Blowing Rock

Sue and I took a day trip up to Blowing Rock the other day. It was a beautiful, sunny and not too warm day for a road trip, and we hadn’t been to Blowing Rock in years, so it seemed like a good place to go and catch some fresh air and sunshine. Everything looks so fresh and clean when you’re several thousand feet above everything else.

The views are spectacular, 3,000 feet up with a stiff wind blowing all year long. At times the gusts can be over 150 miles per hour. Hang on to your hats! The cause of the stiff winds is the sheer when the wind hits the side of the mountain and causes a severe updraft.

At times, during the winter months, you can actually watch the snow “falling” upward with the wind. This is no optical illusion, as with the Empire State Building, where the refraction of the sun’s rays can make it appear that the rain is falling upwards. That phenomenon is just a mirror like reflection of the reality. At Blowing Rock it is the reality.

Of course, the best part of any road trip is the people, and pets, you meet along the way. This fellow, Gus, was waiting in the car outside of the chicken place in eager anticipation of a wing or two.

New Car, Fording a Stream, Graveyard and the Cat

Old cars; like people; wear out with age, necessitating our looking for a new car. Or, to be more accurate; a new used car to fit our budget. We picked up this incredibly clean and rec-conditioned Toyota Corolla, in large part because it felt so familiar to us from the moment we sat in it. We have owned Toyota's for many years, and even with the occasional problem, have found them to be reliable

Now, when road testing a new car; used or otherwise; it is important to learn the limitations of your machine. So, to that end, we drove to Chapel Hill; which is about 2 hours away; to see our daughter and ford a stream. It did seem a bit ironic to “ford” a stream in a Japanese car, but it was a pretty day with just a bit of snow left over on some of the grassy areas making the day seem a little more special.

The stream is located just near this gravesite, which is the resting place for the original Morgan and Mason families. I wasn’t really paying attention to the specifics of the place, so I don’t know who they were. The magnolias were fresh and crisp, as they always are in North Carolina at this time of year. They are such stately trees, and I couldn’t help but think about those who lie beneath the ground, and wonder if they had become part of those trees. That’s where I want to go when my time comes. To become part of a tree seems a fitting way to leave something positive and alive behind when you have passed on. In a way, it’s a form of immortality, standing with leafy arms outstretched, providing shade and fragrant blossoms for the living.

Meantime; back home; the cat waits, sitting in the flower pot on our neighbor’s porch, watching and waiting for our return home. He worries about us, he cares about us, he frets when we are late. He wants his tuna fish.

My Shrinking World

This used to be my stomping ground. I sailed, flew, bicycled and walked most of the world 3 times. But that was a long time ago; at least it seems that way now. My world has shrunk in size due to some physical problems. I am plagued by bad bones. They inhibit my ability to travel too far from home. I miss the traveling in so many ways. I took my last trip to New York City; where I was born and raised; last year. I’m glad I did it then. This year is my 40^th High School Reunion, which will be held in New York, of course, and I will not be able to make it. But, in so many ways I will be able to partake of the festivities. There’s Facebook and all of the other social media sites which help keep us connected, even when we can’t make the trip.

This is the extent of my world on most days now. I’m not complaining. I lived my life backwards, traveling when I was young, and it has worked out well.  I have seen most of the things I wanted to see; and experienced all that really interested me. So, on that score I feel comfortable. I suppose that it is the reality of my limitations which bothers me the most.

Pain does not trump desire; when I see a tree worth climbing, I still want to climb it. I really do want to walk around the park, and go to the zoo. I’m just not ready for one of those electric go-cart things. Hell, I don’t even use my cane when I can avoid it. So, my world is shrinking, shriveling up like the Wicked Witch of the West when Dorothy splashed the water on her in the Wizard of Oz. “I’m melting!”

Blogging helps. The e-mails I get from people who enjoy what I write make the effort well worthwhile. The time I spend posting whatever it is I post is well spent. It keeps me connected to the world in ways that I never imagined possible beyond my own mere memories. I have recovered so much of my past in making connections with old friends; sharing photos, along with those little slices of life which make the past so attractive to re-visit.

So, I live in a shrinking world, and it will get even smaller in the years to come. But through these pages, and my own imagination, I am traveling yet. And I am glad to have you come along for company.

Landsford Canal State Park - Revisited

This is the same area that Sue and I visited to look at the turtles and walk in the old Landsford Canal about one month ago. There was not a single lily in sight then. Just rocky rapids; which is why the canal was built in the first place. So, when we heard that the change was really remarkable to see, we weren't skeptical; but let's just say that we were reserving our judgement until we saw it for ourselves. Well, now we have.  As you can see from this photo, although it is still early in the season, it is all it is cracked up to be.

And, with the scent of honeysuckle hanging in the air, it is a remarkable place. The lilies bloomed a bit earlier this year, due to an exceptionally mild winter. They usually start blooming in late April, reaching their peak in June and then lingering on through August, as the weather changes. This is a beautiful place to go, even when the lilies are not in bloom. But, somehow, with their annual appearance, these exceptional plants make it even more so.

Landsford Canal State Park, S.C.

The Landsford Canal, located in the Lansford State Park, just outside of Lancaster, in South Carolina, is about an hour south of our house. After having eaten the requisite amount of chocolate to fulfill our annual obligations to the Chocolate God, we were left with nothing much to do on a beautiful Easter Sunday. So, we did what we usually do; hopped in the car and headed out. Sue had a desire to see the old Landsford Canal, and, as I had no real objection, having a love of old canals myself, we set forth.

It was everything it was purported to be; historic, idyllic, inspiring and also there were turtles everywhere! On the rocks midstream, and all along the banks, were turtles, some small, some large, sunning themselves. Absolutely oblivious; or perhaps somewhat immune to the presence of humans; they lay all about.

The Catawba River, at that point, is choked off into rapids by the fallen, aged trees which block the normal gentle, and somewhat smooth flow of the river. In the early portion of the 19th century, the Catawba was a main inland commercial route, used for shipping cotton and tobacco from up north, as well as to bring goods back up river from the ports in Charleston, and also Norfolk. But the rapids were a problem, often the cause of financial loss, as well as the toll it took in human lives.

Still, it is an idyllic place. There is something in the air which makes you feel younger, and more vital. Here I am trying to walk out on this limb over the water; it looks simple, but to tell the truth, it was not that easy coming back! And to boot, Sue went much further than I did! But, in spite of some limited mobility, I still insist on climbing things that I know will do me absolutely no good. Oh well, you can't teach an old dog new tricks, so I'll take the aches.

Sometime around 1810, the canal was hand dug to by-pass the rapids. The dirt was loaded into carts and used in creating the embankments for the locks, which raised, or lowered, accordingly, the barges which traversed the canal. The canal was also a safer way to navigate the river during times of flooding, allowing the bargemen to have more control over their movements.

It's a beautiful area, also known for its annual explosion of water lilies, which usually occurs in May. Judging by the mild weather and early spring, it may happen sooner, rather than later. At any rate, we will be back for that event. The lilies are said to spread from bank to bank on the Catawba, and is one of the few places in the world where this happens.

For more on this beautiful place to spend an afternoon, visit their site at;

http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/landsfordcanal/introduction.aspx