3 states and is moving right TOWARDS us!! And Alabama, Mississippi, Texas temperatures are heading down into the 80s.

    Well soldier on. There are nephews to be visited! Tour sites to take in. ponchos to be ferreted out of their hiding places in the trunk!    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Matthew's World

    24. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ 🌧 63 °F

    We had made arrangements to meet Heather’s nephew, Matthew, for dinner. The campground was PURPORTEDLY 20 minutes from his house. Alas, Matthew informs us that by area and populations, Charlotte metropolitan area is larger than Atlanta, and if you don’t know about Atlanta traffic, then just take our word for it … DON’T PLAN TO VISIT YOUR NEPHEW IN CHARLOTTE AT RUSH HOUR!

     Ahem. Please forgive us. Both Gordon and I are from a small city, and are unused to the vissicitudes of travel through large metropolitan areas, so we tend to get a bit unbalanced.

    However, though it took an hour to get to Matthews, it was worth it! We loved seeing where he lived, and he took us to a local watering hole for dinner called Pinky’s Westside Grill. If you watch “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” on the Food Network, you may have heard of it. Pinky’s is a small, local eatery that has been around forever, with a down-home menu with unusual twists.

    Having just watched Jurassic World at the dollar theater in Marietta, Gordon was attracted by the Pteradactyl burger. Matthew had the Ding Dong Chicken sandwich: chicken with peanut butter, sriracha hot sauce and honey cilantro slaw (!). Heather’s first glance at the menu landed on the “Southern Dog” and she could never quite get off it: topped with mustard, chili, swaw and onion. Gordon and Matthew had local beers which were lovely. Being designated driver, Heather rewarded herself with a side of red potato salad, which she swears is absolutely world class. Made with sour cream if she’s not mistaken, prompting the Wilson Nicoll memorial, “Why, at BONES you would pay $25.00 for that potato salad!” (Dollar amount appropriately inflated for passage of time.)

    After dinner, we went back to Matthews to watch his stand-up comedy performance at Charlotte’s well-known Comedy Zone. The performance was the culmination of a comedy class taught by Comedy Zone empresarios. In the words of the emprisarios, “He killed!” Polished, funny, engaging. Our nephew!

    After a wonderful evening, we drove back to our cozy geezer-mobile in SEVENTEEN MINUTES without traffic.    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Appomattox

    25. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ 🌧 63 °F

    At Matthew’s advice, we got up at 5:30 and packed up right away, forgoing our morning routine in the hopes of beating the traffic. The early start was a bit of a stretch, not because it’s all that early, but because our campsite was under a tree. And it rained all night. And it protected us from the rain, UNTIL there was a little wind and it sounded like we were being pounded by a FLEET of bouncing betty land mines. Right over our heads.

    We were a little sleepy, but it was worth it. We sailed right through town, and picked up tea and a croissant at Starbucks on the other side of town.

    Unfortunately the rain was unrelenting. The countryside was beautiful, but when we arrived at Appomattox we were not inspired to explore very much. We contented ourselves with a beautiful drive and a few photos.    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Charlottesville KOA

    25. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    Charlottesville is best known as the closest town to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s famous house and grounds. We stayed in the lovely KOA about 10 minutes from Monticello. The fact that the campground was completely full and they had to put us in “the sites we don’t use.” We were warned NOT to visit Monticello on the weekend, but our route really didn’t allow for much else this trip.

    But the campground is lovely and well-forested. Even though we are under a tree here, the rain is a pleasant, generally even patter on the roof. The temperature is mild so we can sit with the door open and enjoy the fresh air.

    Gordon had a bad moment when he saw TWO BEES the size of BIRDS (really!) hovering outside the tree right outside the trailer. But they have not bothered us. We are considering making placating offerings, but worry that might increase the local population.    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Monticello

    26. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    We took our time and enjoyed the morning, leaving for Monticello about 10:00. We are not proud of it, but circumstances continued to mount and finally we turned tail without seeing the house. Weather was not good for visiting the grounds, we missed the tour by 5 minutes and the next one was in an hour, the place was PACKED with cars and busses and PEOPLE! (What were we thinking … PEOPLE!! Recall small city trope cited earlier.) And to top it off, Heather was getting decidedly peckish … as in she might peck something inappropriate if she didn’t get to eat IN FIVE MINUTES!

    We headed into town in search of lunch.    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Charlottesville

    26. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    Maybe the stars just weren’t aligned. We pulled into one restaurant highly recommended on Yelp, and it looked TERRIBLE! We pulled up to another, which looked PERFECT but there was a large gathering of people outside waiting to be seated. We finally pulled into a small diner with plenty of character, including snaggle-toothed short order cooks plying their trade at the counter. But the menu was positively not appealing to Heather. But when she indicated she didn’t want to eat there, Gordon uncharacteristically asserted himself with a bark, saying he was hungry NOW and wanted to stay.

    Gordon had a delicious BLT. Heather tried going on strike, but succumbed when she saw the coconut cake and had a piece with coffee, even though it was not EXACTLY what she wanted.

    We then headed toward the pedestrian mall, with lots of cute shops, street vendors, and LOTS OF RESTAURANTS. Heather is not proud of it, but admits to engaging in continuous needling of Gordon every time we passed another EXCELLENT LOOKING RESTAURANT.

    Heather was slightly mollified when she saw a street sign directing people to, “PIE.” We resolved to investigate on our way back down the mall.

    We enjoyed walking up and down the mall, mostly looking at the old buildings and people watching. As we headed back to the car, we went into The Pie Chest, which had two cases FULL of sweet and savory pie! We got 2 small pot pies, one mushroom-gruyere, and one shrimp-corn for dinner. Oh … and a piece of honey-spiced pear pie to share for dessert. Heather became less grumpy.

    We then headed across the street to a small market and picked up a beautiful loaf of ciabatta, some goat cheese, some snap peas … just because we couldn’t resist.

    On the way back to camp, we stopped at the Beer Run to sample some of the local beers, which are famous … but when Heather saw a LINE FOR THE BATHROOM (small city trope) we turned around and went home.

    We are a little concerned about Williamsburg, but Gordon says we will just take a stress pill before going in. Perhaps we will get used to all the people? Stay tuned.    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Baker's Crust

    27. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    Lunch. My pizzia is to die for! Heather got a burger cuz she needed some meat. But she loves my pizza. She said to be sure to say that herburger is on a homeade brioche roll! My pizza is home made fennel sausage, with fresh mozz and goat cheese and pecorino with camalized onion on a thin crust. All perfectly done.Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Williamsburg KOA

    27. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    We enjoyed a 3 hour drive to Williamsburg. The sun even peeked out a few times (which moved Gordon to harumph and complain a bit, but Heather enjoyed it).
    We have noticed that the KOAs tend to decorate for Halloween, but the Williamsburg KOA gets the howlin’ first prize! They had decorations EVERYWHERE!!
    We were helped by Robb, who made sure we got a great site among the trees with its own swing from which we are currently enjoying the warm breeze and evening air (and a glass of cool chardonnay, of course). When Robb learned we were interested in PIE, he volunteered that there was an excellent pie shop in Williamsburg that had done the pies for his wedding. We scrambled to get the exact name and address against pie deficit. In further conversation, we learned Robb and his wife were expecting their first child in April. We congratulated him, and agreed that it was a wonderful thing to bring new life into the world that will create the future.
    All those halloween decorations did a number on Gordon, who absolutely, positively could NOT wait ANOTHER MINUTE to put out our own. So Happy Halloween, everyone, a bit early.

    PS Please note, in a small geezer-mobile, you many things must do double duty. Hence, the cat decoration hangs on our fly swatter.    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Colonial Williamsburg

    28. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    Wandered through Colonial Williamsburg today. It is an amazing collection of renovated and replicative buildings from the colonial period. There were also people in period clothing acting as if they were from the period.

    The most entertaining was the pastor. He was all for the Church of England being the arbiter of morals because who else would you want to do that... the government? Heaven forbid.

    We should have taken more and better photos but we were too busy gawking.

    Off to the Outer Banks tomorrow.    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    Lunch at The Kill Devil Grill

    29. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F

    Gordon found a nice cafe to eat lunch at using Yelp. It was at the top of the list of restaurants in Kill Devil so it must be good, and it was.

    Gordon had seared tuna atop a bed of cheese grits and topped with a salsa made from avocado, shrimp, black beans and cilantro.

    Heather had her first soft shell crab. It was a soft shell crab sandwich with lettuce, tomato, avocado, tarragon, and a spicy mayo with a side of fries.

    Both were to die for.

    The Yelp reviews praised the key lime pie, so we asked the waiter for one to take with us. He took the opportunity to describe the other deserts. Oh.... we tried to be good and only get one desert. But the apple strudel sounded heavenly, and it was made by an old German lady right there and the waiter was practically her adopted son, so what could we do? And since the streusel would be soggy if we took it to go, he HAD to eat it right then. And it was topped with rich vanilla bean ice cream!    Lue lisää

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  • Geezers in ParadiseSouthern CrawlMatkaaja

    First Flight

    29. syyskuuta 2015, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    The Wright Brothers National Memorial was well worth a visit. Not widely known, their work actually did not take place in Kitty Hawk, but at Kill Devil Hill a few miles to the south ... a more aptly named place for how hard they worked to build that airplane!

    Great replicas of the glider and the plane. Markers for the points their first four engine-powered flights reached (they crashed on number 4).

    One of the reasons that the Wright brothers choose the site was that the sand dunes were an excellent launching place for their glider experiments, and the sand provided a soft landing when they crashed. There was no sand to be seen anywhere, grass had been planted in the 1920s and it now covered the entire site.    Lue lisää

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