A Short Work Trip to North Carolina

Hello friends. It has been a sad week here. But as life happens life just keeps going. I miss my little Scruffy more than you could imagine but I don’t think that is something that will ever go away.

I took last Friday off because I had to leave on Sunday to go to North Carolina for an Attractions meeting. I felt like I needed an extra day off to get some things done. This group meets three times a year and I always love getting together with them to share ideas.

Last week while we were dealing with the terrible decline of Scruffy our sewage started to back up. We live in the country and have our own sewage system. The backup wasn’t bad but it caused some pressure on pipes in the basement and they started to leak. So we had to turn off the water until we could get the septic tank pumped. Last Monday was Labor Day so it slowed the process down a bit. Luckily we still have my father in law’s house next door and we were able to go there for showers. However my laundry piled up pretty bad. That is why I needed the extra day on Friday. Thankfully everything is back in working order.

I left out on Sunday morning for North Carolina. I wanted to stop in Knoxville. I have been working on a project I saw on TikTok and I need some of those cheapo silver platters. I was able to find two at a nearby Dollar Tree but I need three and haven’t had any luck finding another one. The Knoxville Dollar Tree had even less items than our local stores. Maybe I will find another Dollar Tree on my North Carolina trip.

Blowing Rock NC was my destination this trip. I have been there several times but I always forget that it is not an easy place to get in and out of. There are no interstates that take you close to the attraction. It was very rainy and foggy for most of the drive over and I ran into a bit of fog. Especially when I got on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a bit scary.

We stayed at Chetola Resort. I will have a full post in a few days of all the attractions we visited. And of course lots of pictures.

We had a few hours of meetings. But the main objective to these trips is to visit other attractions and get ideas about the way they do things.

After our meetings on Monday we went to Grandfather Mountain in nearby Linville NC. We were able to attend a very special luncheon for one of our members who has been a part of Grandfather Mountain’s team for more than fifty years. He was actually inducted into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, one of North Carolina’s highest honorary society. It was a surprise luncheon for him with more than 100 people in attendance. It was so much fun and I was so happy to be a part of this.

After the luncheon we visited their Wildlife Habitat and took a walk on the mile high swinging bridge.

We made it back to the hotel with barely an hour before heading to the Blowing Rock attraction for a reception and view of the mountain from the rock. The legend here is that an Indian maiden and her Cherokee brave were standing on the rock when a strange red color appeared in the sky. The brave told the maiden that it meant he had to leave her and return to his people. She begged him not to go. He was so conflicted that he flung himself off of the rock, falling to his death. The young maiden stood at the rock every day and prayed for the great spirit to bring her Cherokee brave back to her. one day a strange wind blew up the mountain and returned the brave. It is said that even to this day a wind blows up the mountain and has caused snow to fall upside down.

Next we headed to a most wonderful place for dinner. The Restaurant at Gideon Ridge, The views were amazing. The food, well it was so delicious I will just have to show you.

I will have lots of pictures in just a few days. I wanted to catch up with you and share these last few days.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!!