Welcome to Fantasy Island

Okay, on with my story...let’s review.  Eddie has arrived in North Carolina with an oversized tackle crate with all the implements necessary to fish as suggested by the four fly fishing books, endless articles and the internet (that would be “they say”) and all the things that Amazon’s algorithms helpfully suggest in the portion of the page customers who purchased this also purchased that section...talk about hooking a big fish.  We have enough industrial/deet bug spray to go to the Amazon River and fish—-other than honey bees, we have yet to be attacked by any flying insects.  It was just a suggestion....if a little is good a lot be more better.  I knew that there had been specialized clothing purchased—-2 pairs of pants, 4 wicking long sleeved tees (which had to be altered by me-a seamstress I am not-remember sewing is clearly a hobby-I can sew, but not well), 2 long sleeved and 2 short sleeved Simms fishing shirts (the 12 Columbia brand that we have had for 5+ years were deemed dated technology), 4 pairs of assorted weighted socks, and 2 pairs of UnderArmor long compression pants-neon orange and black.  This is for the man who wears gym shorts and a tee shirt most of the time.  The only thing not new was a tan sun hat with a long back bill to prevent sun on your neckline.  Apparently Eddie has applied the same logic to fish as he holds for golf...you must dress the part.  Even if you don’t know what you doing, come dressed for success, that is half the battle...all part of the fantasy, for sure.  

We all know Eddie is an avid reader (see part of hobbies-book collecting), movie watcher so he has a very vivid imagination.  I think if we are all honest, we would admit to “dream sequencing”. We can visualize the way something should play out, in a perfect situation.  I am quite sure that Eddie pictured himself as we have seen so many times in our travels, the fly fisherman standing in a swift water stream or river, landing the perfect cast with the well chosen fly and a foot plus long trout striking and the fisherman working his line back in.  Unfortunately, the dream and the reality are rarely the same.  

His first dose of reality was the fact that despite the we are surrounded by lakes, rivers, streams they are not always accessible as they are on private property.  The internet can be good to tell you where those public access point are, but if you know “they know”, too...so much for the solitary fisherman in the water fantasy.  After lots of discussion with the various fishermen/shops/locals, they all (along with Drew) suggested that a trip with a guide might be a good way to learn the local waters. Guides services here are like nail bar at home, there is a shop about every mile or so.  Fishing licenses area available at WalMart...since everybody fishes here...with or without fancy equipment...cane pole and hot dog, anyone?  Check, Trip to WalMart in Boone and two fishing licenses.  Based on the weather (there was a major front with rain), we determined that Eddie would go for a half day with a guide on Thursday.  

While at the Foscoe Fishing Store which had Orvis in its name—-so it must be good (30 minutes from our house), we learned that all fish caught with the guide, were catch and release—-so no trout on the grill in the trout basket that traveled with us from Houston.  Obviously, there is some secret place to buy fresh, not farm raised, trout in NC—-it is not the grocery stores, and there are not seafood markets...that or the local restaurants buy it all because every restaurant has NC trout on the menu.  Pop...that would be yet another  couple of pins in that fantasy balloon bouquet.  

At 9:00 Wednesday night a text from Collin came in.  Collin was to be Eddie’s guide for Thursday morning. Collin suggested Eddie meet him at the shop at 8:00.  Phew, the shop keeper had said 6:30 AM when we booked.  We all know Eddie is more of a 10-2 kinda of guy.  By 7:30 we were in the car with his gear...which he decide needed a proper carrying bag.  While at Walmart obtaining the license,  he picked up a handled canvas plastic coated laundry bag/bucket. $$$$ of top line fishing gear and he chooses a $10.37 canvas bucket...go figure...that is so Karen.  Guess Amazon failed to make a suggestion on that one.  Wish I had taken a picture....wicking tee, check, long sleeved fishing shirt, check, the carefully packed fishing utility vest (which he spent hours packing, nesting, arranging all the little stuff in) check, the long orange and black compression pants covered with his typical ratty gym shorts, check, a pair of white wicking socks, check, cell phone in a ziplock bag for pictures, check....with his functional Laundry (it says so right on the side)  non traditional gear bag on his wrist, expensive rod and reel case in the other.  After Shane Lowry won the Open over the weekend, Eddie decided that Lowry looked much thinner with a beard than his Wiki picture without-so, Eddie is growing a beard. Here again, fantasy and reality....

At 5 minutes till 8:00 we arrive in the Fishing Shop parking lot.  Collin and his well used Toyota 4 Runner were waiting.   Collin looks like he came from central casting...reasonably young (30+maybe), baseball cap, lots of hair, beard, tall, lean and good physical shape, shorts and tee shirt, sandals-9 months fishing guide, 3 months mountain ski bum...cause they have ski (more bunny) slopes dotted around these parts of Western NC.  He opened the rear of the 4Runner—-it was tricked out to hold rods and had a bar for holding reels-lots of both...of course, there was a layer of dirt and mud that goes with the job.  Eddie’s new toys where going to be placed there in the back...oh, the horror...Mud on his new toys.  I so wish I could have been a fly on the water to see this whole fantasy in motion.  Pop,pop

As we have only my car here, I had plans for the 4-5 hours that Eddie would be on the water.  I figured that I needed to be close by 1:00 for a pick up at the shop 30 minutes from our rustic cabin.  I was right, my phone chirped up around 1:00 indicating they inbound.  So, I pick my fisherman up and asked “well?”  Eddie sighed and said that Collin was very patient, probably not the best teacher as he did not talk a lot, and he caught four small trout-3 brown and one rainbow. No, there were no pictures taken...rats, popped my fantasy balloon.   Sigh, patient...not the words one would have suspected he would have used if his dream sequence had become reality...pop,pop,pop...

On the ride back and the couple of hours that followed, I learned the real story of his fishing trip.  Collin took him south of Foscoe (the Watauga is in the shop’s back door, but on private land) to the Toe River...off roading the last mile right to the edge of the river.  Eddie slipped into his lightweight waders, put on his Frankenstein wading boots (seriously, you can’t bend you foot, so you have to lift the heavy boot and put it down—like Frankie), donned his hat and snazzy vest, took his $$$ rod out and threaded the line from the $$$ reel.  The guide provided him with a pair of nymph flies.  Collin grabbed a rod and reel, and changed his shoes to flip flops.  Drew has always said less is more when stream fishing...guess Eddie did not have his hearing aides on that day.  Yeah, Eddie caught four trout, fell down in the 6” deep stream -twice, thanks to the nifty boots, learned how to ball up the lead line into a snarl of knots, and pretty much pop every bit of fantasy wind left in his balloons.  I actually felt kinda bad for him.  He had such high expectations of himself.  I had to remind him that the last time he fly fished it was an automatic take-up reel, like my dad’s/mine was/is...there is a whole skill set with the new manual reels that he has not mastered...you don’t get it from a book.  I honestly think he was ready to abandoned his new hobby.  Old dog, new tricks...frustration factor....perfectionist issues....hot mess....you name it.  It has taken me a good 36 hours to help him realize that he might benefit from a lesson or two...and that he might get some water shoes at WalMart and leave the Franky boots and fancy waders at home.  So, tomorrow will see us bank fishing with my old reel and non sophisticated fly rod...close by...or maybe even a cane pole and hot dog....need to get his dream machine going again.  BTW, he has a lesson on Tuesday.  

Men and their toys

If you don’t think that this a statement of fact, let me present you with Exhibit “E”  as in Eddie—-Amazon’s favorite consumer.  The old ladies that sit at home and call into QVC have nothing on “Fast Eddie”.  Dubbed Fast Eddie by our neighbor, Melody, whose dogs bark every time there is a delivery truck/car/van  in the area.  They bark a lot.  In the Stone Age, before Eddie retired, and Amazon and the internet made shopping a recliner chair activity, Eddie hated shopping.  The traffic, the parking, the crowds, the going from one store to the next...all of it.  If he wanted a specific item, I would do the old school research-recon, friend network, Consumer Reports, Library.  I would then determine where I could find the best price (cause that is my favorite part of the hunt), then take Eddie there, park close to the door, guide him to the choices, and he would then pull the trigger and purchase whatever item it might be—-electronics, sporting equipment, clothing, books, hobby items.  So, given that it took some time to accomplish this, expenditures were small and our collection of toys were relatively controlled.  Then, Eddie retired and began “developing” his hobbies.  Simultaneously, internet shopping and two day delivery began it’s accession to the only way to shop.  All of the sudden, the world’s candy store of hobby related items was at his finger tips.  Yikes!  As Eddie’s hobbies expanded, the expenditure and space need to store his hobbies did, too.  Which leads us to our last acquisition of a hobby....fly fishing.

Do I have hobbies, not really.  I am more of a short term project kind of girl.  Are there activities I enjoy, yes, absolutely.  Do I buy or want everything to do with a particular activity...no.  I am careful not share with Eddie that I like/enjoy a particular thing, because I am hard to shop for, and he wants to get me something I like...and lots of it for gift giving times.  If a little is good, a lot be more better...I like to use what I have, make do, repurpose...yeah, on the cheap.  Back to fly fishing.  I am a casual fisher person...my momma made sure that I was taught how to fish as it was my Dad’s favorite thing in the world...that and cars.  (He had lots of toys for fishing for 1950’s) I like to Lake, sea, and fly fish...it is my time to clear the cobwebs in my brain...deep mediation and reflection time...also, Girl time if I am Bay fishing...my personal favorite.  Eddie was never much of a fisher person.  When we first married he would take me fishing in the lakes of Pennsylvania and Virginia...we would abuse the fly rods, reels and homemade flies from my dad....he would catch tree fish, I would randomly hook a fish or him.  Hey, we were young and did not have much money...it was a day of entertainment on all levels.  Fast forward to Jackson Hole and The destination wedding of Michele and Adam...and a particular fly float trip on the Snake river...that was the seed.  Water it with Drew’s love of all things fishy, and top with a 500 pound custom built fly tying desk for Drew made by our little woodworker....Eddie was bitten with the fly bug.  

Since Harvey with the assortment of worker bees and strangers on the street, Eddie downloaded apps from the Postal Service, FedEx and UPS to keep an active eye in packages that were expected.  He has never deleted them.  I kinda realized he was in the acquisition stage of his new found hobby, I pay the bills and reconcile the charge statements.  Several times a day, he would disappear outside...little did I know that it coincided with said delivery services.  

The smaller stuff (and with fly fishing there is a mountain of small stuff) went to his side of our bedroom cabinet.  The larger items got hidden in the “shop”—-home to Eddie’s wood working shop and the collection of every power tool, hand tool known to modern man—-toys.  As summer approached and our blast off for North Carolina loomed (side bar NC is Home to some of the best trout fishing east of the Mississippi along with cooler temps) the cabinet and shop were about to burst with all of the boxes and unopened littles.  He had to come clean about the quantity (and yes, quality) of his new hobby.  That and he need some fly fishing boots fitted to go with his fancy new waders.  Not to be confused with the heavy ugly rubber waders that I wore out of the house when we walked out during Harvey...which in my mind would have been just dandy for this first fly fishing trip.  I had casually mentioned the store owned by Russell Gordy and his sons on Waugh—-it is an Orvis store on steroids.  Ole Fast Eddie did the research on determined the particular boots were $10 less at Gordy’s.  As field trip was in order.  After 43 years there are a few places Eddie needs a chaperone-kitchen stores, hardware stores, high end grocery, liquor stores and now Gordy and sons.  We left with a few fancy fishing shirts and the boots...which look like Frankenstein boots...think snow ski boots for water.  Good grief.  The week before our departure, his tackle box arrived-I have two and a half ...one that got in high school and one that Lauren decoupaged me along with one from the Dollar Store that holds my Bay house/salt water stuff...they live in the deck boxes outside.  Eddie purchased a box that could hold Eli.  It is massive.  But this is Eddie, go big or go home.  This box and all the new shiny things lives in our bedroom...both in Texas and here in North Carolina.  Fly fishing has changed in the 60+ years since my Dad’s time...the reels are manual take ups...the rods and holders are lots fancier than the cardboard tube with screw tops my Dad’s rod was.  Yeah, I brought my rod and reel...old school, Dad’s reel with new line (thanks, Drew) and a rod that Ed purchased for me the Christmas after returned from Jackson Hole.  Kinda a combination hint,hint new hobby alert and a kid buying his mom a new baseball mitt for  Christmas because that is what the kid wanted.

My next post will be all about this his fly fishing trip....grab your Depends, this is a snicker fest.  Ahh, men and the toys...watching the play with them is the best.  

In a Cabin, In the Woods...

In a cabin, in the woods, a little man by the window stood... and concludes with little rabbit come inside, safely to abide.  That ancient ditty and the  other one about little bunny foo foo having three chances to stop scooping up field mice and bopping them on the head keep running through my head as I sit on the porch of our North Carolina home for the next 6+ weeks watching it rain.  Our 40+ year old log hand planked rustic cabin is nestled among the trees, backed up to a hill/mountain side of stone and rhododendrons.  Down the hill a bit is a mountain stream.  It is  prime for wading (until the recent storms)or catching brookies (aka brook trout).  However, they may have been washed away as the 6” clear brook is now 2 feet deep and a tad muddy.  After much discussion in October of 2018, we rented this VRBO place, based on location, bedrooms and air conditioning...These areas are mostly undiscovered by the outside world—-folks from Charlottesville have tried to keep it that way...as it is an escape from the city and heat...so things tend to book up well in advance.  Southern Living (before it became a Real Simple want to be, blah-i miss the old SL) tended to highlight it every year or so...so, it is on a true southerner’s radar.  VRBO’s tend to be in two distinct categories-condo/townhomes or older vacation homes that have been owned for at least 1.5 generations.  Of course there are the additional  lodges, inns, motels—-the kind where you drive up to the door and park and the air conditioner is a ductless unit attached the the outside wall by the door....no charge for the musty odors.  We did the condo last year, Eddie deemed that to small and the ceiling were too low.  He wanted various outside views in woods, with high ceilings.  Yes, there are newer constructed condo/townhomes, but they do not have the location, location, location.  Winding two lane, unlit at night, off the beaten path are a no go for this designated driver.  So, after much deliberation, we rented this 5 bedroom place.(seriously, As a certified Goldilocks/Princess and the pea kind of girl-guess, Eddie was hedging his bets on a good mattress—-however, we do have company coming)

I have discovered over the years that when your rent on VRBO, the pictures are not necessarily a true representation of the actual place.  Our cabin is indeed in the woods, with three different outdoor porches and patios.  It does have high ceiling in the living area, 4 bedrooms with doors, and a large loft with a king sized bed and 1/2 bath.  What is not pictured are the 4 sets of steep steps (two exterior, two interior) , to climb from the subterranean level, to the loft or from the brook, back patio or parking area.  Glad we are not dealing with altitude. Also not mentioned is the little tan painted brick house that shares this secluded spot...to get here it is a razor sharp right turn off the main road, a truly butt tingling slow crawl around the stone wall and the drop off to the brook past said tan painted brick house...yikes!  Even Eddie has said that I can drive if we have been dining out!  It does have air conditioning—-judging from the thermostat it is a new unit as it is a meat locker in the bottom (3 bedroom, den, bath area). It even has a dehumidifier...so no musty funk.  The main level it is a little chilly as it has floor vents instead of the ceiling vents we are use to at home.  Eddie likes to be a tad on the cool side (particularly when we are not paying for electricity) we even had a field trip to get a warmer sweater for me.  The deco—-what can I say, durable possibly indestructible but so stuck in a 1980’s time machine. Remember when cargo furniture was all the rage and you could purchase an entire house full of furniture as in 3 bedrooms, dining, living room for less than $1,000...well, do that twice and boom, your mountain cabin is decorated...forever.  There are church pews that are cozier than this, but, hey,  it is only 7 weeks.  The wall deco...before there was farmhouse chic, before there was the cabin or lodge look, there was the country look-yeah, I had some of that stuff, back then—-gingham cafe curtains, angel birdhouses, quilts, wire sculptures of hearts, stencil painted clocks and wall pieces, rag dolls—-yup, they are all here..with a nice 40 year old patina.  Makes me appreciate the clean lines (among other things) that the Owners of Villa Bahia use in their rental unit.  To our owners credit  the house has good mattresses, a little doughy for my taste, but not broken down or stained.  All the appliances are reasonable new and everything including the hot tub are in good repair.  The hot tub guy is here every Friday.  The kitchen cabinets are a little more primitive than rustic, but after no kitchen post Harvey, it is all good.  We did, however, have to purchase a few more knives (Eddie can not pass the World’s Largest Knife Store in Pigeon Forge, TN without making a purchase.  Congratulations, George, you have a set of new really nice steak knives.), new dish rags, skillet, new cutting board (there are just some things you know that should not be used in rental, this was a big one-we have not had our cootie shots) a cocktail shake (this is why we do not let Eddie go to Kitchen shops alone-see part about new sweater) 3 new bath towels, 4 new bath cloths and one hand towel. The house has towels-adequate but certainly not large or plush, but Hotel Eddie has certain towel criteria (the owners of Villa Bahia know this and plan accordingly), so a trip to Home Goods for bath sheets.  However, after a week here, Eddie has discussed purchasing a inexpensive recliner (seriously, as if Eddie has ever purchased anything inexpensive)...I can’t imagine us getting it up the stairs...he has settled (at least for now) on the 1980’s glider that was in our bedroom.  At least we are not moving furniture up and down stairs.  That ship has sailed.  In fact, the night before we left, George came over for dinner and rescue things that would not survive two months in our refrigerator.  We (we all know who “we” is) had already packed our large suitcases, laundry basket with our favorite bed pillows, some kitchen knives (not our first rodeo), non chemical soaps and cleaners and rags, spices, fish basket, Eddie’s needlepoint stuff, 25 pounds of hard copy books-guess who, a port a crib and limited kid equipment, two iPads, one laptop, charging cords, fishing items (there will be at least one if not two post coming on that) into the back portion of my SantaFe...all of which was covered with a queen sized black sheet so that people will not notice the things that we have place in the back of my vehicle....what can I say, our pre-game is strong.  After dinner, I told George I would need help putting Ed’s recliner on top of the car and lashing it down.  My literalist, George, even paused, even blinked...he know his dad’s love affair with recliners...but I could see him trying to decided if I was serious or should he start trying to figure out how to hoist a 150 pound recliner on top of my car.  

As I have already written tons last year about the Blowing Rock/Boone/Blue Ridge Parkway area, I guess I will have to opt for Eddie stories and his discovery (rather rediscovery of fly fishing).  

As it has stopped raining, and the crowds will be light at the local watering holes, we will venture out like the birds and tree frogs do here in the mountains after a good rain storm.    

Where were you 50 years ago?

For those who know me, you know exactly where I was (along with my sister, Kathy) this week 50 years ago.  We were sitting in our den, glued to our color (yes, we were those neighbors-first to have a color television set in the 60’s) TV set watching the Apollo 11 moon landing, walk and all things space.  As Mom was an original NASA employee (meaning she was there from the Army days in the 50’s) and we did live in Huntsville, Alabama —-home to Marshall Space Flight Center, Werner VonBraun and the team of German scientists—-space exploration was part of our DNA...where by nature or nurture.  That and there  were only 3 networks, bunny ear antennas, no cable, no VCR, DVD, Netflix, Amazon, HBO or the 1200 other choices of entertainment.  If it was happening, it was all you could get on the TV...no matter how boring it may have been.  Commercials were better, there was no Flo, Gecko, emu (seriously the dumbest, yet) or drug commercials—-it was the Marlboro man, toothpaste, sugary cereal, and the Alka seltzer man...kinder simpler times, for sure.  Mid summer in July, the 20 or so kids from our neighborhood would gather after dinner for a game of hide and go seek, red rover, kickball, catch fire flies or just lay in our front yard (as it had a slight hill in the front) and watch the sky hoping to be able to make a wish on a falling star.  So, man on the moon, was a big thing.  

Fast forward 50 years, we still live in a Space City—-Houston.  Home to the astronaut program, Mission Control and all the space contractors that go along with manned space flight...not Elon Musk’s Space X...but the man on the moon still reminds me of my childhood and the excitement/wonder I felt then.  Unfortunately, space travel has become ordinary since the 60’s, as the number of things to grab our attention increased, the coverage decreased...along with government money.    In fact unless there is an explosion on the pad, the launches of both payloads and people barely even register in the News Feeds.  My, my how we have changed.  

The news story last night about the #FaceApp challenge was longer than the Apollo piece.  Hmmm, we are more interested in what our face will look like at 50 (because that is old if you are a millennium snowflake) than how much our world has changed because of space travel...or what an engineering feat it was.  BTW I tried it...not much difference...no more wrinkles than I currently have (that would be the part about fat not cracking), same hair issues, jowls a little droopier..that would be a Newton’s and gravity thing.  I did note with some interested the news musing of the fact that it could be used in a not yet determined way by the Russian company that developed the app. I read a lot of international mysteries...cannot even come up with a good plot line here...other than Russian Cornering the market on Botox or making medi spas of mafia/cartel kind of thing.  

Which brings me to where are we...if I am writing, we are traveling.  We are in the Western mountains of North Carolina—-the BlueRidge Mountains in a town called Blowing Rock.  50 years ago this was probably not a tourist destination, but a moonshiner’s Heaven.  The folks who lived around these parts thought that the moon walk was fake and done in a movie studio.  Ed’s grandmother certainly thought that was the case.  We traveled here last year in August to escape the heat of Houston for a couple of weeks, this time we are here for 50 days...in a Rustic mountain logged cabin....hold on to rustic, as it will be a topic In Upcoming days.So, not every day...despite there are potentially 50 Eddie stories...I will keep you informed about life in the slow lane here in N.C.  It is currently 76 degrees outside...with a low of 63 at night.  Next week the high will be 72/lows in the lower 50’s.  Yeah, life in the slow lane, driving with top down, windows open, sitting on the porch swing until after dark—-life is good.