ST AUGUSTINE, FL.  Arrived home safely on Wednesday, Sep 17th.  Been very busy unloading the motorhome, taking Betty to doctor appointments, unpacking clothes, etc. ever since.  

The route taken home was far better than the usual route through South Carolina on I-26.  Instead of that, on the way home we traveled on I-74/US 74 east to Lumberton, NC on I-95.  Almost no traffic.  Very nice change.  The following day we traveled south on I-95 to Savannah, which is our customary second day stop on the way home.  There were sections of I-95 in South Carolina that had been freshly repaved and provided excellent driving.  Some sections were still in process of repaving, but not that bad.  Overall a great improvement in our experience of returning home in the motorhome. 

 FANCY GAP, VA.  On Wednesday, Sep 10th, we returned to the nature preserve that we had visited a few days ago.  At that time, Betty was not able to walk the portion that led to the lookouts, so she wanted to return for that walk.

When we got to the first lookout that included a homemade xylophone, Betty played the two tunes that they had listed notes by the number of the bar below.  If you click on the images below you may be able to make out the two songs with included bar numbers to strike. 

Betty Strikes Out a Couple Tunes

Closeup of Xylophone

Betty also wanted to include photos of the yellow flowers and wild grass that graced the area.

Wild Flowers Growing in Area

Tall Wild Grass in Foreground

On Thursday, Sep 11th, the Eagles had us over for dinner to show off the work that had been done behind their house.  This had taken up a great deal of their time in recent weeks as they were assisted by someone they hired to do the heavy work of removing old wooden walkways and replacing with groomed gravel.  Also in attendance was their neighborhood friends, the Totzkes.  I tried to capture the grand sweep of all the work done by taking some panoramas as guests were gathered on the back porch.  As always on this blog, you can click on a photo to enlarge it.

On Left Walkway Leads to Fire Pit Area

Several outbuildings out back serve as hobby enclosures and workshops.

This Photo Sweep Shows the Back Porch

This Photo Sweep Includes the Fire Pit and Back Porch

And We Shared a Meal Together

On Friday, Sep 12th, Betty and I attended one of the free afternoon concerts at the local Blue Ridge Parkway Music Center.  The group that was advertised was supposed to be the same one we saw a last year in July with the Eagles.  As it turned out, this was a totally different group who were not nearly as polished in their performance as the former group, but they were quite endearing in their personalities.  One man sang a solo of the gospel tune, In the Garden, as a tribute to a niece who recently passed away.  It was very touching. 

In the Garden Solo

The full group unapologetically continued with a string of old gospel tunes, clearly a testimony to their shared faith.  I continue to be astonished by the Christian influence boldly shared in this area.  

These are a people acquainted with hardship and grief, which is written on their faces.  A hard life and a strong faith.  It draws them closer together with steady resolve and united fellowship. 

The only woman in the group, second from left, was very outspoken and spoke for the group.  A very endearing lady.  She ironically grew up in Ft Lauderdale.  I told her I grew up just up the road in Pompano Beach.  We agreed that Florida is very hot and humid.  She was very glad that she had moved up into the area of the Crooked Road, a section of Virginia Route 58 that is home to most of these performers. 

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=The+crooked+road+in+virginia&oq=The+crooked+road+in+virginia&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCjExODkzajBqMTWoAgiwAgE&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#lpg=cid:CgIgAQ%3D%3D,ik:CAoSFkNJSE0wb2dLRUlDQWdJRFV1SWY5R0E

Next year we hope to attend more of these concerts.

 FANCY GAP, VA. Events of interest lately have been our trip down to Denver, NC on Saturday, Sep 6th, to visit with the Rohrbaughs, who had driven up to Fancy Gap several days ago to have lunch with us at the Eagles' house.  After a nice lunch we played one of their favorite games, Head, Knee, and Foot.  It is a card game employing 3 decks of cards.  Eventually the table is covered in "books" and "libraries" of cards, and the three card decks are reduced to a fraction of their beginning size due to the game's requirement to draw so many cards.  Each game is so involved that we only had time for one game before it was time to drive back up here to Fancy Gap.  It was great fun while it lasted.  Just like old times in Newland, NC when we used to visit them in their former home there.

Betty, David, and Jo Around the Table

Sunday night, Sept 7th, Betty had a craving for some ice cream, so we headed off the parkway down one of its entrances to Rt 52.  There is the Fancy Gap General Store, which we had thought must be a feed and grain shop, but Marti Eagle had recommended as a place to get a snack or some ice cream.  Nice ice cream in an interesting venue of local color.  Outside the store is a very large carving of a bear, in front of which Betty wanted to be photographed.  See below.

Betty and the Bear

On Monday, Sep 8th, Betty attended a ladies' tea at church.  Marti Eagle graciously drove her down and back.  Betty took a couple photos of the ladies in attendance.

Left Side of Room

Right Side of Room

I remained home in the motorhome catching up on some reading.  Since there is no cable TV here, we have been doing a lot of reading, much more than we do at home with cable TV available.

 FANCY GAP, VA.  We have not done much the past few days, partly due to Betty's taking it easy on her back, and partly due to the general sparsity of things to do around here.

On Sunday, August 31st, we again attended church.  One special point is that the Eagles' daughter visited from her home in Winston-Salem.  I got a photo of them together, as I did two years ago when she visited the church to attend services with her parents.

Eagles with Daughter This Year

Eagles with Daughter Two Years Ago

On Tuesday, Sep 2nd, we decided to try what was said to be a simple hike at the local Devil's Den Nature Preserve.  Interesting how around North America locations are named after the devil to draw attention, rather than after the Creator of all things.  It was an area situated around an historic fenced-in family cemetery.  

Well Maintained Cemetery

Wonderful Condition for a 19th Century Grave

This One Is Harder to Read

The map provided for the preserve is sketchy, causing us to enter their hiking trail in the wrong direction.  We thought we were headed a short ways to a couple lookouts, but we inadvertently were headed on a rocky and more demanding portion than we had intended, especially since Betty was trying to take it easy.

Betty Begins Her Hike with Great Enthusiasm

After we hiked the  demanding up-and-down trail a while, we turned back.  This was far more than Betty needed to be doing.  We went back to the cemetery area and checked the map again using a compass.  Turns out that the part we wanted to try entailed walking around what appeared to be an FCC security fence.  Apparently the fence was only to keep motorized traffic away from the cell towers down the road.

Walking around the fence, we could see mowed grass along the road.  

Trail Along the Tall Grass

As you get to the end of the tall grass, the trail turns hard left and continues to a wooded area in the distance.

The Trail Continues

You Can See a Park Bench at the Lookout

There is Even a Sort of Xylophone Beside the Bench

I attempted a short tune on the xylophone of pipes, but not much.

View from First Lookout

Continuing our walk to the second lookout, one could see it was not nearly as nice as the first one.  And the view through the thicket was virtually nonexistent.

Second Lookout Area

We returned after that.  There is more to the trail, but Betty had had enough adventure for one day.  This coming Saturday we drive down to Denver to see the Rohrbaughs for lunch.  Hope to get some nice photos then.