The Blue Ridge Mountains

Oct. 8-12

Hallelujah! We live to find these nuggets of civility! The Blue Ridge Mountain Resort, outdoor-resorts.com in Lake Toxaway, NC, owned by Outdoor Resorts of American, is close to perfection for an RV resort. The panorama is exquisite, the lots large, private and with lovely ammenities like outdoor kitchens and fireplaces. There's a Par 3 course on property, a pool and are in the midst of constructing a large clubhouse and tennis courts. If they could manage to put a beach up here, I'd be in seventh heaven!

On our first full day in the Blue Ridge we went to Whitewater Falls, the tallest falls east of the Mississipi. The hike to the 451 foot drop is an easy 1/2 mile on a paved path. However, the 12 flights of stairs to get a closer look could be a bit wary for some at this altitude. Do it if you can. At this time of year, while the hills are not in full fall flame, they are punctuated with color. The falls cut a thundering path.

We made our way to Cashiers (pronounced Cashers) which is the most suprisingly, delightful village filled with high-end interior shops reminiscent of Litchfield County, CT. Two stand-out shops were Ryan and Company Antiques ryanandcompanyantiques.com and Basketworks, both on Route 107 South.

The Cashiers Farmer's Market was quite of find! Filled with fresh produce and an extensive line of jams, dressings and the like. The Vidalia Peppercorn dressing is fab...should have bought more! And their frozen, ready-to-bake bisquits gave us a great morning treat.

The Cashiers Leaf Festival is in full swing! There're Blue Grass bands, local merchants selling wares and an appearance by an actor who for 20 years has been touring in a one-man show about John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club among numerous other achievements.

Our son-in-law, Chip, is a descendant of John Muir, so we had a nice chat about the Muir Clan.



Lunch at a real find...just a kind of coffee shop in the center of town. Cafe 107 makes the best Tomato Basil soup I've ever had....good enough to ask them to pack a quart for the freezer. Rick has a terrific Corn Tortilla soup and a half ham and cheese croissant....equally good!




Took a long, long walk to view the resort property in the morning. It is really lovely...and not an easy walk in these mountains. Climbed to the top of the decorator waterfall where the clubhouse and tennis courts will be. Quite a sight!
The town of Highlands has been recommended for a visit. Quite a bit larger than Cashiers, the village looks quaint and charming. But after I'd pick Cashiers over Highlands in a heartbeat. The shops are plentiful, but with the exception of a fabulous cashmere store, (the name which I can't seem to come up with except it starts with an M), are not the quality of those in Cashiers. Nor was the place we picked for lunch, The Highlands Inn restaurant....charming looking enough, but downright awful food.

Sunday morning brought brillant skies and the first brunch challenge we like to do at home...make something fabulous with bits of leftovers found in the fridge. Turned out wonderfully. We had cooked a Wagyu steak and garlic rosemary potatoes on the grill and there was enough left over to make a spectacular hash topped with eggs.

Still trying to catch up and get organized. And though the day was spectacular, it felt real good to get the wash and ironing done while watching the finals of the President's Cup.

Had dinner and a good time at a real local place just down the road.....Toxaway House Restaurant overlooks a small waterfall from a screened porch. A very talented pianist entertained with a great variety of selections.

Moving towards the Gulf Coast of Alabama in the morning. Will take a couple of days to get there, but long to get my toes in the sand!

In the Beginning

Asheville, NC ~ Oct 6- 7

The whole idea behind this trip is discovery, adventure and to be free-form as much as we can possibly stand. So while our first planned destination was to be the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, we changed our minds and decided to stop in Asheville for a couple of days.

We found a place to stay that was fine for a couple of days, Bear Creek RV. Not a destination place...but comfortable enough.

We had spent New Year's at The Biltmore a few years ago, but hadn't really seen the city of

Asheville. What a surprise! I had no idea it was so Bohemian..
..free-spirited young people everywhere carrying what looked like everything they owned on their backs. Some played very bad guitar on the street corners, most were just hanging out.

We walked what is known as the Asheville Urban Trail...a 1.7 mile self-guided walking tour of the city showcasing the city's architecture, galleries and 30 bronze sculptures throughout town. Unfortunately it's not very well marked and there is no obvious signage....but did see a couple of very interesting art deco buildings and an office building designed by I.M. Pei.

Another thing that had by-passed my radar screen is that Asheville apparently has quite a well-known music scene...who knew!?! We found a place called the Fiddlin' Pig Bluegrass & BBQ thefiddlinpig.com featuring live local music every night. Thought we'd give it a go...unfortunately the bad didn't show up and the food was mediocre, but it seemed to be set up as a pretty good venue.

Next night we thought we'd discovered a real find. Read about the Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall thegreyeagle.comthat had a pub tucked in the back where a former chef of Paul Prudhomme's cooked down home New Orleans fare. I was salivating at the mere thought of crayfish etouffe! Big disappointment..all heat, no depth of flavor. Rick had a Cajun pasta with very good shrimp, but served over a fusilli which seemed an odd choice of pasta with a dull sauce. We stayed for a bit of music. Understand they bring in very well known names, but, alas, that night was a radio station's anniversary party and they didn't pop for very good musicians.

At this point the trip was feeling like a really, really bad idea....then awoke to a crystal clear day with mile-long views of the valley when a brillant hot air balloon passed overhead and made me smile.

Went to the Western North Carolina Farmer's Market just down the road and discovered a huge, permanent wholesale and retail facility. While there wasn't a huge variety of products, things were well-priced, fresh and it was particularly fun seeing scenes that came fresh out of central casting!

The North Carolina Arboretum, ncarboretuem.org, filled the afternoon. While smaller than what we're used to, it's 434 acres with 65 acres of cultivated gardens were nicely done. The Quilt Garden, which is a rotating planting for each of the four seasons, is their showcase.

When they heard we were from DC, they particularly wanted us to see their bonsai exhibit because the National Arboretum's collection is so exquisite...unfortunately it wasn't going to be up for a few days, but we enjoyed some other plantings and a very unusual sculpture!

We're Launched!

We've bitten the bullet, taken the leap and decided to pack it all up and chase the sun for as long as it's fun. We've been out a week, getting used to the limited space again and the unease of thinking Gigantor will be our home for quite awhile.

We've done has much as we can to make Tor more comfortable, efficient and better looking.
We've had the banquette and window treatments reupholstered, new lighting installed, changed the bed coverings, installed granite and a new sink and faucet in the bath and granite "end tables" in the bedroom.

Rick did a magnificent job over the summer of installing granite tile in the kitchen with a new sink and faucet, building wonderful pull-out shelving in the kitchen that must double their capacity and ease of use and built ingenious pull-out storage shelves under the banquette.

He built a gorgeous new dining table and a matching coffee table that folds up like a breakfast tray. Along with a few fluffy decorator things, these improvements really help make this whole adventure more comfortable and feasible.

Most of our friends in Georgetown couldn't fathom us doing such a thing and had never seen anything like Gigantor. We had a Grand Tour Launch Party.... Sunday in the Park with Gigantor... as a send-off.