Mrs. Mike, the Tomminator and I flew back to NC to visit with old friends last week. Flew into RDU and rented the “medium sized” car....OMFG! Remember the little Mini Cooper from The Borne Identity movie? It was better than a Nissan Kick.

Imagine two hamsters mushing a beer can with three people in it.

We drove around WilTson and Rocky Mount for a few days popping in on some friends....the Tomminator got to go swimming with his little friend girl (they have been buddies since first grade & they still write and text and FaceTime each other..they are 12). It’s cool to see them oblivious of the world’s problems.

Then we went to the mountains where Mrs. Mikes sister and husband own a restaurant in Hendersonville (shameless plug.... POSTERO ) the food was unbelievable. I’ve never been a fan of “fancy” food but I was amazed by my meal of trout. The appetizers were out of this world.... I especially liked the Mack and cheese with breadcrumbs, bbq sauce and cubed pork belly, I would never put those together but it was delicious.

Tomminator got to see his cousins, and we drove to SC to visit her grandma who is 93 and writing a book about how it was growing up in Spartanburg in the 30s and forward...she’s still sharp as a tack.

Then we went to my ‘rents in Franklin and just vegged for two days...

The mountains are beautiful, I equate it with going to the beach..I can relax and just look at the ridges and forest and sounds (yes the trees scream)and breathe in Gods wonder...and Tomminator saw a wild chipmunk playing in the flowers of mom’s house.

Photo by David Allen Photography


The airport in ATL was another story. The lady at the counter admonished one man for having his mask off while he waited across from the gate...he was alone and no one cared, but the “Karen” had to get in her two bits...when she was done, someone (obviously from Texas) said, well in Texas we don’t have these masks anymore and don’t force them one others. And gave her a look that a schoolmarm could destroy you with. And it was easy to identify the other Texans there.

My X's family own a home on the side of Mt Gilead in Henderson County. A beautiful place. We went up one winter and I had to park at the bottom of a relatively long upward mountain road and walk to the house because my car wouldn't get up because of the ice. Their home had an cantilevered screened front porch overhanging on one side of the mountain. I watched the sunrise in a chair looking out over the mountain with a cup of coffee in hand. Though it was very cold at 10º, for this Florida bird, the view was just stunning. My X took me farther up the mountain to see Christmas tree farms, I never seen them in my life, very cool. I did have some hair raising driving experiences hitting patches of ice on the winding mountain roads. My Mustang GT was not a great car/tires for those roads in the winter.

The older folks took me to dinner and told me at the table they said "Son you're welcome on our mountain but there's two things we don't allow, trailers and a certain race of people" Thats the kind of people who lived there were. And they said they owned much of the mountain at that time. This was an older crowd 70's and 80's. I had to wait several hours after dinner to go back to the house because all those folk loved to dance so I dozed off on the way home. I was in my 30's and they made me feel like I was 90! The daytime drives were great, I remember going to Bat Cave and some other places but it was memorable.

I’m from Fla myself and moved to the mountains when I was 15 from Tampa. The words “culture shock” don’t do it justice. I was called “floridiot” until I graduated...I had probably three or four friends. Later I realized that they had all grown up together and knew everything about each others and they were uncomfortable with intruders.

Our neighbors were the kind of people who got running water in the late 60s because preggo mom hiked 80pound of sackrete up a mountain for half a mile to create a cistern....salt of the earth. Her husband was a ranger who knew where the stills where but didn’t tell his bosses because he 1. Knew the people running them and 2. Knew they used the $ from the white lighting to feed their families. (Can’t fault hem for that)

When I visit now I see whole generations destroyed by meth - manufacture and use....and other drugs...it’s sad.

But good folks live there and thrive. And I wish them well.

When I die I can’t figure out if I want to be spread upon a wave in the surf or in the calm mountain clearings where I can see nature for eternity.

That sounds like a great trip Mike!

I too am originally (well MI until I was 3) from Florida, Broward Cty / Ft Liquordale / Pompano.

Came to NC for college but then moved away for 30 yrs (20 of those years in the Houston area!! Texas rocks!!) but am now back to stay (since 2018).

Parents used to vacation in Sapphire Valley area and the times that I also went I would see as many FL tags on cars as NC.

It sounds like a very enjoyable sojourn.

flashguy

Sounds like a good trip. Hope you had a chance to hit some of those good Barbeque places around Wilson or Rocky Mount.

Minor thread drift:

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:

...The airport in ATL was another story. The lady at the counter admonished one man for having his mask off while he waited across from the gate...he was alone and no one cared, but the “Karen” had to get in her two bits...when she was done, someone (obviously from Texas) said, well in Texas we don’t have these masks anymore and don’t force them one others...

In Iowa we don't force them on others either, but AFAIK the airlines are obeying federal rules. Stupid federal rules.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/3...planes-extended.html

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sigmund,

quote:

Originally posted by fiasconva:
Sounds like a good trip. Hope you had a chance to hit some of those good Barbeque places around Wilson or Rocky Mount.

When we landed and made it to my friends house he had Parker’s BBQ waiting for us...I gorged on eastern NC pork bbq, slaw, fried chicken and boiled potatoes....I’m sure my cholesterol medicine was working that night!

Love me some Parker's. The chicken livers are my favorite thing on the menu, though, and not the bbq.