Tuesday

Well the start of the day was one of rain and fog but eventually the clouds broke and we saw a lot of sunshine especially down off the mountain after lunch. The morning was the usual around here with our quiet times then oatmeal with lots of fruit; blue berries, peaches and a banana. Afterwards I headed to the top of the mountain on the golf cart to saw up a large hickory limb that had broken off this winter. Hickory wood is the best for smoking any kind of meat. The fog was so heavy I could only see about 100 feet ahead.

The rain was off and on most of the morning with showers lasting no more than 10-15 minutes, finally the clouds broke and the fog dissipated. We were meeting up with Helen and Joe for an adventure trip down the mountain to area off Windsor Road. We had heard there was a Amish Community there with a couple stores. Sure enough we found the area and visited a couple of the stores and saw some absolutely beautiful farms and a couple really old 1800's places with the stack stone fireplaces and clapboard houses and barns. The one church we saw was built in 1830, while not Amish it did indicate how old this community really is. Seems the Amish moved into the area about 25 years ago from Kentucky and Indiana and they have the only Amish church in North Carolina in this community called Shiloh. We purchased some great bakery items as well as some incidentals, after speaking with the owner of the old general store who was Amish and had moved here from Indiana he labeled this community progressive as they use electricity, tractors, etc and meet in a church where the old more traditional Amish met in homes only and use very little of the modern conveniences. There were signs to look out for the horse drawn buggies on the road. It was a very clean community and there were definitely indicators that other than the Amish lived there also, as well as those Amish who wore the traditional garb, men with beards and covered heads for the girls. It was a beautiful area with manicured farms and average looking houses.

After leaving Shiloh we headed on into Jonesboro and visited a very large antique warehouse with all kinds of clothes, coins, bottles, dolls, etc actually you name it and it was probably some where in this huge building. Most of the articles were there on consignment as each vendor had its own area loaded with articles. The most unique item I found was a pair of slave bracelets that were used to restrain slaves and keep them from running away or jumping ship. There were lots of old coins from the 1800's as well with hefty price tags. We visited another shop in area then headed over to Cracker Barrel for supper. The food was plentiful and tasty and we were stuffed as we headed back up the mountain. The temp's down there were in the high 70's and by the time we got back to the cabin it was down into the low 60's and once again rain showers had developed. Around 7:30 I decided I needed to walk so Nancy joined we for a casual walk up the back trail and along the ridge without going to the top of the mountain. The woods were wet and rather cool but that made for an awesome walk with all the different woods smell and of course the many birds singing. We got back in time to watch American Idol.

Well the Ray's lost last to the Red Sox and are losing again 2-0 as I write. Nancy has fallen asleep on the couch and I can barely keep my eyes open as I write this post, missing our grand babies and family, LATER.