Two Weeks to go!

Bob at the keys again. Alison’s responsible for the photos. After my last week of working up in Pennsylvania, I returned home on Thursday, August 9th and the next morning we left for Hot Springs on the Appalachian Trail (AT) and the wedding of David & Rachel as mentioned in the first Blog. When I say Hot Springs is “on” the AT, it is a true statement, because I had not realized that the AT actually runs straight down the main street! Our journey from MB was a long one because we got stuck in a very bad traffic jam on the I-26 heading into Asheville and ultimately got off the Interstate and went backwards a few miles to the Blue Ridge Parkway and went around Asheville on the Parkway – a few miles longer but at least we were moving. On the front page of the Asheville paper the next morning it showed a truck carrying flattened cars for scrap that had overturned on the Interstate and traffic had been held up for hours. We had made the right move and were in good time for the rehearsal dinner.

The Mountain Magnolia Inn is a beautiful place in an even more beautiful setting. We were also fortunate enough to have been allocated the “Rose Room” which must be one of the best rooms in the house, with a lovely balcony that had a fabulous view of the mountains as well as a grand view of all the activities taking place in the gardens below.

This is the view of the outdoor venue for the rehearsal dinner. The picture was taken from our balcony shown on the picture above.

To the right is a view of the mountains from our balcony.

A good time was had by all at the rehearsal dinner and, fortunately, breakfast didn’t start until 9am. The breakfasts themselves were worth the journey!

After breakfast, the wedding guests all gathered together and drove in convoy to a place called “Max Patch”, which is a grassy expanse 4600 ft above sea level on the “real” AT with a 360 view and mountains and valleys all around (note the AT "white blaze" marker on the post in the left side picture - the parking lot is in the background). We were there to fly kites and have a picnic lunch. David bought some kites for those who didn’t have their own, but I have my own kite,

purchased in Morro Bay, California over 16 years ago. I love to fly my kite, but flying on the top of Max Patch was a real treat (remember, men never grow up!). You can see a kite in the picture below, but there is also a small dot in the middle and if you keep magnifying the picture, you will see my kite way in the distance!

We got back to the inn in time for an afternoon snooze and then got dressed for the wedding. I say dressed rather than “dressed up” because it is so hot at the moment all over the USA and particularly in North & South Carolina, that most of the guests wore casual shirts and the groom was almost the only person in a suit (minus a tie). The wedding was an outside ceremony and the preacher who married David & Rachel was one of two preachers (Bill Newman & Henry) that David had met on his 2,150 mile hike on the AT, and in fact, they are walking the AT again this year, ministering to the hikers when needed, and left the trail up in Vermont and drove to Hot Springs to perform the ceremony and they are now driving back to the AT in Vermont to continue their walk to Maine.

On Sunday morning, I got up early as I was determined to walk a (short)

segment of the AT in the Hot Springs area. All I had to do was to walk to the main street and follow the AT arrows that are cemented into the sidewalk. I followed the arrows across the French Broad River bridge and then followed the signs along the river bank and eventually started to climb the switchbacks that take you out of the river valley. It is a good climb. This little segment of the trail is called “Lovers Leap” as there is a legend regarding an Indian (Cherokee) maiden who threw herself from the cliff when she was promised to one brave while she loved another. At the top of the valley, the AT continues on and I followed the Lovers Leap trail back to town. It was a short but satisfying hike.

After another scrumptious breakfast on Sunday morning, the guests left at their leisure and we left to find our way to the “Broken Arrow” cabin, again as mentioned in the first blog. It is only 15 miles from Hot Springs and is up in the mountains with a wonderful view and a sight of the French Broad River running in the valley below, the gentle flowing noise of which is only drowned out when the train runs along the track that follows the river! One of the instructions for the cabin says “Do not trespass on neighboring properties, failure to heed this warning could get you a good ol’ Madison County welcome which usually includes a view down the barrel of a shotgun”. We took this warning with a pinch of salt until we saw this sign on a property driving along one of the mountain roads! This is definitely “Hill Billy” country!

The plan was to go hiking on Monday, but with the heat, we were concerned about getting on the 13 mile one way section of the AT that we had had in mind. Sensibility overruled our impulses and we decided to head up to the Blue Ridge Parkway where there were more choices of shorter and medium length walks. Fortunately, because of the diversion we made to

the Blue Ridge on our way to the wedding, we knew exactly how to get back to the Parkway from our cabin. We headed up to the visitors center at milepost 364.5 where coincidently we had last been with South African friends Vic& Carol (see previous post) in September, 2006, on our way back from Chimney Rock Park to Banner Elk. This area of the Blue Ridge is called “Craggy Gardens”. We walked to Craggy Pinnacle (5,892 ft) and then took a longer walk on a stretch of the “Mountains to Sea” trail, of which the Craggy Gardens trail is a segment. We had a great time and no one has shown any ill effects so far!

Tuesday, August 14th, we decided to do a trek of a different sort – we decided to visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. It is something that we have wanted to do since we moved to Myrtle Beach, but in the couple of times we have been in the Asheville area, have not found the time. The Biltmore Estate was the vision of George Washington Vanderbilt, who started the Estate as a country retreat (he lived in New York), but the house (mansion, castle, chateau) became and remains the largest private residence in America. The building and estate are simply magnificent. We finished the day with some wine tasting at the Biltmore winery and of course purchased a couple of bottles as a reminder of another wonderful day.

Today, Aug.15th, we drove 460 miles from the hills of North Carolina to M&D in Falls Church, VA, just outside Washington DC. We are having one last visit with them and of course granddaughter Indigo Wen before our long trip to SA, where we will arrive, two weeks today. Look for more pictures of Indigo Wen later this weekend. We drive back to Myrtle Beach on Saturday.