I have just finished unpacking after our recent trip. There have been almost nonstop activities after our 18 hour drive on Wednesday. Today I have a doctor’s appointment two hours away, followed by an evening banquet – the second in as many days. There are many things I want to remember about our recent trip to Nashville and North Carolina so I need to write them down while I can.
On the drive home, Kevin and I talked about the most memorable moments of our trip. I was a little surprised by what his were, but I totally agree. I have to write about our night at a hotel previously owned by Microtel. This hotel chain was started in Europe, from what I read. Europe is smaller and more crowded than we are across the ocean and it shows in the way they put their motels together. It was a small room. Lots of motel rooms are small, after all, not much is needed for a night’s sleep. Our room at this establishment was even smaller than that, noticeably smaller.
On top of that, it was a room with a theme. It was the Johnny Cash room. More specifically, it was the Johnny Cash and June Carter room. They were everywhere on the walls and the bed. It was interesting at first, but got a little eerie and overwhelming by the time we went to sleep. It was a little like being watched, in the dark, by a hundred eyes.
They were everywhere, even on the pillowcases, throw pillows and blankets.
However, I soon forgot about the walls because the air conditioner kicked in and the smell took over. Maybe I am more sensitive to smells like this because I know what barns smell like. They smell warm, musty and like mouse nests. I did get to sleep and we didn’t get sick, but I won’t forget the place. Nope.
I also won’t forget the time with my daughter Julia and her family. My granddaughter Gwennie always fills my camera with her funny antics so there is no danger of forgetting her. We spent one day on an excursion to Pilot Mountain and Mt. Airy. It was a little over an hour to get there. Mt. Pilot sticks out, literally, like a sore thumb in the landscape. On my trips it has been the dividing point between the Blue Ridge mountains and the Piedmont plain, but until now I had never hiked in the park.
We hiked around the cap, at the tree line.The view up was dizzyingThe view down was also dizzyingLunch at Barney’s CafePhotos with Andy Griffith in his museum
Mt. Airy was our lunch stop and added a bit of nostalgia and whimsy. The home of Andy Griffith and a museum of his life and career was fun and informative. Since getting home we’ve watched several of his movies. I kind of miss that old fashioned, sweet and innocent humor.
That’s all for this travel post. We are getting ready for a very busy October but I hope to record more of life at Casablanca.
Of course, I bought another badge for my hiking stick. Of course.
I have been greatly remiss in recording this trip to North Carolina. It’s difficult to know what is going to happen from one moment to the next, and I need uninterrupted time to think and write. So, I end up not writing. But it’s so useful to remember what happens on these visits that I will try to remember the highlights.
Gwennie has grown and changed so much! She initiates conversations, asks questions, answers questions sometimes, and is using her language to command and state her wishes. She has all the facial expressions to go with her speech and is often dramatic. She talks and sings to herself while playing. She knows how to entertain herself for long periods of time. She has no trouble being outside for hours, and always wants to go out. The swing, the trampoline, the Wheee (Kawasaki mule), the animals, the garden… are favorite places. Cuts, bruises, scares… nothing stops her. She is tough. She scares me when she plays around her dad’s exercise equipment, climbing on it and swinging from the handles. In all of this, she is fairly compliant for a two year old. She can stay quiet for a whole church service, and goes up to take a nap without a big fuss. She eats.
The Wheee (because that’s what you say when you go fast in it.)
Most days she has been with her nanny, Emma from 8 till 4. Mr. Jim (aka my Kevin) and I have taken those times to work on the farm. We walked around with Julia and her Kevin on the first day and learned which areas they would like to change. We got right to doing things the day after we arrived.
I never remember to take pictures before we begin, and I’m always sorry. Our first area was such a maze of vines, bushes, and dead wood that it took us two days before we were satisfied. Mr. Jim used the chain saws to cut the bushes and small trees away. He got the log splitter out and split a lot of logs that were already down and waiting. I cut vines, raked leaves, carried rocks and tried to stay out of the poison ivy. We found an historic outhouse which we left standing (for now). We think there must have been a small building of some sort next to it. The stones show what is left of the foundation. That part of the yard looks so much more open and inviting now. Here is the “after” picture.
I wish you could have seen it before. North Carolina has its own brand of jungle.
North Carolina is the state of old tobacco barns. There were three on the Shanahan farm when they bought it. Now there are two. The one nearest the house has been leaning more each time I’ve come to visit. I’ve admired the huge logs and the construction of the building many times so I have lots of pictures of it. It recently gave up and fell. Clearing up that chaos was the job everyone tackled yesterday. Kevin used the tractor for the heavy logs and roof. Mr. Jim helped remove trees and branches with the chainsaw. By the end of the day, the area was nearly cleared. I am very relieved now that I don’t have to worry about Gwennie playing in a building that could fall down on her. “Before” and “after” pictures.
Before, the way it looked in 2019.Appraoximately the same viewSalvaged timbersIntact tobacco box from insideAll that’s left
Could some of the old lumber be useful for decorative purposes? Mr. Jim thinks so, and so do I. Antique wood is very popular these days, and it is beautiful in its own way.
Food highlights include Julia’s Drowned Chicken Soup, which she served us the first night. She was kind of quiet about it, but the story came out. One of their favorite chickens drowned in the stock tank. They tried to give it CPR but were unsuccessful so it became food instead.
Another night we went to the O’Henry Hotel for small plates and jazz music. It was crowded, even though we arrived late. We sat and ate our strange, fancy food in a nearby room where we could hear the music for half an hour. Eventually we found seats in front of the musicians. There were tunes we recognized and some we didn’t, but it was all done well and very interesting.
Nina Johnson singer at the O’Henry Hotel
Most recently we went to the Shanahan’s favorite seafood restaurant. It is a place where people who don’t like fish go to learn to like it. We all ate fish and liked it a lot. Even the kids were brave. Our waiter with a British accent took our picture. I love going to the Reel Seafood Grill in Greensboro!
The family at dinnerPresentation was niceWe were warned about the eyeballs
One night I made meatloaf for us all. And last night I put out taco fixings. None of us had trouble with our food but, as sometimes happens, Julia got called out to save a choking horse. She ate her tacos in the truck on the way. I would like to say that her schedule as a veterinarian has calmed down a little, become a bit more regular, but I don’t know… maybe not.
And that brings me to one of Gwennie’s newest expressions, “maybe”. She uses it often when she’s told that something she wants isn’t available. “But maybe?” she says with her sweetest face. One day she was riding in the car and got excited about a tower that she saw. Discussion continued about it being a water tower, and that there was water up there. “And sharks in the water?” was the natural thing to ask in her two year old mind. “No, no sharks”, she was told. “But maybe?” What can you say to that? Have we ever seen what’s in those tanks? And in that case, “maybe” is probably the safe answer, and it seems to satisfy her. We use “maybe” a lot around here.
Maybe… who’s to say?Gwennie with a very stylish, messy updo
It’s more than half over – this month of August. I can already tell that it’s not light as early as it used to be. Summer is doing what it always does, going away.
But it’s been perfect this week, enough sun, enough rain, enough cool work weather. I love being up north.
– Hiked at Hunt Hill Audubon Camp. Such a beautiful 2.8 mile trek around lakes and forest. The blackberries are huge this summer and we had to grab a few off the bushes we went past.
Just one of the lakes we skirted.
– Worked on my first book project. I’m not reading this time, I’m writing. It is ready for editing. It’s about my journey with Dennis, through our years with Lewy Body Dementia.
– Connected with family over a breakfast at my condo, and with friends for breakfast at a restaurant. Breakfast is my major meal of the day. Why not share it with precious people?
– Thought and planned for the trip coming up in September.
– Got in a war with the deer and rabbits over possession of my flower garden
Garden beauty draws predators, and it’s not just because they’re hungry. There’s plenty to eat this time of year.
– Made some noticeable advances in my Spanish language learning
– Spent time with Mom and her brother, my Uncle Wendell. It’s good to have someone in my life who’s older than me, and there are fewer of those people around.
– Spent a lot of time watching videos of this munchkin.
Gwennie, my favorite video personality
– Gratitude time, walking the wetlands and counting the deer that cross my path. They are either not afraid of me, or I’m invisible now.
Two littles with spots and three adults. They knew they had me outnumbered and didn’t care what I would do.
Lastly, I spent hours trying to regain access to my blog website this week. Not sure how he did it, but Ryan Bruels got me back in possession, and I’m grateful for that. It’s not just physical journals that can suddenly become nonfunctional. There’s that web thing and all the entities behind it…
