I forgot to mention yesterday that we have been singing John Denver's Country Roads a lot these last couple of days. When we get to the part "I get a feeling like I should have been home yesterday" we answer with a resounding "NOT!" and that is where the song ends.
We got back on the Parkway again with the thought of reaching Deals Gap by end of day...in fact the only reservations thus far have been for there...the "destination".
We made our way along the plateau with a quick stop at what used to be a gas station and is now a visitors bureau. The lovely lady there who introduced herself to us, was Brenda originally from Michigan. She and her husband chose to move here from Michigan 13 years ago Apparently having 12 states in mind of where they would like to live, it only took one trip through the parkway to decide this was the place for them. Even after 13 years of living here, she confessed to stopping at the outlook nearby every morning on her way to work and on her way home....just to breath in the beauty and the fresh air. Like me her favorite parts of the drive were the areas where the trees grew like a canopy over the road, giving you the feeling of driving through a rain forest or jungle She was a wealth of information about the Parkway including a detour that was coming up. Now the detour is obviously not as interesting as the reason for the detour. They were doing some stonework on one of the outlooks and buildings. The Parkways dedication to preserving every aspect of it's history includes carefully removing and numbering every piece of stonework so that it is put together exactly the same way once everything is repaired. They had done the same at this gas station aka visitors bureau 2 years ago. They are not even allowed to put any nails in the wall to hang things. Shelving, stands and tables provide the displays for souvenirs and crafts.
After purchasing our usual souvenir of a tree ornament for our Christmas tree, or as know as the memory tree in our house, we moved on armed with a few maps, instructions and a booklet outlining gas stations, food and bathroom stops. Our next stop at Mabry Mills not only provided a real glimpse into living in the parkway in those early years but also another historian Brian who was making chairs the way they did way back when. He was using a shaving knife and working on the slats for the back of the chair. They also peel the inside of one of the trees there which tends to be very wet, coil it up and it can then be stored and used years later by just soaking it. He had used this to weave the seat and to anchor it, had tied it with a square knot...who knew you could do THAT with a tree. After a traditional breakfast/lunch we moved on having spent almost two hours exploring this spot. Lots of pictures with my big camera. Dad you will love some of these shots.
We ended the trip for the day in Ashville, NC when we knew there was no way to make it the rest of the way before dark, not to mention being pretty tired. After a great hot shower at a better hotel and a great supper at Carrabba's with a whole bottle of wine, we were not long for the night. I can't even remember who fell asleep first.
One rather funny epiphany we both had this morning, was that Deals Gap doesn't hold the same excitement as it did at the first of the trip. We are still looking forward to it, don't get me wrong, but the idea of 318 turns in 11 miles doesn't seem like as big a deal....I mean we have already done thousands of turns just getting here! We have already decided to come back to Asheville for an oil change and a tour of the Biltmore, thanks to our newest historian, Jarret, our entertaining and fabulous host/server at Carrabba's.
P.S. Sorry for any grammar errors today. In a hurry to get going....love to all!
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