Photo Journey in May

Last week we headed out to enjoy a few days on the road. 

 Our original plan was to travel to West Virginia and explore some of the roads we've heard make for great motorcycle rides.  But after checking the weather forecasts, we decided to go a little farther south.  We ended up in the north Georgia mountains for the first few days of the week.  Warning, lots of photos ahead !

It was nice to have our little house on wheels as our home base.  This was our site at Creekwood RV Resort near Helen, GA.  It is a small, quiet campground with only about eighteen or so RV sites but they also have some really cute cabins. The owners were friendly and accommodating and there is a great little breakfast/lunch place across the road.  I can't believe I didn't get a photo of Ain't B's Bakery and Cafe and their awesome cinnamon rolls! 

Helen, Georgia is a cute little touristy town "nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains on the Chattahoochee River".  Several years ago the city adopted the look of a Bavarian village to set itself apart from the other little towns in the area and increase the tourist traffic.  We have been in this area before, the last time was two years ago when I blogged about our trip here.

We enjoyed a few days of riding some of the mountain roads in this beautiful corner of northeast Georgia.  Even venturing into South and North Carolina one day.

There are lots of pretty rivers, streams and waterfalls.  One of the main tourist activities is rafting.  We didn't try it.  But there was plenty of water in the streams though and many folks were fly fishing too.

We did stop at a few cute little places, including Nora Mills and this little country store.

This corner of the state was not spared when it came to the awful tornado outbreak in April.  This is the community of Lake Burton where many of the lakeside homes and the surrounding woods where destroyed by an EF-3 tornado.  Very sad to see such a beautiful area in devastation.  We noticed several spots as we drove in the mountains where a twister had bounced among the trees.  

We then moved our adventure up to the Asheville, NC area and found this nice campground in Swannanoa.  

 Mama Gertie's might be our favorite campground so far in our RV travels.  Although it might be a little hard for big rigs  to get there, it is worth the climb!  The sites are beautifully nestled in the trees and seem farther apart then they are because of the hillside placement.  They are currently in the process of adding more sites and they also have cabins and tent sites.  Unfortunately, we never were able to get our bicycles off the back of the RV because every where we went, the hills made riding beyond our biking abilities! The showers and restrooms where first class and the camp hosts very nice.  

Ever since our first visit to the Blue Ridge Parkway ten (?) years ago, we've loved visiting here.  I guess it's because it reminds us of the first few years of our marriage that we spent in the Rocky Mountains, even though they are completely different elevations and terrain.  We never tire of riding here because you never know what you'll find around the corner.  Where there were rocks last year, this year you might find a pretty tumbling waterfall.  

At one of our stops, I purchased a driving map for the Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina.  We took a side trip from the Parkway to Burnsville, the heart of the trail.  D let me stop and shop at Needle Me This Quilt Shop and I learned where some of the local quilt blocks were displayed.  

This is a beautiful quilt shop!  Doesn't this front porch look so inviting? Nice for a husband to sit and check his emails while the wife browses and rests her weary motorcycle behind!

We found many of the barn quilts along the roads and I tried to photograph many as we rode by.  Here's just a couple of them and another( my favorite of the trip) now graces my blog header.  Not all were on barns, but schools, churches, houses, gas stations and just about anything you can imagine. Personally I prefer the ones on barns, but they are all such fun things to look for when we are riding.

I don't think there was a quilt on this cute log cabin, but was such a pretty place I couldn't resist a photo.

One morning we stopped at the North Carolina Arboretum for a short tour of the main grounds.  This is the quilt garden.  But I think it had just been planted and the design is barely visible.  If you are in the area later this spring, this would be worth a stop!

Mountain Laurel.  There were many of these blooming on the roadsides, but this is a different variety I'm sure.  Beautiful!

They have one of the biggest collections of bonsai trees here.

Don't these look just like a little grove of river birches only in miniature?  I don't know much about bonsai trees, but did enjoy looking at them.

We did a little shopping and eating in downtown Asheville.  Two new restaurants on this visit were Tingles Cafe and Early Girl Eatery.  Both were pretty good but D decided that the "tomato gravy" on the menu at the Early Girl, didn't compare with what his mom used to make! They did have the best biscuits though! We also enjoyed OkieDokies BBQ in Swannonoa and The Tartan Restaurant (couldn't find a website for this one) in Linville.   Sometimes it's not only about the riding but the eating too!

Blogiversary - A New Word

Greetings everyone. I am back in blogger land. After continuously getting an error message last night from blogger about Internet Explorer not being able to access the site, I finally am able to post. All I had to do was check out a few of the blogs that I normally read (translate: am addicted too!) and I found the solution to my predicament at Polka Dot Pineapple. Thanks Lettie!

The Gerber Daisy Siamese Twins continue to bloom! Doesn't this kind of look like an exotic bird face if you stare at it long enough?

So today is my blogiversary. You'll not find that word in the dictionary but it is the one year anniversary of my first post here at Blogspot. I've been debating if I should give away a prize in honor of my sticking with this little project for a whole year as so many of my blog friends have. What do you think? Maybe if I should get enough comments here at the bottom of this post I might surprise one of you! Just click on the comment link and tell me what you think. You don't even have to have a blogger account, you can comment anonymously but will have to check back to see what happens! I finished a bag from the new Amy Butler pattern yesterday. It was quick and pretty easy. (Could I be convinced to make a similar one as a give away?)

We were hoping all week for "the" call from the parents-to-be, but not yet. I know we're not near as anxious as they are! One of these days! In the meantime I have been working on a few things. Of course the purse above and then also this small quilt made from a Fresh Squeezed jellyroll. It went together pretty fast too. Now to figure out how to quilt it. I need some suggestions please. I also spent some time practicing my free motion quilting, but I still don't feel I'm ready to do a full quilt. Maybe I need to put this aside for awhile and keep practicing!
Today I've been experimenting with my newest toy. I'm upgrading my digital camera from the little Kodak I've dragged everywhere for the past few years. This is the Panasonic Lumix. I'm still studying the manual and trying out all the features. More than I'll ever need I'm sure! But it does have 10x zoom, optical image stabilizer and a 28 mm wide angle. I'll let you know if it becomes my new best friend!

Today we participated in a motorcycle ride to benefit the Eric Hall Memorial Fund. Perhaps you remember my mention of this young Marine, the son of friends of ours, who was injured in Iraq and suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. He disappeared last spring in Florida and was later found deceased. It is such a sad story but his parents have formed a foundation to help other veterans who suffer from mental health issues. Eric was a motorcycle rider so what better way to raise some money for the cause than to sponser a fun event for area riders.

Staging was in a local church parking lot with a local radio host, Francine, as MC. There were lots of donated raffle prizes and hot dogs, chips, watermelon and cookies waiting for us but soon it was time to hit the road.

One rider, a veteran who had helped search for Eric, rode all the way from Florida to participate.
Eric's parents thanked the 80 plus bikers and their riders for coming to the first annual Eric Hall Memorial Ride. They were pleased with the turn-out and hope to continue this every year.

We rode about eighty miles through some of the same back country roads that we drive on our own explorations.


It was a beautiful day to ride and this time we felt like we helped make just a little difference. No matter what your political beliefs, we shouldn't forget those suffer from the effects of war, even if their injuries aren't as noticeable as some. The Hall's have bravely dealt with their son's death in a way that will continue to honor him and others. There should be a website coming soon with info about the foundation. I'll post a link when it is available. Eric's birthday was August 5, so I'm to pass the word along that that date would be a good day for a baby boy to enter the world!

Thanks again for stopping by! Have a great week.