vacation

My Favorite Treasures Found While Visiting Georgia

Posted by Barbara Techel
Hugging a Crape Myrtle tree (a favorite!) over 150 years old outside the historic home Rose Cottage in Madison, GA

It wasn’t part of our plans to visit Georgia while we were on vacation recently. We set out for Gaffney, South Carolina with plans to also visit Charlotte, North Carolina and drive through Virginia.

But the weather wasn’t on our side much of this trip. We ended up chasing after the sun and warmth. This brought us to Georgia after experiencing storms, winds and cold in both North and South Carolina. Though we did have one beautiful day in the low 80s while perusing Columbia, the capital of South Carolina.

The blessing of traveling by van converted to camper is we could roll with it and move on. And that’s exactly what we did! But isn’t this how it goes? You are busy making all these plans of how you think things will turn out and then life throws you a couple of curve balls. But as my blog and mission is about, it’s about learning to roll with those changes and letting go of expectations.

Learning to adapt brought us to the cities of Greensboro and Madison, GA. So quaint and so full of charm. From the historic homes, to the lovely southern architecture of homes, an abundant array of blooming shrubs and flowers, to the antique and unique shops, I was happy we were open to adventure, which brought us here.

While I’m not a big shopper anymore, I do love to support artists and look for artisan marketplaces or shops when visiting a city or state I’ve not been before. And so I share my favorite treasures with you.

Candle holder made out of beeswax with insert of dried, pressed flowers. It glows beautifully! From Genuine Georgia – An Artisans Marketplace in Greensboro, GA.
Leaf shaped night light made out of clay. So pretty in my bathroom! From Genuine Georgia – An Artisans Marketplace in Greensboro, GA.
Clay tea cup with top for steeping found in a shop in Madison, GA (the name of shop escapes me!)

Did I really need any of these treasures? No. But it does my heart good to know I’m supporting artists. I imagine them in their studios lost in their creative world, doing what they love best…just as I love to do with my writing and what makes my world go round, and why I see these items now as dear treasures.

And to think I almost left the tea cup behind as I was trying to talk myself out of it telling myself I have more than enough of them. But as I headed toward the door my hubby said, “Aren’t you going to get that mug?”  Well that was all the enticing I needed! 🙂

Twist my arm and open my wallet. I’m glad I did.

XO,

Barbara

Northeast Tennessee – Photo Gallery – So much Beauty!

Posted by Barbara Techel
Watauga River, TN
Watauga River, TN

While I did share many photos on my Facebook page of our vacation, I know not everyone is on Facebook. So here is a photo gallery of highlights of our vacation to Northeast, TN. We were in the tri-cities of Johnson City, Jonesborough and Elizabethton. We also visited the art district of Asheville, North Carolina one day, which we had been to before, but wanted to go back to again as we loved it the first time.  It was lovely once again! This whole vacation was full of so much beauty all around us!

On the way to TN and one the way home, we stayed one night in our Vamper – Second Chance, as I’d been writing about we were going to do. While the Vamper (a van we are converting to a camper for those that don’t know) isn’t quite done, we were comfortable and slept well. And it was a great way to give it a test run to see how we want to finish it out and organize it, which is our project for over the winter.

And a huge bonus to our vacation was that both Kylie and Gidget did so well. I was a bit apprehensive how it would go, but so pleased they did so well. And as many of my friends have pointed out to me… well, they were with you and John which is what made them feel home.  Yup, I suppose that is true. 

So I hope you enjoy my gallery of photos. I’d highly recommend Watagua River Cabins and this area of Tennessee for those looking for somewhere to visit. Lots to do, and again, so much beauty surrounded us. I could see living in this part of Tennessee part-time should that work out for us in our retirement years.

Enjoy!

 

View out the back of of our cabin - Watauga River running behind cabin.
View out the back of our cabin – Watauga River running behind cabin.
Feeding the giraffes at Brights Zoo – a conservation zoo for endangered species.
Back of our cabin which house three separate cabins
Rose bush blooming out kitchen window of cabin
Rose bush blooming out kitchen window of cabin
View from the front of our cabin
View from the front of our cabin
Watagua River that ran behind cabins
Watagua River that ran behind cabins
View out living room cabin window
View out living room cabin window
Altar I built in our van during the week of our vacation. It's now in my writing cottage!
Altar I built in our van during the week of our vacation. It’s now in my writing cottage!
I loved this tree near our cabin
I loved this tree near our cabin
Another cabin at Watagua River Cabin - Johnson City, TN
Another cabin at Watagua River Cabin – Johnson City, TN
Wilbur Dam on Watagua River
At River Art District - Asheville, NC
At River Art District – Asheville, NC
John enjoying a microbrew and watching a train go by in River Art District - Asheville, NC
John enjoying a microbrew and watching a train go by in River Art District – Asheville, NC
Part of Watauga River
Watagua River higher into the mountains - or as the sign said: "Bear Country"
Watagua River higher into the mountains – or as the sign said: “Bear Country”
One last photo before we left our cabin
One last photo before we left our cabin

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Home Again. My Favorite Vacation Find. Come See!

Posted by Barbara Techel
Home Again. My Favorite Vacation Find. Come See!
At the base of the mountain on Watagua River near Wilbur Dams. See the small boat of fisherman at base of mountain?

We are home again. While it was hard to leave Tennessee because we had such a fantastic time, I’m happy to be home, too. Sadly, North Carolina, part of Tennessee, and Kentucky are under a state of emergency. Two days before we left, there were forest fires burning near Knoxville and it continues to spread. We found out from locals that it has been extremely dry for quite some time.

We have visited Tennessee twice before this giving thought to possibly being a place we could live part time, but until this trip, I wasn’t so sure. But Northeast Tennessee is absolutely beautiful and I could see being there part of the year should we be able to do that when we retire.

The blue ridge mountains and being in the tri-city area of Johnson City, Elizabethton, and Jonesborough offered lots of variety, while still quaint and felt like home in many ways.

My favorite part was driving along Watagua River past the Wilbur dam, though I did get a bit nervous when we drove higher into the mountains and signs that said, “You are now entering Bear country.” I can’t tell you how often I silently said to myself, “Just surrender and let go, Barb.”  I’m not a big fan of heights, but I did my best to overcome it so I didn’t miss out on the stunning beauty that was all around us.

On Tuesday we drove part of the Blue Ridge Parkway express through the mountains from Johnson City to Asheville, North Carolina – wow – that was absolutely gorgeous! There  truly are no words describe the beauty, but it is breathtaking.

There were many moments I silently paused and gave thanks for this beautiful land Mother Nature has given us.

Watagua River

And driving along Blue Ridge Parkway, when the mountains were clearly before us, I found myself in a state of feeling quite verklempt, wanting to weep for the pure beauty of it all – it just overcame my heart!

Our destination this day was the Folk Art Center which is home to the Southern Highland Craft Guild. The center showcases the finest in traditional and contemporary crafts of the Southern Appalachians.

And this is where I found my favorite find – a hand crafted hummingbird house!  I was so excited I almost squealed out loud!  Here it is hanging in my writing cottage until next spring when I can put it outside.

img_2098-c

The instructions that came with it say to hang it under the eave or overhang away from rain, wind and predatory birds or insects.  There is no guarantee a hummingbird will build a nest, it states, but I’m going to hope like all get out that I get little baby hummingbirds!  It says that once a hummingbird does build a nest that the hatchlings return the next year. And get this?  The nests are about the size of a penny and the eggs are the size of a Tic Tac!

I have a good feeling about this – that I will have a wee family of hummingbirds – and heck, one has to think positive right?

I’ll be sharing more photos in upcoming posts. But back to laundry and catching up on email, etc.  But I’m really happy to be back and get to work again next week on projects! 

And oh!  Kylie and Gidget did very well on vacation – it just made my heart so happy to know they adjusted well, but I also sense that they too are happy to be home again, too.  But isn’t that what vacation is all about?  Happy to go, but happy to come home again. Makes one appreciate life all the more!

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