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.