Carolina Blue Skies

Maybe because we have rarely left the farm in six months or maybe because we just needed to see new sights....whatever the reason, last week Ed and I headed to North Carolina. Lest you think we were being foolish to travel, we planned carefully and acted responsibly. 

We rented a mountain cabin for four nights and drove directly there. We wore our masks when we had to stop and kept our distance from others. We ordered take-out pizza one night and accidentally got two very large pizzas, which kept us fed for three of the four days. We did go out to dinner one evening, but requested that we be seated on the veranda. On the way home, we camped. 

Despite these Corona precautions, our escape was well worth it. It was fun to be somewhere new. It felt good to fish and hike and read. And the sky alone was worth it. My friend, Karen, a UNC graduate, likes to remind me that "If God is not a Tar Heel, then why is the sky Carolina Blue?" 

Our cabin, located between Franklin and Highlands, NC., was perched over the Cullasaja River in the Nantahala National Forest. 

From our deck, we watched the sun come up, the sun go down, and the cold mountain waters rush past.

While we can't boast about the catching, the fishing was most pleasurable, especially when Ed could just slide down the bank and I could watch from the deck to make sure that he didn't slide all the way in. 

The drive over to Highlands was both breathtaking and breathholding. The narrow curvy road was carved into the mountain on one side, dropping into the river gorge on the other side. Three waterfalls cascaded along the route, including this one: Bust Your Butt Falls.  We bravely drove over the Highlands one evening for a delighted dinner at On the Veranda. I had forgotten how lovely a dinner out could be.

We camped on the way home at Horse Cove Campgrounds in the Nantahala National Forest. We hiked in the nearby Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, named for the poet who authored Trees, and known for its impressive old-growth forest with more than 100 tree species, many over 400 years old. I think I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree...

On Saturday, we packed up our camping gear and headed home via the scenic Cherohala Skyway. 

We took our time coming home, pulling over often to take in a scenic overlook, checking out the farmers' market in Knoxville, stopping for al fresco cheeseburgers in Williamsburg, KY, strolling around the gardens of the Rockcastle Trading Company in Livingston, and lingering around Berea College for a milkshake.  

We made it home just in time for the running of the 146th Kentucky Derby; made even better with a julep with mint from our garden.  

Good to be away. Good to be home.