Settling In

Well, we survived a very busy canoe-rental weekend. Neither Jeff nor I are that used to being on our feet for hours on end, so the Saturday and Sunday’s crowd of canoers left us totally drained by Monday — the first of two days off.

Kira still has a problem when I walk across the drive to go to work, but she’s adjusting. The cats are doing very well staying the the trailer all the time too. I was afraid I’d have to fight one or both to keep them from escaping out the door. I’ve tried to bring Boots outside (he went outside at home), but he’s perfectly content to lounge around inside.

And TK (Trucker Kitty, now Traveling Kitty) NEVER wanted outside at home, but she loves looking out the window here like at home.

So after sleeping really late Monday morning for us, we were off to find the closest Wal-Mart — at Jefferson, well West Jefferson, NC to be exact. I HAD to get a new pair of tennis shoes since my toes were coming out of my old ones. May was such a wet month in Kansas City, & I spent lots of time carrying loads of ‘stuff’ thru wet puddles, they just disintegrated. We found comparable food items too so we’ll manage in spite of finding different bread & coffee.

We hooked up to a DirecTV dish already set up in the park (aimed between the numerous trees) but our receiver (DVR) just insisted on continuing to look for satellite #2 & refusing to work correctly. The two times I talked with customer service neither person happened to mention I could have changed it in the menu myself. Nevertheless, we got a tech to come out Monday afternoon to get us up & running. I’ve been without news (except for internet news) for over a week & feel very out-of-touch. Glad he was here too because the local channels weren’t showing up either until he talked to someone to punch in the right keys or something. Woo-hoo, feels like home for sure now!

So, we both woke up real early Tuesday morning to fog. As coffee brewed, I ran out to take foggy river photos.

I liked the patterns & colors of the canoes all stacked up ready to be loaded for customers.

After Jeff fixed us a great breakfast we call Country Scramble (fried cubed potatoes with eggs, mushrooms, onions, & cheese scrambled in them) & bacon on the side, we set off to see the drop-off spots for the canoe trips. I took lots of photos of the New River upstream (but to the south).

We actually set out today to find the same kind of cat food we’ve been feeding the cats & drove over to Sparta (SE of our campground). But the store changed hands & didn’t carry it any more. Duh — call ahead to confirm, Glenda. I finally found some at the last of four possible dealers — north of the campground in VA.

I was surprised by (& felt at home with) all the hay cutting going on. In spite of ALL THESE MOUNTAINS, there are still plenty of cleared off hills & pasture land without Christmas trees growing. I used to help my parents buck hay on the farm where I grew up. Being in my egg when it rains reminds me of laying in the hay loft with rain falling on the tin roof of the barn.

So after our first seven days of being at the campground, living fulltime inside (& outside) of our Casita, working, we’re absolute, totally, positively content with out decision to go mobile. We admit that living with FHU, plus wifi & DirecTV (A/C & microwave) isn’t exactly roughing it (& we haven’t gotten totally organized yet), we’re bound & determined to make this work ‘cause we sure don’t want to back to a S&B house. And although it’s hotter than usual here, it’s still very comfortable compared to most everywhere else in the country. We sit outside under our covered deck until almost dark most evenings. And the green, mountains, trees, & fresh water are just so beautiful. We’re sure lovin’ NW North Carolina!