"Doing" Things

What a WONDERFUL weekend in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Allegheny County. After being back at work now for a couple of days my body is finally getting back to a relaxed state. We spent the weekend at Bear Bottom.

Some friends of ours joined us and we "did" things. Not that we don't "do" things normally, just this weekend we did DIFFERENT things. And lots of them. My friends picked me up on Thursday afternoon and we drove up early as my wife (God bless her) had to work on Friday. We stopped in Statesville at The Village Pizza where they have a wonderful buffet. One of those all-you-can-eat jobs complete with salad bar and any kind of pizza imagineable. We were there early so we got to put in our order for the types of Pizza we wanted. After filling our tummies to way past the "full" mark we were back on the road for the last hour of the journey to our mountain retreat. We arrived at Bear Bottom around 6:30, unpacked the car and decided to take a walk around the property. The weather was wonderful. Clear skies and just late enough that evening was beginning to set you up for a peaceful night. I love this time of day. The temperature is beginning to drop a bit and the sky is beginning to change to those beautiful pastel pinks and purples that the mountains are so adept at showing. The birds are busy grabbing the last of the flying insects and worms. The deer are showing themselves for their early evening feed. And we were walking around in the middle of all this activity enjoying every detail. As night fell we watched the stars while sitting on the front porch rockers. What a way to start the weekend.

After breakfast Friday morning we headed into Sparta to do some "in-town" exploring including the Chamber of Commerce, the second hand bookstore, the Gallery and the Sparta Restaurant for lunch. I had the bratwurst with German potato salad and German sauerkraut. Very tasty. After a few more shops we were off to do some light grocery shopping and back to Bear Bottom to prepare dinner. Susan, my wife, arrived around 5:30 and we celebrated our being together with a bottle of champagne that my friends had brought. Dinner on the porch, consisting of marinated and grilled flank steak and corn on the cob, also grilled. Then back into town to take in the Allegheny Community Theatre's production of Allegheny Lives, 1859-2009 at the Sparta School. It was great. Lots of history. We found it fun and educational learning a little about our adopted "second home". Although with no air conditioning, the building was a bit warm with only ceiling fans to circulate the air from the really high ceilings and at times it was a bit hard to hear all the dialogue we still enjoyed ourselves. Hats off to Brad Jenkins and all the people involved. We especially enjoyed the last "act" where locals were put together on stage to literally tell their own version of more recent history through personal recollections and stories.

Saturday morning had us up and moving because today we really had things to "do". After breakfast we headed down Hwy. 18 over into Ashe County for a five mile canoe trip on the New River. Then into West Jefferson to the Ashe County Cheese Factory for some cheese curds. My friends had had them before and wanted us to try them as well as buy some for themselves to take home. Must be an acquired taste. My wife thought they were pretty good so I did purchase some along with some cheddar and blue cheese. Then we went in search for more food. Although it was nearly 2 p.m. lunch was the order of the day considering we hadn't really had anything other than a handful of trail mix while paddling. Some discussion about what to eat and an attempt at another restaurant that had been suggested to us we decided to drive to Shatley springs as they were fairly close by. None of us had ever eaten there although we had heard wonderful things about them. All true. If you haven't been, go hungry. Take your time and don't worry too much about overeating. It's sort of like death and taxes. Its inevitable. Make sure to save room for the blackberry cobbler with ice cream. After a late lunch (or was it an early dinner?) at Shatley Springs we then made our way back The Thistle Meadow Winery on Hwy 18 near Laurel Springs. They closed at 5 and we were cutting it pretty close but really wanted our friends to see it. The people there are always so friendly and gracious. They squeezed us in for a "mini-tasting" and we ended up buying a couple of bottles. We'll definitely be back so we can spend more time and check out the gift shop. Then back to the front porch rockers at Bear Bottom for some wonderful conversation and relaxation and to sample that cheese we had purchased. A full day of activity really tires you out so we were early to bed. We have more things to "do" tomorrow.

Sunday morning found us at the Bluffs Lodge Restaurant shortly after they opened enjoying their mile-high biscuits and gravy among other delights. After a fortifying breakfast we were off on our planned hike along the Bluff Ridge Trail. We hiked to the end at Basin Cove overlook on the BRP from the Doughton Park picnic ground and returned via the same route. Total of about 7 miles round trip. Our friend Aliene had prepared a tasty lunch of turkey and cheddar cheese spread on tortilla wraps along with homemade peanut butter cookies which we ate at the Alligator Back overlook along the trail. We were all so proud of ourselves for having accomplished this feat. We now have confidence that we can make the Caudill Cabin at the base of Wildcat Rocks. That adventure is planned for September. Stay tuned. After the long hike a cooling senic drive down the BRP toward Millers Camping and back to Bear Bottom via Cleary, Air Bellows and Pine Swamp Roads was in order. The windows were down as we drove the shaded mostly dirt and gravel backroads dappled with sunlight while following alongside a cool mountain stream making for a perfect ending to a perfect afternoon. To top the day off we relaxed once again on the porch, rocking our cares away while relaxing our sore legs and feet in a cool bucket of Blue Ridge well water.

Even though it was a full weekend we really hated to see it end. We have a lot of commitments ove the next few weeks so it may be awhile before we can get back. I might even be writing about my new grandson by the time we return. Emrick is scheduled (by the doctors at least) to arrive around July 14. We'll see how well the physicians have done with their estimation. Just be forewarned - pictures will be forthcoming. When we do return we still plan to "do" things but just maybe not so many things in such a short amount of time. I'm exhausted all over again just writing about all the things we "did".