Guess who is coming to spend the night?

Okay, who invited Beryl to the party?  Nothing says summer fun like an early Hurricane in the Gulf.  We just finished getting the May damage to the dock repaired right before we left…my head said to wait as I felt we would see more damage this summer.  Wonder if Downtown Houston and the 4,000 blown out office windows will have that same feeling.  Yeah, paying the stupid tax once again…we do that bunches cause we are so anal.  One bright note, we moved all the electrical boxes for the boat and jet ski lifts up 3 feet…so we won’t have to change all that stuff out again.  Of course, when we sell the house, you will need a step stool to get to said lift boxes…but new owners would never know that until they bring home the new boat…the view always distracts folks.  After 18 years, we use to love watching storms come in and the wave action…we have learned that wind and waves always have a costly next morning hangover.  Then there is the part of finding someone to repair the damage.  We have been rebuilding our list of “people” since Harvey…we set the List on fire then and burned a lot of bridges.  Scorched earth…that is how we roll.  

We are now in the final week of our stay in North Carolina.  These last few days were the ones we planned just for us.  A final lap to the Famers Market…my favorite.  Completion of our restaurant bingo board of favorites…however, Eddie quoted my mom and said “Not as good as it use to be”….and added “that is a lot (meaning money) for that (meaning food)…I agree, but it beats cooking three meals a day any day of the week.   8 years ago when we first started coming here, it had not been discovered by many…now the secret is out, we see car tags for everywhere and crowds where we use to see few.  We have explored before, this time we are quite happy to sit on the deck and watch the breeze in the trees…and count the deer population as we drive from here to there.  Eddie even saw a newborn baby fawn that was spooked out of hiding by the rumble of thunder.  You know you have arrived at that certain age when you can identity the various birds, delight in nature and find a cool breezes exciting.  Right, Joe?  Oh, he might forget the birds names unless Jill whispers them in his ear.

George was here from the start, and Lauren and fam joined us for the week of the 4th.  The week was fairly uneventful except for a Karen story.  Yeah, I am sharing one on me…really two.  First was Date night for L&D.  George and I were responsible for kid entertainment….we picked  movie time.  Despicable 4…Eddie suggested we get tickets online ahead of time.  Check, in my Apple Wallet…no instructions, just the scan code and Theatre 7.  We arrived and there was one person working the concession stand, no ticket takers, no indication of which of the 10 screens had which movie. …so, we sit down in Theatre 7 with 3 kids, no concessions…line too long, one person.  Well, the next 10 minutes were filled with previews of coming attractions…of course,  the green screen with the “suitable preview for all ages” before each…I was horrified when each preview was more scary than the next.  The kids assumed the position—- hands over eyes and ears…looked like the three monkeys…I had my hands over Lucy’s eyes and ears for a make sure.  Finally, the adult in the room (George) stood up and said, “this is not right, let’s leave”.  We hustled out, and I am sure that nightmares would be part of the kids evening activities..date night comes at a price these days.  George made a quick detour to concessions determined the theatre was actually number one.  We regrouped and sat down for 94 minutes of minions in Theatre 1.  At about the 75 minute mark, Lucy announced she was dying from hunger.  I attempted to ignore the pleads (which got louder and more attention getting-like I was pinching her each minute) …until the 80 minute mark….Lucy is the most persistent of the three.  While at the Concession stand, purchasing my smallish $10 bag of movie popcorn, I inquired about the procedure that had led us to the horror movie (The Quiet Place prequel) theatre instead of the Yellow Minions world.  He explained that you were suppose to scan the code at the monitor on the table with the extra butter and napkins and it would direct you to the appropriate theatre. I asked how was I to know this procedure….he answered that everybody just knows it.  No signs, not email, not nothing…just you just know.  I returned to our seats with the smallish bag of $10 popcorn…apparently everyone wanted popcorn and Lucy was the designated speaker for the group.  Oh, I forgot about Rooney…Lucy’s stuffed monkey that she acquired on an outing to Tweetsie Railroad.  You know the monkey that has long arms and legs that has Velcro hands and feet to attach around your neck and waist.  Rooney and Lucy have been inseparable since Monday.  Rooney had to come to the movies.  In all the chaos of popcorn and exiting the theatre, Rooney got left behind.  We were in the car, half way back to the cabin when it hit me that we were short one Monkey.  I asked Lucy if she had Rooney…I glanced at her in the rear view mirror…the surprised look, the shaking of head and the tears that immediately sprang to her eyes said we were going back.  I did what any good Grandmother would do, u turned on the top of a hill with double yellow lines on either side.  Now George had the sissy bar.  Back the 15 minutes to the movie theatre.  Uncle George ran inside to talk to the folks that cleaned up Theatre 1….Rooney had already found a space in the Lost and Found box.  Rooney rescue complete, and securely wrapped around Lucy’s neck once more.  Of course, Eli, our budding teenager, stated that his mom would not have returned so Lucy would remember to take care of her possessions in future.  Score one for Uncle G and One for NeyNey (me)….we will take small victories where we can.  George is still not over me pivoting far right lane to far left on hilltop.  PTSD at its finest. Who needs minions…we have our grandmother….

Back to Normal

Ahh…where were we?  George and I had just left of our massages and Eddie was nesting at the cabin and doing Laundry.  I know you are sitting on the edge of your seat  as to what happened next…Friday arrived and things were back to normal.  George and I got up and drove the two hours to Asheville and Biltmore, while Eddie on Day 9 took a much needed “me day”.  I am impressed that he hung in there this long.  Actually, he had never been part of the Biltmore tour plans this trip.  We have been coming to Biltmore since 1976…the changes to the “experience” has expanded dramatically (not in a Disney but more Downton Abbey way).  George is both a history buff and Downton fan, so he had no problems on saying yes to a day visit.  The one thing that Biltmore and Disney does have in common is the price of tickets and all the add ons that you can make…well in advance.  If you show up bright and early at the gate without tickets…you will have the late afternoon entrance to the home…it is timed entry these days.  Like we say, a failure to plan is a plan for failure.  Biltmore is the largest home in the United States…178,926 square feet of floor area…there are small liberal arts colleges that don’t have that much space.  I never fail to be impressed with both the history and the challenge to keep family legacy of ownership alive.    

You know that heat dome in the Mid Atlantic states? It made its presence know in Asheville.  84 with humidity and several thousand of your new best friends shuffling through this large home cooled mostly by fans and high ceilings.  Good times, for sure.  We finished our tour and made a dash to the winery for a tasting as we needed to leave by 3:30 to make it home for 6:00 dinner reservations.  We have changed our glencarin glassware for wine glasses for this portion of the trip…we did the brewery tour a few years back…we do not discriminate in our consumption of alcohol, equal opportunity, for sure.  Years ago, it use to be a medicine cups on barrel tops.  The winery has been expanded dramatically….along with their offerings and “experience value”.    George tasted…if time had permitted we would have done the chocolate pairings.  I can chocolate and drive…for sure.  Going home to Texas, Eddie will be channeling his interBurt Reynolds/Smokey and the Bandit bringing several cases of liquor across state lines…

Saturday was Me Day 2 for Eddie….if a little is good a lot be more better…one of my absolute favorite things here in North Carolina is the Farmers Market circuit… in particular, the best is the Watauga County Farmers Market…Saturday from 8-12:00.  In the eight years we have come, the vendors/farmers never change.  I have learned that 8:30 arrival time means prime up close parking and the vendors still have plenty of produce.  You can talk gardening trash with the fellow that put out the plants in the garden.  I brought my wing man, George, as he is cooking dinner for us tomorrow evening.  He was overwhelmed at the fresh vegetable and fruits selections.  We celebrated our purchases over family style breakfast at the Daniel Boone Inn Restaurant.  Google it…there are not many things like this left these days…fresh faced college kids, putting all u can eat bowls of all the breakfast favs on the table for you and yours to eat $15.95 each, no credit cards, cash only, no doggie bags…and Eddie slept in. 

Well, you have suffered through the boring, on to Sunday with Eddie.  Eddie always rallies for Sunday brunch…remember things are back to normal, this part of the trip was the beginning of the family portion and he does not have quite the handle in what comes next….queue to endless questions and comments.  I tell him these are the options, but concrete plans, nope.    Yeah, things are back to normal.  Today, we were doing Sunday brunch at a Boone restaurant, then a trip to Grandfather Trout Farm so that George could fish for Sunday’s night trout. I am sure you are aware of the expression of “shooting fish in a barrel”..it is kind of like that, but involved worms, kernel corn and well used cheap rods and reels from Wal Mart or even Amazon…although I have not seen very many of the familiar Amazon E vans since we left Texas.  Following our fishing adventure, we were going to stop at Grandfather Wineries …wait for it…a tasting…imagine my surprise when Eddie emerged from the bedroom, with khaki pants, blue dress shirt and caramel wingtips.  In  my most non combative voice, I asked Eddie if he remembered we were fishing at Grandfather Trout Farm.  He replied that just because every one else in these resort areas have forgotten how to dress appropriately, doesn’t mean he has to follow suit.  Okay, Joe…at least he did not babble or lose his train of thought.  He went back and changed his shoes to his brushed suede tie up shoes. The assortment of clothes that he brought were interesting.  Due to his skin issues, he shies away from shorts.  Fine, at least pack some blue jeans, sneakers or your beloved Sketchers…the ones without stains and holes.  Nope, we packed for a cruise…not a month in a car and in the woods.  Kinda like a small child that bring everything but clothes when allowed to pack on their own.  

Post brunch (with the required Bloody Mary), we drove the 10 miles to the Trout Farm.  There are two stocked trout ponds and a auxiliary nasty stagnant pond which is counted on their FB website, but has never been used in the 8 years we have come here.  Two Bubbas dressed in tee shirts with this season’s fish blood stains permanently part of the outfit.  Then there is Momma that run this place since it opened in the 1980’s…curiosity got the best of Eddie.  He had originally stated that he was going to sit in the car and read so as not to get his outfit dirty.  So, here I am with my seven (Ty-three) year old and my four (Ty one) year old little boys grabbing the cheap rods and headed out to catch a fish, just like all the other small children with their parents.  I was left to bring the 5 gallon plastic bucket, fishing net, container of kernel corn and container of worms….like I said we are back to normal.    Oh yeah, I almost forgot.  Bubba #1 offered Eddie a chair seeing how Eddie was dressed as a gentleman fisherman, and all.  B#1 must have wanted a big laugh as Eddie selected the aluminum framed with the woven RWB man made fiber webbing…circa 1990’s or before. (Read half of the webbing missing, or torn)   Well, off we stroll to the back side of  the larger pond where B#1 had said that the 4-6 pounders lived.  Between Eddie’s proper dress and George Aversion to slimy things…I baited the kids’ hooks.  You may ask why we are doing this instead of grocery pick up in the seafood counter?  This is not your H‑E‑B…yet.   Well, we do love to support the local economy, but they don’t sell what can be locally caught is so many places for free.  Eddie pops open the vintage swim team chair, and gingerly lowers himself into seat.  Whew, that was close…must have been made in America…built to last.  The weather is okay for trout…overcast and mild, a littler higher humidity due to all the water around us.  The squeals of small children “catching” the big one-with parent assist broken the rather quiet late morning.  Our two big kids were without a nibble or squeal.  We decided to move around the pond…closer to the action, but not to encroach on the other fisher people…being we are with the Fisher Gentleman, after all. 

Just as all small children, Eddie lost interest when the fish did not immediately bite, and the cheap reel was not the quality that he has at home.   He stood up very carefully and announced he was going to the car.  The chair survived.  Well, the minute he left…fish on.  I manned the net, George reeled in his prize…not the advertised 4-6 pounder, but after an hour in the humidity 1.5 worked for us.  B#1 had explained that the “drunk fool” that stocks the ponds reversed the the order last time…biggie went in small pond, small in front large pond.  Sure is hard getting good help these days.  Post catch, Eddie returned to see if our luck had improved.  The fish must have sensed the fisher gentleman was back, they stopped even casual bait stealing.  The expert Eddie told George he needed to move to the water inlet area. No, George has now decided that the gentleman fisherman is bad luck.  Sure enough. Eddie gives up a second time and wanders back to the car for air cooled space.  He had no more reached the car when George hooked a 3.5 fish.  So, with or 5 gallon full of water and fish, we go back to the Bubbas’ office space…cash register, ice machine, scales to weight your catch and a fish cleaning station.  We were weighed, filleted  and paid in about 10 minutes and on our way to the winery.  Our timeline was a little delayed, so the winery parking was almost non existent and the walk was pretty long.  Eddie stayed put and we dashed in for a couple of bottles of favorites…we were just doing the tasting because it was free.  

We spent the afternoon preparing for dinner and for Lauren and family’s evening arrival…so, I will be busy the few days…stay tuned.