A Mountain Adventure
pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone.
My cousin has retired and moved to her dream destination in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains in Rabun County. I told her I would come visit when we had a 3-day weekend. Of course, I always agree to these things and then when the time comes, I just don’t want to leave home (we’ll unpack this in a future post, I’m actually not “crazy” which I spent my whole life thinking). In fact, all of last week had felt dreadful. Was it the upcoming new moon? Could be, I feel strongly attached to the moon cycles as I’ve discussed in an earlier post. It didn’t help that there was also an extremely social work event prior to this trip. Generally, the new moon is a time of rest and reflection for me, but I can’t control when a 3-day weekend or a required work event happens so, I just had to roll with it. Here is my free form poem I wrote after this required 6 hour social event:
I Didn’t Feel Necessary
Wrong address in GPS, “You have arrived.” Nope, this can’t be it. 10 minutes from correct location;
Arrive late, anxiety rising, no parking near venue. Park at lake level a half mile away, slow uphill walk to venue, now I’m even more late;
The walk was nice, got blood pumping, lake views, fall tinged leaves, calming, calming.
Step through venue door, processing easy, staff nice, but no direction on what to do next, where to go, confused.
Wander around the main hall full of people, chairs & tables too close together, see no familiar faces, momentary panic wondering if I’m in the right place.
Find a table of work cohorts, sit down, loud, loud—can’t hear what they’re yelling at me, practicing my lip-reading skills. Everyone looks so calm & collected—I feel like I’m jumping out of my skin. Can they tell?
Coworkers want me to sit with them. Squeeze between chairs & tables, “excuse me, excuse me”, arrive at front of room and find a seat. Realize I’m sitting next to the head honcho, heart rate increases, palms sweaty. I suck at small talk, so awkward, over share personal info.
Microphone for the speaker is TOO LOUD. Feel like my hair is standing on end—can anyone else tell?
Trying to keep my happy mask in place.
Main speaker comes up. Lively chick, over animated, & "You are NECESSARY", TOO LOUD. Crying, I’m crying! Why am I crying?
It’s just too much!
They tell us to “mingle” while we wait for lunch. Impossible. Can’t move between tables and can’t hear against the roar of 300 people all yelling to talk to one another in a space that seems to be shrinking by the second.
Lunch, not worth mentioning. Group photo…really? I’m delirious. Doing silly stuff, just trying to hold my happy mask in place and keep my shit together.
Announcement…we can leave early, but wait not all at once. Have to wait for our table to be called. “It would help us with clean up if you pop all the balloons on your table.” Wait, what?
Sounds like gunshots all around…limit reached…escaped out the emergency exit.
Ahhh…view of lake, ducks and geese swimming free and easy, calming, breathe 1….2….3….
Great, now everyone thinks I’m crazy. My need to be medicated has been mentioned a couple times, jokingly, but I took it to heart, because that’s what I do.
Finally, I’m free…running away, away, down some steps, a grassy hill, through tall, majestic pines, pine straw soft under foot, on level with lake, back to my car, tears flow freely, gulping gasps of air.
Breathe… just breathe… calm just calm.
Set GPS for the mountains, try to relax & enjoy the ride.
A Whirlwind Mountain Adventure
The ride up to Clayton was beautiful and relaxing with magnificent autumn views. It was a 4 hour drive from the work venue, so I would be cutting it close arriving before dark. She lives just outside of town. I passed the Andy’s Supermarket which I had heard her speak so fondly about, but then I came to a literal fork in the road. However, at that moment, I thought it was just a 3 way stop and ended up making a wrong turn. I was literally 5 minutes from her house. This wrong turn up a steep and twisty mountain road with scary drop offs and fear of meeting another car amped my anxiety back up. Wow, she really does live in the mountains! But then I was headed back down…steep, steep…curvy, curvy. Ughhhh…I know I’m overusing my brakes…I should be in a lower gear. Where’s my jake brake? Memories of our trucking adventures rolling through my head. Finally, somewhat level ground again. Another right turn and there’s her sweet little mountain hideaway.
I am greeted by a warm hug and an offer for a relaxing toddy. The house smells of home cooking. On the stove is chicken and dumplings, pork and rutabagas, and in the oven is a hamburger casserole. My stomach is growling since lunch was a disappointment. My cousin, Liz, gives me a quick tour of her abode and then we’re back in the kitchen. I’m watching her fry cornbread on the stove in bacon grease. There’s a small bowl of chicken “specialties” on the counter. “Would you like a heart or gizzard?” Liz asks. Of course I would. Our Granny always saved the hearts for me when she stewed chicken. I munched happily on them while we discussed my trip.
“I swear, I feel like I just climbed a mountain and went back down the other side to get here.” I said.
“Oh, you must’ve been on Screamer.” She replied.
It definitely felt like a screamer, especially in the dark! Upon later investigation, yes, that is exactly what I did. I took a wrong turn on Polly Gap when I should’ve stayed on Warwoman to arrive at Wayah Trail. From the map below, you can see the switch backs I had to endure to arrive at my destination 15 minutes later than planned. Also, it gets dark quickly in them thar mountains! I went around my elbow to reach my nose…story of my life.
The evening repast was delicious and then we retired out onto the front porch where Liz and I swapped stories of our childhood until midnight. Many things to ponder and unpack later from those stories.
The following morning, I lie in bed waiting for the sun to illuminate this foreign mountain world outside my window. I smelled coffee brewing thanks to our coffee maestro, Mr. Mike. According to him, the best childhood advice he ever learned was from his father and consisted of two words, “Why not?” I’m stealing this to use with the grand boys.
After sitting at the dining table watching Carolina wrens, dark eyed juncos, towhees, blue jays, a brown thrasher, nuthatches, and a chunky little chipmunk at the feeder and enjoying a delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon, cream of wheat, and homemade toast, Liz and I wandered outside and she showed me around their property while Mr. Mike and his cohorts, Sadie and Rosie, climbed up to his office in the loft of their shop. We found a buckeye tree on her property!
Then we got ourselves presentable and decided to do some exploring. We started with thrifting in Mountain City where I collected several items. I was mainly hoping to find things for the grand boys to play with but the way I approach these places, full to the rim with stuff, is to see what speaks to me. Copper seemed to be speaking to me that day, so I picked up several pieces and some pewter as well. My great grandfather (Granny’s father) was a master Coppersmith, so I’m always drawn to it. His liquor stills were some of the finest ever made. I’ve done some minor research on the pieces I thrifted since I’ve been home and I am excited to add them to my household. The kettle is from Portugal and is considered “low-grade” because it is made of thin copper. The bowl is from Korea and the little ashtray is from Schaefer Copper in the U.P. of Michigan. They’ve been in business over 70 years and started in their basement. There is a book written about their history on Amazon.
The most interesting history I found was on the little pewter trays which were made in Pennsylvania:
The Wilton family has been involved in the metal casting industry since 1892 when Ralph P. Wilton, Sr. began working for his uncle at the Susquehanna Casting Company near Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. At that time, the foundry produced industrial iron castings for other manufacturers. Half a century later, Ralph P. Wilton, Jr. expanded the family business through other ventures, such as Wilton Products (1940) which made cast iron gifts and the Wilton Brass Company (1955) which initially produced industrial brass, aluminum, and iron castings. The company's greatest success occurred in 1963 when Wilton, Jr. developed the formula for a unique aluminum-based alloy called Armetale, which led to a new line of Wilton products. In 1969, the Wilton Brass Company relocated to Mount Joy, Pennsylvania and changed its name to reflect its new direction. Today, Wilton Armetale combines innovative design with old-world craftsmanship to produce a successful line of serveware, giftware, and decorative accessories.
Wilton Armetale's products are produced by using an ancient painstaking process called sand molding, whereby an impression formed in sand is filled with molten metal. Since items are individually cast and meticulously hand-finished, no two pieces are exactly alike. Not surprisingly, the Armetale formula remains a closely guarded family secret. When cast, this metal alloy can be worked to acquire the look of pewter or be highly polished to resemble silver. Products made from Armetale are functional as well as beautiful. The tarnish-resistant alloy will not crack, chip, or dent; and its ability to retain temperatures makes it versatile for heating, chilling, and serving. Design is an important element of Wilton Armetale's products, so it is fitting that the name Armetale means art metal.
I think I may have missed my calling as an American Picker. I truly enjoy thrifting but I rarely have anyone to go with.
We then visited a sweet little nursery that was all decked out for Christmas. The “dairy cows in snow” painting really spoke to me but wasn’t within my price range. I settled on a pink pig full of pansies instead. They had such an elaborate fairy garden and gorgeous succulent house as well.
Then we made a quick trip up to Black Rock Mountain and enjoyed some views of Clayton below.
Supper was in a local dive bar, 76 Roadhouse. Dinner and a show.
By the end of this day, I was thoroughly exhausted and enjoyed some rest and relaxation with Sadie and a good book.
It was a busy and fun visit. I scored some fresh mountain apples from Andy’s, which I will discuss more on my farm page, so make sure you subscribe to it as well.
Although I am a true home body through and through, it is good for me to get outside of my comfort zone every once in awhile. I hope you enjoyed reliving this little adventure with me. Thanks for reading!
Blessings to you and yours,
Becki 🐝🍂🍁
I love to go junking! Come go with me!
Also, we all get very comfortable driving these mountain roads. It’s easy to forget how scary they were to us at first!! Glad you had a good visit, screw those work folks!
I hear you!!