Finally taking a road triip ...

[Carolina]

I do love road trips and motels, most motels.  And the whole thing.

Glad you're pacing yourself, QD.

Even when that means crashing, that is a form of pacing, no?

Hugs,  Elaine

[quietdynamics]

Pic off the net, but looks like the one I took yesterday as we watched the sun set over
Lake Santeetlah, NC  And met a very nice young family there with the most precious little girl.





Water, Water, everywhere..


History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Santeetlah,_North_Carolina

Today we are going to a site altitude 6,000ft. So how tall would a building need to be?

So why are we here?..LOL

When I met DH.. I said do you have a motorcyle? (Pre-SJS symptoms of dizziness, etc.)
Well he used to.. so he bought one. Then symptom rudely not only came knocking at the door .. but, moved in and well we know how that goes.
So I encouraged DH to join a motorcycle group. Yes, I did. Off he went and goes. And send me photos, calls everynight.. so I travel along via the net.

He has been here 5 times and ridden "The Tail of the Dragon"..

So where we have just spent the night we have seen and met some motorcyclists
But, more importantly.. I can see DH excited to show me the sites he has seen (heart).
*Then 'he' is surprise to see the sites I have researched and he has missed..lol.

Be well and hope you enjoy ~.~

* So glad I brought my own coffee maker.

[quietdynamics]

We arrived home last night around 10:30 PM.. around 2,200 miles to our what turned out to be a 9 day loop.
Left NJ, drove through southern Pennsylvania, into West Virginia, south though winding mountain roads, that seem to turn onto themselves, hairpin turns and all, to northeastern Tenn.
Thank you again, A66eyroad for the offer.. part of our trip goal was to look at possible places to retire and at that time we were on a 7 day timeline, so not going that far south. Just looking at possible lake areas.
We then crossed, meandered the roads into North Carolina. Stopped in Asheville. And loved it there .. so stayed two days. Saw a lake that 'looked' close on the map.. but, driving the roads .. took an hr. outside of Asheville. Lake and golf combo DH loved it.. and it was very nice. But, the windy roads? Darn, looked close on the map..oh well.
We had dinner at a restaurant in Asheville that served Himalayan food.. it was great and they had a 'Ginger Lemonade with Clove"..it was so refreshing.  Here is a (net) photo of the inside.


We both liked the drink so much. Here is something on the net I am going to try.
(Funny because I buy fresh ginger, slice it and make tea..DH laughs about it because I often do not use it all and it dries out..)

(recipe next post)

[quietdynamics]

Ginger Beer Sierra Leone Style
Author: Recipes From A Pantry
Recipe type: Drinks
Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 6

Homemade ginger beer West African style.
Ingredients
120g (4¼ oz) fresh root ginger
1L (4¼ cups) of boiling water (or sparkling water)
2 cloves or more
2-4 tbsp sugar to taste
Juice of half a lime or more to taste
Instructions
Peel the ginger and chop into large bits
Add the ginger to a blender with about 50ml of water and blend into a paste.
Pour the ginger paste into a large heatproof bowl and top with the boiling water.
Add in the cloves and let stand for a couple of hours so the ginger flavour develops.
Slowly strain the ginger beer through a sieve into a new container and throw away the bits left in the sieve.
Add in the sugar and lime to taste and then let the ginger beer cool in the fridge before you serve it.
Notes
After settling for a few hours you will notice that the bottom of the ginger beer is cloudy. That is the heat of the ginger beer. If you don't want it hot especially if serving children then be careful to leave that cloudy bit behind when straining it.

* I asked the waitress/hostess how the lemonade was made. She said the ginger was put in a blender and the juice and pulp used, fresh lemons and a clove.. with some other spices?
So this is all I found on the net..maybe someone else knows.

[quietdynamics]

I will upload and pick some photos...
I took some of a chapel with amazing stained glass windows in the Biltmore Village section of Asheville.
The windows were done by an apprentice to Tiffany. They are truly amazing.

For now I will give you a link to images
https://www.google.com/search?q=historic+biltmore+village&espv=2&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=57e2U738CceUyATImYCwDA&sqi=2&ved=0CGgQsAQ&biw=1093&bih=534

On the SJS side.. I did find that I needed naps every other day, which worked out fine since the World Cup Soccer was happening..lol. And that was when it was at the hottest during the day anyway.
Instinctively, I found myself adding more protein to diet and stopping at fresh produce markets.
Fresh blackberries..bigger than DH thumb and so sweet. Peaches. We found a market with tables and umbrellas and sat to eat some there. (Hickory, NC)

I did find I needed to add back in a mid day dose of neurontin. Something was going on with my left leg into my knee..so during the trip I did take two tramadol. Systane for the air conditioning in the car. And my eyes were pretty swollen during most of the trip.. I could almost make it jiggle.. groan. But, I wear glasses. So it made me look extra tired (even when I wasn't) during the trip. Oh well.

The added humidity in the south had my fingers swelling.. so I suppose living there one would need to adjust.

Today in NJ temp @ 10:40 is 70 w/ 50% humidity.. when we came home there was branches and such in the street, there had been a thunder storm. Perhaps effect of Hurricane Arthur. I'll have to check the weather.

Looked at my email before we started home. And some not so great news. So we definitely needed to come back. We had been considering driving to the NC barrier islands, I wanted to go to Tangier Island. But, with the Hurricane and emails.. and being tired. Time to go home.
Regroup.. I could feel the weight start to weigh on my shoulders as we drove closer to home.

I think the reason why I was finally able to make the trip was due to the Predinsone trial I was on.
I am thinking it broke for however long a vicious inflammation cycle. But, I will save that for another post.

So I hope some photos came out and I can share them with you soon.

Happy 4th.
My best to all..

[susanep]

I am glad you were able to go on this wonderful trip. Asheville is a beautiful place. I enjoyed visiting Biltmore House and Gardens. That has been a few years ago.

There is nothing like a road trip where you get to see so many things along the way. It's been awhile now since I have been on one, but the memories are wonderful.

susanep