Skinny Dippin’ after Midnight

Made you look didn’t I?  A little bit about where we are staying in the North Carolina Mountains.  In our previous stays we have been located closer to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Blowing Rock.  Southern Living charm,  Instagram worth scenery and hip elevated cuisine abound.  Thinking chickpea fries with lemon saffron aioli,  Blackberry brambles and Korean Pork Belly Tacos with Heritage pork…not your typical fried chicken and greens.    Note, I did not say a thing about fly fishing waters.  While there are fishable waters close by, the whispers of the Watagua are 30-40 minutes away…on a good day.  So, the fish whisperer’s wife (Lauren) requested that we locate a place either on or with fishing rights to Watagua-cause nothing says Momma vaca like being with your three kiddos while the fish whisperer’s is out all day having meaningful conversations with various trout species.

After much looking we rented a lovely 2 year old home on the banks of the Watagua in Valle Crus, a mere five minutes from Mast General Store.  Mast General has been around since the late 1890’s selling a little bit of everything, outdoor gear,  gas, candy, soda pop in bottles.  The kids remember the candy barrels.  As Eddie’s childhood memories include a country store, the pot bellied stove, checker board-candy and bottled sodas, he is in charge of that field trip with the kids.  Kids are pretty excited about both Mast and Eddie being in charge.  They learn so quickly.  

The exterior dark wood and stone is repeated on the three floors.  Farmhouse meets lake house decor, with lots of on trend lighting (Edison lightbulbs)  that all point up….love the look,  but not practical if you need to do anything except spot spider webs on the ceiling.    The key word is dark.  Cozy, yes, shaded, yes, hard to see with all the lights on, yes…especially when you are of a certain age. The walk to the river and the stone fire pit are pretty level and easy.  IPhone gives you a handy flashlight app for that.  The ingress to the actual River, as I mentioned, is not as clean and clear.  The depth of the water in the three house on either side of us is probably only 18” deep-at the deepest…3-4 feet closer to the bridge.  So, that brings me to skinny dipping.

When did we start name all the full moons…July 23rd was the Buck Moon..I only remember Harvest Moons growing up.  Okay, I’ll bite.   Buck moon is when the male deer start showing their antler growth.  Well, we are post full, not to new moon (Sturgeon moon August for you moonie loonies), so moonlight is not that bright either.  Perfect conditions for skinny dipping.  Last night, around midnight, the house was dark, blackout blinds drawn, no moonlight to illuminate my way.  With my bare feet leading the way, I left the warmth of our bed.  After more than two weeks, I knew the way…I heard the floor creak with my progress.  Then, splash! my naked butt was wet…I am awake!    Yes, Eddie had again left the toilet seat up.  For 45 years, I have worked on this issue, but have given up and just remember to check. Except for when I don’t remember.    Others have tried, right Deb?  The lawyer responds simply, “Do I get upset when you don’t put it up for me?”  Wonder of Mast sells nightlights?  Perhaps some brain bleach-since you all have mental pictures than need to be erased.

Today’s conversation starter is-seat up or down?  As we are on Septic tank here, with the number of snakes in water and woods found here(no, I have not seen any), the better question might be-Lid up or down?

The Long and Winding Road

🎶The long and winding road, that leads, to your door…will never disappear, I have seen that road before…it always leads me here, lead me to your door.🎶

Yeah, like Beatle Paul yearning for the B842 in Scotland, we followed our hearts up the long and winding 194, 105, 321-to name a few— to again trade the sauna/steam bath weather of Houston’s summers for the mountain air of North Carolina.  Kinda like the Colorado thing, only lower altitudes, and less maintained two lane curvy highways.  

Believe it or not we have been gone from Houston for over two weeks…but whether it is spending so much “together time” during covid or there was something in my Covid cootie shot—-could  I have become immune, there have been almost no Eddie stories worth mentioning to this point.  Gaffe free?  How could this be?  You know what they say, two make one, and after 45 years….It must have been something in the shot…I am not seeing anything.  

So, I guess I will just have to make you green with envy as it is currently 59 degrees on the covered deck, over looking the Watauga River (read: fly fishing Mecca) with the sun trying to burn off the forest haze.  See previous post for lessons on why they call this the Blue Ridge Mountains—-that would be “What are terpenes?, Alex”.  Yeah, I know there is the smoke from the western forest fires, pollution from fossil fuels, but this haze started long before that…promise.  The water is cool and crisp, even at the end of a warm (81 is a heat wave) day, with a clear rock bottom, that is walkable if you are a young goat-my water shoes are not thick enough to scamper across the rocks.  By the way, scamper and Karen are not used in the same sentence-not even if there was a snake involved.  I am not as sure footed as I use to be.  Eddie has spent most of the “River time” not fly fishing with the 40 pound duffle of equipment (to include the expensive River boots-more about that in a minute), but either laughing at my water bound  grace and agility or preparing to call 911.  I have forbidden 🚫 photos. 

In preparing for this journey, we realized that we have forgot how to pack!  After all the cruises and traveling we have done over the years, we had mastered the art of one large and one small for 4-6 weeks of traveling.  The one small was our carry on as we all have heard stories of folks that lose their luggage on a trip and are caught with only one pair of underwear that had to be washed nightly in the bathroom sink for the duration of the trip.  I am a southern raised girl. We know that it is a sin to have ratty undies, in case there is an accident and you have to go to the hospital—-amazing what childhood lessons stick with you.  So, Eddie and I are a pair and two spares packers…it takes time for undies our sizes to dry.  While we are sheltering in place for 6 weeks in North C-with a washer and dryer, mind you- the trip is bookended  with a few side trips—to include the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and New Orleans, so one large and one small evolved in to two, two, and two duffles, a plastic bin and a couple of Piggly Wiggly bags.  If you are from the Deep South, paper grocery sacks-not these flimsy plastic bags they give you now— were a part of car trips…and Piggly Wiggly-affectionately call the “Pig” was the “HEB” of the Deep South.  It was the designer tag of choice for disposal luggage.  No car trip was complete without at least two bags filled with “just in case” items that did not make the suitcases.  

Eddie is a creature of comfort—-just in case you did not know.  He has certain requirements.  He considers them basic or bare minimums.  For example, when determining which Property to rent this summer-besides AC, king bed, River access, the house had to have 5.0 internet, cable TV - hey, it is the 2020/2021 Not Fun Olympics from Tokyo, and because of the time difference, you can watch all 7,000 hours of coverage, and  comfortable seating-which is code for a recliner.  In fact, when we were looking if there was a place that met the basic list, but had no recliner, Eddie announced he would just buy one, then donate it before we left.  😳..which brings me to the 40 pound fly fishing gear duffle….not to be confused with the 20 pound hardback book Pig bag, or the  2-15 pound dumbbells for working outs.  You think I made that last one up-nope..they came naked, the Pig bags are strong, but not that strong.  They say new habits take hold within 21 days…we will be here for at least 21 days…soooo.    Eddie is a collector…see part about books, shop tools, piano music, foreign language books, college textbooks, cooking and grilling books .  When Eddie embarks on a new hobby or interest, he first researches the subject online, which usually results in 5-15 pounds of books on said subject-thanks Amazon-being delivered to our door step.  After a few days of study and list making, there is a frenzy of point and click activity-as Eddie enjoys the hunt of all things from the comfort of his recliner.  Once all the packages and books arrive, storage/carriers are acquired, devised or built.  A new hobby has hatched in Eddie’s world.  Fly fishing is/was no exception.  I fish…River, lake, ocean, I fish.   I have some of the same stuff (to include tackle box)I have had for over 55 years…to include a 70 year old fly reel.    It works-it catches fish, it lives in the outdoor box beside the raised patio/driveway side-with the dirt dobbers, spider webs, and extra garden hose.  Now, Eddie…he may not fish more than two days a year, but he looks the part of a Orvis calendar boy…must have been the night at Holiday Inn Express (YouTube the commercial if you don’t use Cable TV)   He is sporting all of the best equipment, down to his towel and underwear—-not part of small bag underwear.  It is all stored inside our bedroom cabinet, so that it will not mix with the elements of nature.  After traveling two years ago with the footlocker sized tackle box, I purchased and insisted he reduce his actual gear to an insulated lunch box sized tackle bag.  After much huffing and sorting, he had down sized his tackle gear, the rod, reel, heavy ass boots with spikes on the bottom (he won’t fall in the stream) , Batman utility fishing vest-(all filled and dangling from two years ago), and fish friendly fishing net were packed into the rolling duffle.  Remember the part about Kentucky bourbon trail and New Orleans-that and the two, two and two will be joining us in our hotel rooms nightly…we might leave the Pig bags and 2-15 dumbbells in the car.  

Will let you know if we catch anything, fall in the river-with non ratty underwear as I am sure there will be a hospital visit involved,  or find wildlife or other cars in a blind curve on our long and winding roads here in North Carolina.