After our visit to Old Salem, we set out for the Blue Ridge Parkway, which stretches almost 500 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge mountains. Starting in North Carolina and continuing up through Virginia, it encompasses some of the oldest settlements of both pre-historic and early European settlements. There are many mileposts along the way, which designate look outs, hiking and biking trails, historical landmarks and even a few restaurants and a lodge. Our goal was to get as high up and to see as much as we could in the few hours we would have before dusk. Dianne was a great tour guide!
There are a number of old European settlements that have been preserved, and the Brinegar homestead is just one of them. Occupied for over 60 years, this 19th-century log cabin illustrates the isolated existence of mountain residents.
On our way back down the mountain to head home, we stopped briefly at one of the campgrounds. Before we even got out of the van, I spied a young fawn just beyond the clearing.
We had just finished our walkabout and were turning to leave, when we saw a doe we could only presume was the mother. It was a great finish to wonderful excursion!
The song is so true ... North Carolina in the morning is just pure soul food, especially when the summer's sun has started to wane above the 49th parallel. I spent 4 lovely days last week visiting my very good friend Dianne Hawes (Wistwin Shelties) near Raleigh, and it was wonderful to revisit summer weather again. Upon my arrival on Thursday, Dianne gave me an early Christmas present - a beautifully handpainted dish of my heart girl, Cady (Ch Laureate Cadence". It's an exquisite replica, and is one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received.
My second day there, we planned a drive to the Blue Ridge mountains, approximately 2 1/2 hours away, and decided to take a side trip to Old Salem on our way. It was an absolutely delightful step back in time, carefully preserved and recreated.
From the tourist information, "Salem was founded in 1766 by the Moravians – a Protestant group of people that began in what is now known as the Czech Republic. The Moravians were missionaries who established an earlier settlement in Bethlehem, PA before beginning "Wachovia" in the North Carolina backcountry in 1753. Old Salem Museums & Gardens is a unique community of original museum buildings, authentic craftsmen practicing their trade, fascinating collections of rare antiques, and one-of-a-kind retail shopping opportunities. The stories and activities experienced by visitors in the museums convey a much larger aspect of early America than just the Moravians who settled in Salem, NC. The experiences are a reflection of the evolving economy and diversity of lifestyles that made up the early South." Local citizens dress in the garb of the day and work in the shops and gardens. It is a town steeped in history and arrested in time, a small oasis in the midst of the modern world.
From where we parked, this grand and original building gave an idea of the exquisite architecture in the village.
There are many artifacts on display as well as fully functioning implements or machines true to the late 1700's. It made perfect sense that an industrial-size hand water pump would be available within easy reach of the oven used for baking bricks!
Making our way up to the main street, you couldn't help but admire the beautiful stone work at the base of this building.
Although there is a guided tour with an admission price to many of the buildings, there are a number of shops that charge nothing, but have an amazing selection of wares on display and to buy. Ownership of the buildings and land is currently divided among Old Salem, Inc., Wachovia Historical Society, Salem Academy and College, and Moravian representatives. Many of the homes in the town are also privately owned, with the facades blending in with the rest of the village. One of the first businesses we entered was the bakery (no surprise! :)). It was heavenly!
The plant boxes on the fences or windows held some species that I didn't recognize, including this kind of berry-flower plant. And I don't think I had ever seen a fig growing on a fig bush before.
We also visited a hat maker's shop, where the hats were mostly for display, but many other items were for sale.
There were so many shops and buildings just on the main street alone, that we could have easily spent the day there. But we finished our stroll, took a few last looks, and then headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway, Part 2 of my blog for this delightful trip!
The weather this past Sunday was quite unsettled ... was it going to be rain or sun? The skies couldn't decide, so rather than head for the beach and possibly get rained out, I decided to visit St. Mary's, a small, historic and delightful town about 1/2 hour away. St. Mary's is known for being home to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, boasts of Timothy Eaton's first retail store, and is the burial place of Arthur Meighen, Canada's 9th Prime Minister. In the park that marks it's founding, there is an interesting set of falls fed by the Thames River, and lent the town it's nickname, "Little Falls". Although perhaps not large by Niagara standards, it still moves along at an imposing speed with plenty of froth and spray, and of course, water fowl.
I've been on vacation part of last week and all of this one, and didn't have anything in particular planned for the most part other than catching up on yard work and trying to head to the beach, maybe even get in some fishing. But the highlight was all set up sometime ago, an overnight trip to Toronto for some shopping with Kim and then John Mayer at the Molson Amphitheatre in the evening. In between the stores and the concert, we were treated to a promotional meet and greet at our hotel, the Fairmont Royal York, with an a cappella group "Naturally 7", who have been opening for Michael Buble and would be doing so that same evening at the Air Canada Centre. With just enough time for a quick bite, we went to this very polished Japanese restaurant, "Ki", for a wonderful sushi meal, easily the best I've ever had! Then on to the concert for Kim and I, while Pete headed back to the hotel. Pete had arranged an upgrade to a suite with an adjoining separate room, and it was positively luxurious, definitely the topper to a marvelous mini-holiday!
Exiting the train station and on my way to cross the street to the Royal York ... I heard this voice, amazingly over all the street noise, and there was Kim hanging out the window!
Just inside the entrance, Kim and Pete's suite to the right, my adjoining room to the left.
On our way out on the town!
A quick shot of my trip's souvenirs ...
The Amphitheatre is a partly covered, acoustically-engineered dome-type structure, with the main stage being down in the "bowl" and the seats fanning up and out from there, including thousands of "seats" available on the expansive lawn. It's down at the shore of Lake Ontario, and last night was just perfect for an outdoor event. Not being a Mayer expert, but certainly an admirer, I gained a whole new perspective of him as a performer, just as much for his guitar skills as his obvious appreciation of his fans. He's an engaging and talented artist, and pretty darn cute, too! It was a stellar performance and a sensational evening.
A You Tube video of "Naturally 7" opening for Michael Buble that same night, just down the road from the Amphitheatre.
And a fan's posting of one of John Mayer's numbers from last night ...
My daughter's birthday (won't say which number :)) was this past weekend. On Saturday, we had family over for what has become our tradition, an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Seems to really hit the spot every year for the only mid-summer birthday! At the guest of honour's request, we featured a Batman theme.
Naturally, Rustle had to help supervise blowing out the candles.
The next day we headed to the Build A Bear for the second part of our celebration. So many choices, not just bears, but dogs, horses and cats in a variety of colours and styles.
Chels with her choice, an adorable but pretty much flat and two dimensional fuzzy bear.
Next step, transforming this bear into a more huggable state. Frankly, it looked more like he was getting a medical procedure ...
After the stuffing, comes the fluffing and a bit of brushing out ...
