I was limited to two cold, overcast days because of my work schedule. Bummer. Gail had the chance to spend an extra, even colder day, 29 degrees at the crack of dawn, which is the typical starting time for these events. But even so, our group spotted 40 different species on each of the two days I was there. This is less than half of the usual. Photography was also less than ideal, though I will share at least a few of my pictures of the Yellow Throated Warbler that was my favorite bird of this trip.
Here is part of our birding group at the New River Gorge, with the famous New River Gorge Bridge in the background:
The New River:
Railroads parallel the edge of the river, dating back to the time of active coal mining that started over 100 years ago. Coal mining has long since been “tapped out” in this area, which is now a protected National River.
There was a nice bus tour and then we split from the group for a few hours. We had Gail’s ring checked at Tiffany’s, walked around Rockefeller Center and Times Square, and stopped at St. Patrick’s on Holy Thursday. Then we had a nice dinner at Trattoria Trecolori before meeting back up with our group at the Shuman Theater to see the show “Memphis.”
All in all, an excellent day! I’m grateful.
First is some scenic beauty along the Blue Ridge. (The countryside is pretty nice, too!)
There was a beautiful postcard scene at every little stop we took!
We got off the parkway and took the hike down to Linville Falls. It was SO worth it! Look at these beautiful falls! Wow!
After that, we headed off to our two day retreat on Gateway Mountain. I’m glad it was still daylight when we got there because it was an adventure just getting up the mountain in our car! There aren’t enough superlatives and exclamation points to describe the place we found. It is the sort of place that lets you feel small amidst an awesome expanse of nature’s beauty! I woke up early the next morning to enjoy the dawn…
We shared a common adventure, and spent precious moments of quiet solitude…
Gail kept an eagle eye out for the local birds…
It rained later in the afternoon, but cleared long enough for us to marvel at a sunset of eery mystery above the clouds…
And it was over all too quickly! The fog was thick this morning as we came down from the mountain. We encountered a flock of wild turkeys! I love running into crazy, unexpected things like that! I was smiling and thinking, “See you later, you wild, crazy turkeys!”
Yeah, that’s right. You go run and hide! Thanksgiving is right around the corner!
I’m grateful for our excellent little trip!
]]>I’ll post more tomorrow, but right now I’m going to vegetate. Later!
Gail has been capably managing all the details back home in Toledo. She is a master organizer. She has trimmed down our household as our new home has considerably less storage. We were advised to “edit” our belongings, and really, that’s a good thing. Little by little we have accumulated stuff we no longer use, need, or want. But getting rid of stuff is a chore! And the stuff that has emotional meaning takes extra thought. Well, Gail has edited away these past seven months.
We didn’t want to own two homes at the same time. Our house in Toledo has been slow to sell. The big move has to happen now because of Eric’s school. We also didn’t want to leave an empty house back in Toledo. So we waited until last month to buy a house in Winston. And wouldn’t you know it, a few weeks later we got our first offer on our Toledo house, and it looks like we’ll close in early September! We won’t have a double payment! Man, I am GRATEFUL!!
Speaking of grateful, I just bought a little iPhone app called Gratitude! The idea is to write down 5 things I am grateful for every day. Perfect for me!
I feel very blessed right now. All the important people in my life are healthy. All are doing well, working hard, gradually moving ahead in every way, as I see it. Not that there aren’t problems, issues, and some sadness. Sure there are. That’s part of life. I’m sad to be putting physical distance between me and my four adult children. But I see answers to all the problems, issues and sadness. All in all, things are good. We are blessed and I’m grateful.
I will now sleep with my wife every night, instead of 4-5 nights per month. I am very grateful for that! (I hope she is,too! LOL)
And I am very grateful for the exciting opportunity to start a new life in North Carolina. I have learned many lessons through the mistakes I made in my previous life in Toledo. And I am older. I value and savor the many blessings that seem to always come my way. My next job will be to see how I give them all back, pay them forward.
Okay, I better stop. Just because I have all this time on my hands doesn’t mean I should abuse my readers with my wordiness!
Peace!
This is Tarheel Ramblings Lee’s meme, and I like to play as often as I can.
I don’t know if it’s okay to put people in a “scenery” meme, but at least Gail is easy on the eyes, from all angles! ; )
This was taken on the day we arrived in Punta Cana in the Dominican [...]]]>
This is Tarheel Ramblings Lee’s meme, and I like to play as often as I can.
I don’t know if it’s okay to put people in a “scenery” meme, but at least Gail is easy on the eyes, from all angles! ; )
This was taken on the day we arrived in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. It was Princess Gail’s first trip out of the country. There is just nothing like Caribbean water!
]]>(You can clic the pic to enlarge it.)
(You can clic the pic to enlarge it.)
It was wonderful catching up with Kelly in AZ these past few days. I enjoyed meeting her manfriend, Jamen. As a father, it gives me great joy seeing her make the decisions that shape her life. A colorful life. Like the unfolding of a beautiful flower.
I used my iPhone Urbanspoon app to find Cowboy Ciao, and to make a lunch reservation online. And it lived up to it’s excellent reviews. Gail and I split pretty much everything. So we shared their [...]]]>
I used my iPhone Urbanspoon app to find Cowboy Ciao, and to make a lunch reservation online. And it lived up to it’s excellent reviews. Gail and I split pretty much everything. So we shared their signature specialties, the Stetson Chopped Salad, Mushroom Pan Fry, and a remarkably tasty Bread Pudding served with a 5-spice vanilla ice cream and cranberry compote. The bread pudding was my personal flavorite.
I promised more pics.
So, sitting at the airport this morning waiting for our flight, I thought I’d check to see if a WordPress app was available for my iPhone, and… sure enough!!! Why am I so excited about this? I feel like a kid with a new toy!
(Don’t tell on me, but I’m posting during my conference. Shhh.)
Here’s a pic from inside our room at the FireSky in Scottsdale. I hope you can see our nice little view. More pics later.
