Shenandoah National Park

August 5, 2016

From the beginning of our journey, Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive has been on my Bucket List.

  

On our way to Skyline Drive in Virginia, we scored lunch at PAL'S in Kingsport, TN, a fantastic fast food restaurant.  Pal's is a high-quality drive-thru chain store in eastern TN and southwestern VA and they all look like this.  Hard to miss!  Several years ago, my friend Maxine spotted this while we were starving and on our way to the airport in Nashville; we grabbed a burger and were blown away by the quality.  Don't miss this if you're in the area (or you can locate multiple locations via Google).  You're Welcome!

Known for face-to-face ordering and fast service, we ordered and left in less than a minute total!  Best take-out hamburger and chocolate milkshake ever!  (In fact, it was so delicious we stopped again for lunch on our way home from Shenandoah).  Hey, if you're gonna sin, do it up!  If you ever see a PAL'S and feel like the best burger ever, stop by.  You won't be disappointed.  You're welcome. 

We stayed in Wytheville, VA on the way there and back.  A friendly, pretty town with lots of shopping options and an interesting downtown area.  

It's different here in some parts of the south.  There's a hound dog in the back of the truck.  Right behind the gun rack.

This flag flies on a hill along the highway.

The Blue Ridge Parkway traverses through VA as Skyline Drive; a beautiful road winding around and through the mountains with 75 scenic overlooks.  

Amazing.  You just have to stop.  Take it all in.

It's like living inside a really high quality postcard.

The Park Rangers are super friendly and helpful.  As part of this lovely woman's teaching display, she had an animal skull for people to look at (on table in background).  Zuma thought it was a snack. Being at her level, she gently scooped it up in her jaws then immediately dropped it back on the table when I told her no.  Phew. So thankful she listens.  She looks really goofy here, smiling, with her teeth stuck on her lip. Zuma makes us smile too!

There are several tunnels on The Blue Ridge Parkway but there's only one tunnel on Skyline Drive, carved through a mountain.

Wildflowers are in abundance everywhere along the roadsides:

Along the way, natural sculptures appear, 

created by wind and weather:

This reminds me of the paintings 

the famous GROUP OF SEVEN Canadian artists created.

We kept the driving to a minimum each day because it was really hot (high 90s F) for Zuma.  We keep the A/C on full blast but she needs to stretch every hour.  So do I.  On the second day we arrived at Skyland, a resort with dog-friendly rooms.  Doug reserved us a room in the dog-friendly building.  The views there, atop one of the the highest peaks in Virginia, are incredible. You're literally up in the clouds.  This is a pic I took from our deck at cocktail hour.

We saw black bears and deer in the wild and, later in the day, we witnessed a fantastic thunderstorm over the Shenandoah Valley below, from its developing stage to its dissipation:

Storms are so much more powerful in the mountains.

When it was pouring torrentially; I had to take the camera inside.

Then it all calmed down.  Time for a second cocktail.

The clouds rose up and softly enveloped us 

as we watched from our patio.

We enjoyed feeling the moisture and coolness 

as it softly wrapped around us.

It was a moment of a lifetime.

The next photo was TOTAL WHITENESS!

Slowly and silently, the clouds receded and 

everything became clear again.  

It was absolutely amazing to watch.

It seems like such a simple thing, but having the opportunity to really enjoy the forces of nature is such a joy.

At Skyland, we hiked a short while on a well-groomed piece of

The Appalachian Trail.  The AT is not groomed like this all the way but it was a treat to stroll for a little while on this iconic path.  

Sadly, at this point, dogs are not allowed so we didn't hike far.

One afternoon, we enjoyed a tour of a historic house built by Skyland's original owners in 1888.  

It was a gathering place for parties and has great aura.

We were determined to cover every mile of Skyline Drive.  

Fort Royal is a charming town at mile Zero.  

It's well worth a visit.  

There is a fabulous bakery in the town and we indulged in purchasing a gorgeous, lovingly-made peach pie, 

with fresh peaches from Georgia.

Yup, we ate the whole thing in a couple of days.

It was delicious!

The Tourist Information people in Fort Royal were extremely helpful and suggested we visit a nearby town, Sperryville.  A perfect suggestion!  After a rolling, hilly drive through miles of immaculately fenced horse country, we arrived to find colorful homes and charming shops, honest country farm stands and very interesting people.  

This eldery gentleman, (selling produce from his garage) informed Doug he was one of the last living survivors of Hiroshima.  Or something like that.  Neither of us could really understand his accent.  Cool guy.  Best peaches ever.  I made a Peach Crumble.

The locally grown produce was outstanding.  

Fresh tomatoes were abundant:

There were assorted ciders lined up in the sunshine:

And juicy Georgia peaches!

It was a beautiful, memorable trip.

A feast for the eyes and the senses in every way.

We are all so glad we had the opportunity to enjoy Shenandoah.

Boone And The Original Mast General Store

August 4, 2016

A few weeks ago, Doug, Zuma and I spent a few days in Boone, NC.  It's a fun, thriving college town in a beautiful area of the state. This was our second stay there; Boone is a beautiful mountain town, with a fine selection of wonderful restaurants and interesting shops, flanked by a peaceful mountain backdrop.  We spent a couple of days touring the twisty side roads on the outskirts of town and walked with Zuma in the dog-friendly downtown area.

One of our goals was to visit the original MAST General Store in the tiny rural village of Valle Crucis in Watauga County.  

Built in1883, the General Store was and still is a central part of the village. Today, it stands humbly yet proudly on the roadside and, as in the past century plus, it hosts a Post Office and offers groceries, footwear, clothing, gifts, old-fashioned toys and cool refreshments nestled in antique coolers.



In 1973, it was recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.  It's a step back in time.

The creaking floorboards welcome visitors and the interior is as it should be, filled with old signs, General Store antiques and artifacts.  Tourists flock here, MAST is a very popular store and has a total of eight locations in NC.  This original gem is everything a General Store is meant to be.  And all Mast stores are dog-friendly!

Wild Dog Evening.

August 3, 2016

Today was a rainy day.  It seemed that every time I snapped the leash to Zuma's collar rain drops would start to plop plop plop from the sky.  In the news, North Carolina is reporting flash flood warnings.  The rain is expected to continue on and off for the next two days.  Having lived through a house flood, I feel so badly for people in a risky flood area.  Outside of Charlotte, NC they have received 7 1/2" of precipitation today. We are getting some serious rain.  I feel safe up here on the hill in our Motorhome.

Zu really needs a good long walk , she hasn't had one for two days now, just several short treks a day around the Park here.

So, this evening, after a rainstorm, we headed out for a stroll up the hill.  On our way, a truck passed us and we could hear a frenzied dog snarling ferociously from inside the vehicle.  This was truly serious aggression.  The driver of the truck was LAUGHING. It didn't register as comical to me.  Zuma trotted along as she does, she is frequently (daily) snarled at by other dogs and doesn't bother with their vocal comments.  She ignores the threats.  Almost always it is little dogs who I think are intimidated yet feel secure to vocalize when in a protected environment.  But this was one bad-ass sounding dog.

If we can't go for a long walk we always go for a jaunt up to the top of the hill a few times a day and since there was a break in the weather we headed for "the bathroom area".  We stopped and visited with several people and had forgotten about the mad red dog.  Suddenly, the same dog lunged unexpectedly from his campsite for Zuma, his owner in tow, clinging to the leash for dear life.  This dog meant business. We didn't see him coming.  I saw his face and it was a CUJO moment. He is a huge, red Mastiff-type brute of a dog, 180 - 200 lbs of solid muscle.  We've met a lot of Mastiffs and they are nice dogs.  As he lurched for Zuma, the dog hauled his handler a few yards and then the guy fell onto his rear end.  The dog dragged him across the lawn on his butt for several yards.  I quickly said "I'm sorry" and we turned heel and quickly jogged down the hill for home.  The handler was still skidding across the lawn on his butt.  I couldn't help him.  I figured once he hit the pavement he'd stop. 

My heart rate was waaaay up but Zuma was cool.  She muttered some swear words under her breath when he was about to attack her but that was all.    

New Belgium Brewery Tour

August 3, 2016

After tubing together a couple of weeks ago, our German friends who reside at the RV Park invited Doug, Katrina, Missi and I for a private tour of New Belgium Brewery (where they work).  

The guys are here from Germany on a long-term stay to install the stainless equipment for the brewery. 

                                                 David:

   Michael guided us on a very informative tour. 

.

We were thankful there wasn't a quiz at the end.

There's a lot to the brewing process!

Missi:

New Belgium is an extremely pristine operation.

No detail is overlooked.  

These tiles are handmade locally; notice the bottle shapes.  

First class.

Bottles awaiting the filling process:

Gorgeous hop-shaped lighting over the tasting bar:

Brewing began in March 2016 and already New Belgium is extremely popular, a fabulous place to go with family and friends (and your dog) on a hot summer day.  

We've been there several times with Zuma.

It wasn't appropriate for Zuma to go on the tour and she was quite happy hanging out in Hula Girl in the A/C.

The line up in the air-conditioned "pub" section, 

waiting to order a cold brew 

on a steamy Saturday afternoon:

New Belgium has a signature beer called FAT TIRE.  

These are examples of their Fat Tire bicycles:

The brewery and pub doesn't offer food but they schedule

 a food truck in the parking lot:

We're not beer drinkers but Asheville is famous for breweries 

and they are fun places to hang out.

All are dog-friendly.

Cheers!

Sticking My Neck Out

August 2nd, 2016

I've been debating about writing this blog because I suspect I'm going to piss off  upset a few people but, you know, when it's a valid point, it's okay to speak your mind.  It's good to draw attention to some things.  This is a topic I feel very strongly about.

So, I'll begin this blog by saying that since we started our journey, We've had people stop us on the sidewalk to pet Zuma, cross a busy street to talk with us, even yell from their cars to say:  "Thank you for not cropping your dog's ears."  It blows me away.  I had no idea the general public could be so outspoken.  I love it.

When people express an opinion about ear cropping, 100% volunteer that they are appalled that it is still being done.  USA, catch up.

I'm absolutely stunned by the verbal output from total strangers, so now, after 7 months of public comments, I feel I have to say something.  Sorry, ear-croppers, it's just unfashionable.  Hooray England, it is banned in the UK and most of Europe and all of Australia.  I thank God Zuma didn't have her ears cropped.

OMG my friends are thinking, here she goes on one of her "crusades", well, it has to be said.  Thank you dear friends, you feel the same way and you've said it too.  I try to be polite and politically correct but .... ear cropping is simply unnecessary.  And if I am stepping on toes, I apologize (sort of) but at least I'm not stepping on your highly sensitive ears.  If an elective surgery causes any animal pain "in the name of fashion", I'm totally opposed to it.  

I'm not going to ramble on about the excruciating pain these innocent puppies endure in the name of "breed standard", nor will I blabber about how the puppies wake up from the anesthesia shaking their heads in agony, about the ridiculous head sets they have to endure, the taping, the potential infections and then they sometimes end up with nerve damage and the ears don't stand up as "breed standard" suggests.

To hell with breed standard.  

Bred for boar hunting by the Germans (not the Danish), the Great Dane is a fast, willing hunter and the ears were originally cropped to prevent injury from a boar's fierce tusks.  But we don't seem to have an overpopulation of boars these days so WHY put your dog, your beloved companion through such a horrific, painful surgery? 
I am shocked that veterinarians continue to conduct such practices. 

Okay, I'm gonna shaddup now.  I've had my say.  I strongly oppose ear cropping.  I signed up for a petition (I was going to start one but there are hundreds of petitions to "stop the crop" already in motion) to ban ear cropping.  There are multiple petitions on line.  

I love Zuma's Scooby Doo ears.  And so do other people.

 

More Food Trucks!

August 2, 2016

Well, so much for blogging every day for the month of July! 
The best laid plans of mice and men, as they say ....

Soooo .... I have a lot to catch up on ....

First of all, we've been trying out the Food Truck scene and it's GREAT!  When we're out shopping or running errands or walking with Zuma, feeling a tad peckish, we look for a food truck because the food is well, freaking amazing.  We've sampled tacos and smoothies, sandwiches and sliders, breakfast, lunch and dinner food and it's all fabulous!  Super fresh (mostly farm to table), super fast service, super friendly people and best of all, super reasonable!  



And who wouldn't buy lunch from a food truck with a Tardis attached to the back, Hellooooo, Dr. Who lovers?

Zuma loves a party or a group gathering and easily makes friends. 

Yup, we're eating our way through North Carolina.  

    

Music Makes The World Go Round.

July 21, 2016

We met these super people a couple of weeks ago at the Park. They are friends and family and they play REAL Mountain Music. Every year for one to two decades these people get together from all over the southern states and celebrate music, spend a week or so together, enjoying playing their instruments and camping.  

We stopped by while walking Zuma and were fortunate enough to hear them jamming, having a good time.  Amazing, just amazing honest music.  They invited us to listen, hang out.  They even offered to help me learn to play the banjo (I was too shy).  It was a Bucket List Moment of a Lifetime for me.