DOWN BY THE RIVER CAMPGROUND, Pineola, NC.  On Friday last week, Aug 23rd, we visited the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park in Blowing Rock, NC.  We walked the trail around Bass Lake, a truly beautiful area.  Mr Cone and his brother ran a mill in the 19th and early 20th centuries that produced most of the denim used in the textile industries.  They chose to use some of their fortune to make this park for the enjoyment of the general public.  Bass Lake was formed by the Cones by building up earthworks all around the area.  It even created an island in the middle of the lake.

View of Bass Lake from Entry

Mrs Cone Planted Water Lilies in the Lake

Closeup of Some Lilies
(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Trees Appear to be Several Trees Grown Together

Here It Looks Like Three Trees Together

Island Created in Lake

Numerous Hydrangea Varieties in the Area

After that pleasant walk around the lake we visited with fellow Floridians up here for the summer.  About half the license plates around here are Florida plates.

That was our adventure for the day.  We are becoming fairly boring.  Our days lately are filled with shopping, household chores, laundry, reading, etc.  Since we are parked in one area for months on end, there is not a lot more to share.  Later on in October we shall travel to Europe for a truly significant change of scenery.  Please stay tuned.

 Pineola Campground.  Not much adventure to report, unless you consider following a realtor around the area looking at potential summer homes an adventure.  It does take a good deal of effort in many ways.

We have decided to seek a summer location near Newland because it is close to both the church and the YMCA.  Boone had newly built homes that I found very appealing, but that is too long a drive from here, and the traffic is only getting worse.  On Thursday we nevertheless went to Boone to see what they had to offer.

The newly built homes that I liked most in Boone were in a neighborhood of similar designs, small but very well built.  Perfect for a summer home for retirees.  It was a rainy day, so the frontal view of the house below is taken from their brochure.   

Frontal View of Bungalow

Nice Open Living Area with Gas Fireplace

Good Sized Bedroom

Panorama from Back Porch

Panorama Taken from Front Porch

Since this is a development still in process, we could have had the builder take our choices for a garage, etc.  That would be nice, since most newly built homes around here are elaborate and expensive.

Yesterday, Friday, we looked around this area.  First we went to Beech Mountain, an area to the north of Newland but considered nearby.  Biggest problem with this location are the narrow steep winding roads that lead up there.  There was plenty of traffic, and construction continues up there, with large delivery trucks making wide turns on the curves, wandering into the next lane as you approach.  How anyone builds anything up there is a mystery to me.  Maybe they hire a contractor from Switzerland.  All around you are buildings of various kinds, including large hotels, tucked into a nooks and crannies close around other buildings, wedged into clusters of trees of various sizes, some very old.  As we rounded one corner, we looked up and there were buildings tucked into a wall of rock reminiscent of European buildings spotted all along the height of a mountain.  Could be interesting to live there except getting in and out is unnecessarily too time-consuming.

We looked at a condominium located on the ground level of a high-rise accessible by a tower stairway that led down below ground level and extended up several more stories above ground level.  Then they had ramps and stairways that wrap around to the other side from the road.  How you would get bags of groceries around there to your unit is another mystery.

Thankfully, the one we were to visit was on ground floor, meaning that is was on the same level (somewhat) as the road that leads into there.  It did have you walk a small stairway up and then down to the apartment due to accommodating the structure of the stair tower.  They presume that everyone is very fit.  Beech Mountain is very high in elevation.  There was a sign above the entry door to this condo that read: "Above the Clouds" Elevation 5,056 feet.  This is one of the very highest points east of the Mississippi River.  Mount Mitchell is the highest at 6,684 feet.

Once we got into the condo unit, it was very pleasant, modern, and clean.  It was spacious in the open kitchen-living room design, and the master bedroom and closet were very nice and roomy.  Inside (alas) was another stairway leading up to the next floor where the guest bedroom and bath were located.  Things were getting problematic for us.

Notice Stairway on Left of Panorama

Nice Master Bedroom with Quite a View

Master Bedroom Closet

Master Bathroom

Rear Balcony Panorama View

Once Again, Much Farther Down Than This Appears

Don't look down, get dizzy, and fall over the rail.

Upstairs is the guest bedroom, which is unacceptably small.  The large white cabinet on the right is a pull-down murphy bed which takes up all the rest of the space.  If you like heights and do not expect guests, this might be an ideal condo for you.

Next we visited a home "nearby" Newland.  One drives quite a ways to near Morganton (a nice town with much to offer for shopping and entertainment) to get here.  This was much farther from church and the YMCA than we were looking for, but it was worth a look.

Many of the homes for sale around here are very old, 30-50 years old.  Oldy Moldy.  They may look nice in the realtor photos, but visiting them is a dismal experience.  There are exceptions to the rule.  We found a home that was very well kept, with beautiful yard, but was far too much house for us.  And the yard was precipitous in topography.  Just walking around the yard was too much for retirees, which is why the current owners are selling.

Just Getting Up Their Driveway Is Interesting

The driveway winds up to both the upper floor or the lower floor.  Getting out at the top floor one finds a very spacious home with an open design.  Very modern-looking.

Nice Open Living Room and Kitchen Design

Then if one ventures downstairs one finds a whole new set of bedrooms and bathrooms that are as nice as the ones upstairs.  This is very unlike most basement areas.  The door in the upper left below leads to a large parking garage with huge amounts of storage.  Whoever gets this house will have a wonderful home, if they can handle the stairs and precipitous lawn.

Entering the Basement

More Rooms in the Basement

Guest Bedroom in Basement

Looking at houses can be exhausting.  Hard decision-making, and around here the variety can be overwhelming.  We are in no hurry, since we can take another year to look, and prices may come down along with interest rates.  If some market watchers are correct, we could experience another drop like 2008, which would bring down everything.  For now, we shall just look around to see what is out there.  So far it has been an education in the area around here.  

PINEOLA, NC. Our time here while camped at the Pineola (pronounced pine-OH-la) Campground has been very chore-oriented combined with efforts to view the 2024 Olympics without cable TV hookups.  Someone recommended viewing YouTube via a "hotstick" from Amazon, but even then we generally get only recordings and not live coverage.  

We did find out that we have national access to the YMCA with our membership from St Augustine.  We have only done water aerobics, since nothing like Silver Sneakers is available here.  We have been there twice so far and already feel sore from that.  A couple of old coots we are.

On Friday July 26st we had dinner at the Rohrbaugh's home in Newland.  They are old friends from their days living in St Augustine.  

On Saturday July 27th we went shopping in Boone where I ordered an AT&T hot spot, since our Verizon one is not that great, regardless of all the hype about their coverage.  We may be finding out that the AT&T one is not that great either. We also shopped at the Publix in Boone, including getting our Rx refills.  That is the only Publix anywhere near here.  

On Tuesday July 30th, we had a plumber install a new kitchen sink fixture trio of faucet, nozzle, and sprayer.  I was able to order from Amazon a set identical to the one that came with the motorhome.  The old set was 11 years old and starting to leak.  The setup looked simple to me, but Betty fretted that I was in no condition to crawl under the sink and lie on a wooden ridge while working the old set off, then install the new set.  Turned out the plumber really had to earn his keep getting it done, and I was glad that I did not try it. 

On Thursday August 1st we drove up to Boone once again to pick up the new AT&T hot spot.  It is hopefully better than the Verizon one, but nothing like what we have at home.  We also picked up another Rx at Publix pharmacy.  Before leaving Boone we stopped off at the Mystery Hill Natural Gravitational Anomaly.  There are other such places around the world, with several in the US.  The three points of the Bermuda Triangle have this anomaly, which could explain why flight compasses go nuts in that triangle of space.

I was very skeptical about this place.  I had seen similar places shown on TV and wondered if it was simply optical illusions, so I brought a level app on my phone that I knew worked.  Even the guide of our tour through this place was a skeptic a first and brought a level from home, which he left on the stone slab below to demonstrate that it was indeed level.

Note Level on Stone Below Us

As we switch positions on this stone, it appears that our height difference changes considerably.  People who are not as different in height as Betty and I are notice it more.

Note the Difference When We Switch Places

This Couple Were Not As Different in Their Heights

Now They Switch Places

Then you enter their strange building.  The tour guide warned us to hold onto the railings, since many visitors get very disoriented in there.

As You Enter the Main Room

This Floor Slants Down to the Right, But Things Roll Uphill

The camera is tilted below to show how it feels to walk up the room.  The swing above is swung far more to the side than it would ordinarily be. 

Everything Is Accentuated

If you stand with your back to the wall at the low end, it feels like hurricane winds are pinning you against it.  

As You Attempt to Walk Away from That Wall

The photo below shows what it feels like to move away.

It Takes A Surprising Amount of Effort

Betty Demonstrates the Pull

Our guide demonstrated the anomaly by pouring water at the low end of the pipe below to show that it flows uphill.  There is also a rail that inclines uphill to show a ball rolling uphill.

Here Betty and another guest give a demonstration.  

After we left that room, we went into rooms on the way out of the anomaly area. 

Below is a demonstration of the Bernoulli effect of air blown straight up on a ball.  

        

The following really are merely optical illusions.

Mirror Used to Make It Look Like Betty Is Floating

While This Rotates, If You Cover One Eye
It Appears to Rotate in the Opposite Direction

Water Appears to Flow From Faucet Suspended in Air

Other illusions were impossible to photograph.   

The next room was a favorite for Betty.  It was for blowing bubbles.  Click on link:  Betty Blowing Bubbles

There was another exhibit for blowing bubbles that Betty struggled with.

Click on link:  Sometimes Bubbles and Betty Do Not Mix

So I took over for a while.  

Click on link: Steven Gives It a Try

We left the unique building for the main tourist attraction area, which included a small eatery.  I was so disoriented by this point that I wanted a drink of soda or something.  We got soft pretzels and a diet soda.  I noticed that, like so many tourist stops in this part of North Carolina, there is a very large display of "vintage" soft drinks for sale, most of which neither of us had ever heard of.

One of Many Displays of Old Soda Brands

Even the Window Sill Had Sodas Lined Up

After a rest (and a while seated) I was able to drive again.  It really was a disorienting experience.

 Pineola Campground, Near Newland, NC.  On Monday, July 22nd, we left Swannanoa and arrived here at Pineola Campground.  Pineola is the town where this campground and the Down By the River Campground are located, even though the mailing address is Newland, since Newland is where the nearest post office is located.  When the latter campground is available on August 18th, we shall relocate there until Sep 30th when we shall return home in St Augustine.

Yesterday we did shopping at the Publix in Boone in a downpour.  A big switch from the dry hot days we had experienced so far.  It did cool things off quite a bit, leaving us with a nice cool dry day today.  We went for a walk around the campground here earlier this afternoon, then the Rohrbaughs came by to visit us here at the motorhome.  They left around 4:30 pm to go home for dinner, then off to Wednesday night service at church.

Endless Queen Ann's Lace in Property Next to Campground

Betty Captured Closeup of One of the Flowers

Covered Picnic Area with Our Grill Set Up

On our walk we followed the path provided which led to a tree house.  We need to find out who owns it, who built it, who lives there, etc.  Pretty nice tree house, but not really in a tree.  Only among the trees on stilts.

View from the Path

Ground Level Porch

Upper Level Porch

Betty Took This Photo of Me Setting Up the Grill Table

Betty also took the following photo of a moth lying on the ground beside our motorhome.  It was still alive but unable to fly.  Not much could be done to help it, but Betty wanted to save its image anyway.

Now to get the blog caught up.  On July 11th we left Mt Airy, NC to head for Mama Gertie's Hideaway Campground in Swannanoa, NC to be near the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove.  I don't know if they expected me to drive down that hill to leave, as convenient as that would be, but I decided to back out, then drive around the hill.

Extra Shady Campsite at Mama Gertie's

Betty Noticed a Bird's Nest Up One Tree

Betty Examining Bird Nest

A few days before the Michael Card concert and classes were to start, we were called to see if we wanted a room at the Cove.  Betty had put us on their waiting list and a room had opened up.  We took it, and stayed there for the concert Sunday night and the classes that followed Monday afternoon through Friday noon.  It is a good thing the time there did not last any longer, since with tons of food everywhere for free, including dessert after breakfast, lunch, and dinner; it tends to be a glorified gluttony.  I gained 8 1/2 pounds and Betty is not telling how much she gained.  Spoiled all our progress on Weight Watchers.

I picked up a screw in the left front tire of the Jeep somewhere at the Cove, called AAA who sent someone unfamiliar with a four-wheel-drive vehicle, who complained that he had trouble removing the wheel.  Finally, once he had replaced it with the spare, his air pump would not work to bring it up to the correct inflation.  Thus the Jeep was towed to the nearest place with an air pump.  Once that was done, I still needed to have the damaged tire fixed.  They are so busy at the nearest AAA service center in Asheville that they had me drop off the wheel for them to fix when they could.  Two days later they said it was ready.  On the way back to the Cove on I-40 the left front wheel wobbled like crazy; they had NOT rebalanced the wheel.  I called and was told to come by 8 am Saturday and they would try to work me in.  I finally found another place that honored AAA in Asheville who rebalanced the wheel for free within 15 minutes.  Hallelujah!

Glad to report that the concert by Michael Card and classes at the Cove went very well.  It is his last year of doing this, since he is feeling his age.  As he noted, we are called grownups because we groan as we get up.

From Our Seat at the Concert

Michael at the Piano

Michael and Us at Book Signing

The grounds at the Cove are outstanding and extremely well maintained.  There are wildlife sightings, the following caught by Betty.

Mother Deer and Fawn

The main building, which includes the auditorium, cafeteria, and bookstore is even beautiful from its back porch on the upper level.

Back Porch of Main Building

Panorama from Far Corner of Back Porch

View Down Stairway Behind Back Porch

Below is the scene of our gluttonous splendor.

Wide Angle View of Cafeteria

A few days after completing our battle to have our front left wheel put in good order, we departed for Pineola.  I think this brings us up to date.