Third Age Recon- Final Chapter?

As our time in the South was so warm and lovely, Eldest and I weren't yet ready to return to cold March in Ohio. But, we had one more state on our tour.
"The Birthplace."
I was born in Virginia, and was there for a short while only, before shuffling off to Buffalo, I think. But, Virginia must have infused me with some sort of happy juice in the first breaths of life, because it has always felt very comfortable, almost magical. It has a special light, and smell in the hills of the Shenandoah. As a child I thought I would someday live in one of the abandoned houses that sprinkle the cow pastures on the hillsides, grey with weather, roofs sliding in, empty window holes for eyes and a tree poking up through the gaps in the porch roof. Those who have known some of the places I've chosen to live in my lifetime will finally understand my happily low standards. I guess they were set in my youth.
With age comes wisdom- or at least fatigue, because while I still find those places hauntingly beautiful, I don't have that much energy anymore. Rest easy if you ever plan on visiting us, we will have indoor plumbing, electricity and windows. No promises about trees on the porch, or cows in the yard.

So, our last Third Age Recon state for this trip is Virginia, and it starts with a bit of an advantage!
We left Georgia and headed to North Carolina, our objective being Asheville for lunch.
Tod and I lived in Raleigh for a while, me for about 8 years, and I spent as much spare time as possible in the NC mountains, and the area surrounding Asheville. Tod and I spent our honeymoon here too, in an adorable cabin that belonged to friends. There is an abundance of things to do in this area, from spending time touring the Biltmore Estate, or sampling their wines, to hiking up Chimney Rock. And, the town of Asheville is fun and progressive, with the scent of patchouli in the air. This area of NC certainly has its charms, and is worth consideration.
Eldest and I found a bite of lunch (yes, I found some lunch!) at a crêperie. They made me a delicious gluten free spinach crêpe. Eldest had a Unlawful Falafel crêpe, she said was terrific! Then we stretched our legs a bit walking about town. We wandered into the Woolworths, which is no longer the 5 and Dime it used to be, but a large artspace where local artists display their wares. It was terrific! We didn't leave enough time to really see everything, but we did leave with some art.
Back into the car, destination, Dublin, VA.
The GPS took us onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, so quiet and pretty, with occasional hair-raising cliffs and views. Eventually it took us off the Blue Ridge and onto some country roads, making me wonder where she was truly taking us, and then, inexplicably after an hour, back to the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is a Road Trip, so I don't mind a wayward path, and I had my trusty old map, just in case, and as the afternoon wore on we let the GPS do her thing. Unfortunately, the lady in the cellphone didn't know the Blue Ridge Parkway was closed. So, we shuttled off onto a dirt road that led to another dirt road and so on... eventually finding something paved. I wanted to get to Dublin before the sun set, and we were really pushing our luck!
Finally, arrived...

 Our "home" in Dublin, Rockwood Manor, the sun setting behind as we arrived for the night!

The beautiful floating staircase is centered under a large third story clerestory and skylight.

The floors on the main floor are alternating walnut and ash, and the entry has this sumptuous detail!
On either side of the entry are a formal and more casual parlor, with huge windows. The dining room ends in a set of bow windows that look out over the barns and fields.

  Eldest and I were the only guests for the night, so had the whole place to ourselves. This was our sweet little room. We had an attached bath with a grand tub for my thorough happiness.

Morning in the dining room. A nice woman came and made us breakfast, even me! I brought my own toaster and food, but she contributed a perfect egg! I am laughing in this shot because 1) I am still terrible at pushing the button and taking a selfie, and 2) somehow I ended up a foot shorter than my daughter.

Sun rising in front of Rockwood Manor, and we are off!
"The scenic route, please, Jeeves!"

Eldest and I climbed back in the little car and headed farther north, to Afton, VA, home of my big sis and her Huz. We arrived in time for us all to start talking at once, having not seen one another in ages.
Their home is on a beautiful hill with lovely mountain views and just blooming early spring bushes and bulbs.
I took this panorama shot on our second evening at their house with the sun lowering in the sky.. This is their back field. I was standing beside the herb garden (aka deer feeder, sigh).

After a spot of lunch, we hit the road again. We went into Crozet to have a gander at one of their rental properties that's having a bit of a reno, and had untold mysteries in its walls that still are driving me batty! (Why? Why oh why is the fireplace and mantle wider than the firebox? Why are there 11 outlets in one small room? Why, oh why, is the clawfoot tub tiled into a box with a bookshelf?)
We then went in search of what Huz had declared his favorite house in the area of the ones I had shown him online.

Found it!

It is a cute little cabin at the foot of Wintergreen Ski Resort, on a pretty stream. The downsides? This footbridge is the only way to get there and stay dry, and the new boards look like the bridge is repaired, but the foundation of the bridge, not so much. Also not mentioned in the real estate advertisement is that the hill behind and to the side of the house appears to be collapsing.

But, driving around this area is a joy. There are lots of beautiful homes and views of mountains, streams, red dirt covered ponies; some of my favorite things. That evening, Eldest and her Uncle went off to have delicious meaty food and my sister and I (had sensible spring-inspired pasta) joined them after for a "Books and Brews" discussion at a local brewery. The local radio station has an author come and talk about their book and answer questions from the audience whilst people drink artisanal beers. It is very aspirational.
The author was Inman Majors, and yes, he was that Southern. I believe he even had white bucks on his feet. I haven't seen white bucks since...well since I lived in Virginia last, about 1988? Eldest got a signed copy of his book, Penelope Lemon: Game On!  and home we headed to rest up for another day of driving about!
My Brother-in-law, is also an excellent realtor (yipeeeee!!) so, he had lined up a few properties for us to drive by and enjoy. We were looking at "areas" but a vacant house or two along the way keep spirits high and ideas flowing.
We saw some amazing areas. Some that are quite obviously well above our pocketbook!!
We did see an intriguing home, that looked like it should be well above our price range, but was not quite... so something was up. We went. It is in a great location, with a lovely property, and a to-die-for house. It was called "Old Manse" and was built by a Reverend in 1869.
While not quite at the level of my childhood aspirations of a house with empty windows in a cow pasture, without several hundred thousand to do repairs and renovation it might get there. But, a girl can dream! And in my dreams it looks beautiful! Plus, dreams are affordable, and take almost no time or effort. To dream.

Old Manse, with it's porches, porticos, ancient boxwoods, soaring hollies, fetid swimming pool from the Gatsby area, shabby out buidings and rolling fields. I loved it. Would that I were 30 years younger and a million dollars richer!
Still, a real possibility is out there for us somewhere.

I had an enjoyable stride about the hill back at my sis' house, and she caught me on the way back for a photo. Smart girl,  I am forever forgetting to record the moment whilst living in the moment.

Note: sweatshirt. No hat, gloves, scarf, Carhartt, or Alaskan riding skirt in sight. This happens but rarely in March in Ohio!...where we return to in the morning.
We are a bit warmer, more knowledgable and better for having seen friends and family. An excellent spring break. Well done, Eldest!

So...where should we spend our Third Age?

Third Age Recon Part III- Yes Sir, Georgia!

We pulled out of the gorgeous Lake Santeetlah, and pointed south. Through the mountains of north Georgia and eventually into the Atlanta metro area. Atlanta feels huge and sprawling, lots of people, lots of traffic, lots of everything! But, we made our way to the pretty area of Roswell and Marietta circling in on our target. It is an area of large mansions and treed neighborhoods. "My" cousin- Linda lives here. I call her "my" cousin, because I come from a small family. My three sisters and I had only one aunt, one uncle and one set of cousins. We all had our matched cousin pair; the eldests, the middles and the youngests. Lin and I were the youngests. I am a bit older than she, but only by 2 months. Lin was my cousin counterpart but we share a lot of similar traits beyond our DNA and I have always longed for time with all my cousins. Linda and her husband, Mike and their 5 kids live in Atlanta. Their pretty house is on a street with soaring trees, petite peaceful lakes and people!
For those of you who don't live in the rural north, seeing people outside is always a jolt to the system in spring. We go for a long time without seeing people outdoors. Maybe this is because if you are, yourself, outdoors, you are not looking around, but at the ground, as every bit of your body except your eyes are under several layers, and you need to see where you're going so you don't fall on ice or wander into a snow drift. You dash to your car, and back into the house. Shelter is your friend.
So, driving into Linda and Mike's neighborhood I was struck by all the people. Could we have found a climate where people voluntarily go outdoors in March?
We knew we found the right house as we were greeted by a note!

Delaney, age 9, is a great writer of notes. She made me feel most welcome and special. I had a note each morning, and a bedtime note too! And, if you notice, it seems the Georgia schools must still be teaching cursive!

We set about catching up. You know, it doesn't take longer than a few seconds to feel right back in the rhythm when you're with a true friend. My Aunt also lives nearby, and I was looking forward to seeing her, too. So, off we went, a short drive to her house.

My superior selfie cred on display, but I wanted the dogs in it. Dogs are definitely family members in our family. Simba is the light brown mix, and Sadie is the black and white.
We had a lovely evening crowded around a dinner table- just like it should always be with family. Linda and Mike's eldest and his fiancée came for dinner, I hadn't seen Gunner in too long, and had never met his fiancée, so what a pleasure!
But we were here not just to spend time with some of our favorite humans on this planet, but also to investigate our third age plan.
So, the next morning, my Eldest and I set out for the Georgia/Alabama line and the lakes there, mostly West Point Lake and Lake Harding.

We drove through the adorable town of LaGrange. It is full of pretty homes and enticing shops, and got an "A" for a small town feeling. The first house on my list to see was on West Point Lake quite close to LaGrange. Now, when you do what I have done- looked at houses online to find ones that seem interesting, you don't really know what the surrounding area looks like until you get there. So, as we followed our directions, and turned into the Country Club, I was a bit surprised. I hadn't expected a "CC" house. We passed gorgeous houses, and the country club itself, the golf course and then on a bit we spotted the house. I turned into the bottom of the driveway, and was happy to see a house I really did love.
Different than many others on the road in size, and maybe a bit older than some of the other pretty homes. This one looked like it needed a bit of work, but so lovely I wouldn't mind.

 I appreciate the way it sort of wanders on- it wanders out the back a bit too. The stone entry is lovely, and the casement windows are very European. I drove past to take a peek at the water.

Through a row of crepe myrtles (bestill my heart), you can see their dock, and the finger of the lake, no home on the other side, very private with 4 acres on the water. The house has a lawn that stretches out to the water, and no stairs. All good.

So, we drove to the end of the cul-de-sac, turned about and I went and drove around the circle in the drive for a closer look. Just as adorable up close. And, I could see the barn in the back. Lovely.
Now, I have no illusion that any of these houses I find will still be available when I get around to actually moving,  but I do find comfort in knowing that something I felt so fond of is there. Maybe there are others too.

We drove to another few houses on West Point, but didn't find anything I liked as well. So, farther south. Lake Harding was our next destination. I didn't really have a house I wanted to see, but I wanted to see the lake, so we just went for a wander. I turned here and there and ended up on a lane that dead ended on the water. And, wouldn't you know, a "for sale" sign.  It was a point of land right on the lake with a falling down cabin, but a lovely piece of land with a nice view, and a street of cute homes. Address? Hamilton, Georgia. Alas, not on Madeleine Lane.

It had a seawall (lake wall?) in good shape, and stairs right into the water. It was a bit chilly for a dip, but my daughter caught a photo of me thinking about it...

The houses around the point look like more of a year round population of inhabitants, with nice homes and tidy boat houses.
Thumbs up!

As it was mid-afternoon and we were halfway through Georgia, with Alabama just a short swim away, we headed back to Atlanta...
Via a detour to Whitesburg. There was a house on a small lake there I wanted to see. The house was quite pretty, but not quite what I was looking for, and the best one (IMO) in the neighborhood.
Still, encouraging to see some places that feel like possibility.

Back in Atlanta, the family time continued! Linda and Mike's eldest daughter and her husband came by to give hugs. I hadn't ever had the chance to meet her husband, so that was great fun. This time we remembered to take a photo!!

And, yes, of course Simba is in the photo. I am not sure why Linda is not! Mike was still at work, so I understand that bit.

We had a lovely time chatting until bedtime. Or, what should be bedtime. At which point Lin mentioned "Gram's Chair" which is a family memoir in furniture. I hadn't noticed it. So, one thing led to another, and we rearranged all their furniture. When you rearrange someone's house, it probably means you've outstayed your welcome, even so, thankful for this time together.

In case there was any doubt about our DNA, it looks like we have only two legs. This is MY cousin and me!

So, this is as south as we are going to get this trip. Headed back north- not North, yet, but in that general direction.

Third Age Recon, Part II

So, although we didn't seem to find my calm in East Tennessee, we started out the next morning, headed for North Carolina. There are a lot of things I love about the south. Many of those things were summed up by a place we passed on our way out.  Perched on a rise next to the road, a few broken down and basic stools and a ramshackle hut- with a purpose.

Sadly, the club was not meeting at 9 am on a Saturday morn. Certainly, we would have gotten to stop and set a spell. Maybe work up a decent sharp stick.

With this chance unavailable, we kept on driving... headed to "The Dragon."

This is Route 129 from Tennessee to North Carolina right over the mountains. Popular with the motorcycling crowd, it is 11 miles of stomach flipping driving; 318 extreme curves. 

I doubt I have ever driven 11 miles any slower. 

Eldest was a trooper, as she wasn't driving, and managed to not get carsick!

But, man-oh-man, was it beautiful! In the lower reaches, the hillsides are covered with rhododendron, as you get higher the views become spectacular. 

It was an overcast day, and as we got closer to the mountains, the mist lifted just enough to show us the pretty Chillhowee Lake, Tennessee side of the Dragon. 

The opposite side of the road was almost as pretty. 

The drive over the mountains took some time, but we stopped for this overlook of the Chilhowee Dam to settle our tummies.

We seemed to be nearly alone on our trek over the Dragon, only rarely seeing another car. 

We crossed over the North Carolina line, the road got a little easier to navigate, and soon we were stopped in our tracks by the incredible Tapoco Lodge.  I actually stopped the car in the road to take a photo. Since we were still alone on the drive, it caused no inconvenience. 

We actually ended up here for dinner later in the evening. The Lodge is right on the rapids of the Cheoah river. I am incredibly hard to feed- my diet has constricted to a pinpoint it seems, but they made me a delicious fresh trout on wilted greens- so good!

The Cheoah is popular with kayakers and brave inner-tubers? (that sounds like people who feel like they are truly potatoes)...how about "inner-tube enthusiasts." And when they let the water from the dam the rapids become very robust and folks sit on the patio of the Tapoco and drink cocktails and watch the active types shoot past. 

We stopped a bit up the river at the put-in for the "tubers". The river is wonderfully loud!

Lake Santeetlah, our objective for the day is not far into North Carolina, and soon we were on the hills above the lake, looking down. It was so pretty and peaceful!

I was also excited to see my friend, Kelly. Kelly and I were acquaintance/friends in college 30 years ago, but one of the plusses of Facebook is finding the joy in friendships not fully explored in our past lives, and I have followed Kelly's life and career over the past few years on "The Facebook."

Kelly is a dynamic powerhouse of lively creativity. She amazes me with her energy and her "can-do" attitude. A sister, for sure. She and her business partner and friend, Joann, have a podcast to which I am a devotee. They are interior designers, entrepreneurs and motivators! I listen to the podcast to get ideas, but also to help open myself introspection of sorts- plus I get to hear my friend Kelly's voice! And, Joann should has the most amazing voice. She could read the phonebook- if they still made phonebooks.  Listen! It is called "Inside Design with Kandrac and Kole." 

Anyhow, Kelly had posted a photo a few years back of a glass of wine on a table with the most beautiful lake behind and a caption with something like "nothing like relaxing at the lake!" I had immediately posted the question "Where????" and at her reply, started searching online for information about this singularly beautiful spot. 

Then, last year, Kelly and her husband, Mike, had bought a lake house on Santeetlah, and I had followed the progress of the house during the complete renovation that was necessary to make the house a useful, peaceful, and strikingly gorgeous home. I think it didn't take me long to invite myself over.

Kelly was extremely gracious in allowing us to come visit and showing us around. She set up the afternoon with her friend and realtor, Lynn Kindley of Cherokee Realty, who was fantastic, and quickly became like a friend to us too. 

This is Kelly and Mike's adorable lake home! I am a fan of a colorful door. The front bump out added during the reno looks great, and adds so much function inside....an actual staircase. You'll have to listen to the podcast, and look at their blog for all the before and afters!

This is the view across the lake from Kelly's house. I took this photo to show how calm and clear are  the waters of Lake Santeetlah. Delightful! And...the house across the way is mighty cute. Kelly and I could talk over coffee-across the water.

 We enjoyed some lunch together, fuel for the house hunt ahead! We got right to it, seeing a house just a few doors down. It ended up being one of our favorites with a great lake front and two stories of screen porches. 

 We saw a few houses in the most popular part of the lake. The houses are closer together, as are the docks, but we saw a house that was not perched as high above the lake as the others. Still has a nice lake vista! 

 We saw one house that was incredible... I mean wowza... and the view of the lake and the mountains sure was stunning. But it was not lake front. Still, the house was so WOW, it was memorable. 

This is my Eldest, with realtor Lynn and my pretty friend, Kelly. They are on one of the 4 porches of this WOW of a house, the sleeping porch, with it's double swinging beds. 

We looked at big houses and little houses and building lots...but everywhere the stunning views of this peaceful lake that is mostly Nantahala National Forest, so no houses at all. And, it seems this lake has only pontoons, some fishing boats and kayaks. No ski boats or jet skis- my idea of a perfect lake. 

After our lovely day of house hunting, a fine dinner at Tapoco Lodge and the excellent company of friends, Lake Santeelah is easily a wonderful place to consider for a visit. And, maybe even for a Third Age destination. 

The recon continues- headed to Georgia!

My Third Age Recon Part 1

It is spring break, which, nominally implies spring. You remember, green grass, chicks and bunnies, flowers in bloom, blue skies, puffy clouds, sunshine....you do remember, right?
Not in Ohio, not yet, not now.
So, for spring break, Eldest and I have embarked upon an adventure.
We are calling it my Third Age trip, because we got in the car this morning and started driving south. Agreeing to stop only when the snow was gone, and the green was emerging, and it was somewhere we could consider living when Huz and I enter our "Third Age".
Did I mention Eldest is a PhD student in Human Development and Family Science? The HDFS types have lots of names for the stages of our lives. Apparently, I'm getting older by the day and my Third Age approaches. This is, from what I gather, when my kids are all out of the house, and Huz and I are ready to move on to the next stage of life.
I am afraid to ask if there is a "Fourth Age". I'm suspicious the answer is "No."
So, for my Third Age, I am seeing warmth for this eternally frozen woman.

Drive south. Don't stop until you see green.

 We packed Eldest's little car and put the grey of Cowfeathers in March in the rearview mirror.

Keep driving.
Let me mention, here for non-Ohioans, the first photo was in black and white. This photo is in full color. It really is just this grey.
It snowed for the first 4 hours of the drive.

We crossed out of Ohio and into Kentucky. The cute little hamlet of Maysville KY, on the other side of the Ohio River got us sidetracked a bit. We wended our way through the old town and along the river, ooohing and ahhhing at the grand old houses perched above the town and the wide water.

OOOPS. Zigged when we should have zagged, and ended up back in Ohio. Insert eye roll emoji here.

But, road trips are meant to be adventurous, and handle mistakes. Plus, Eldest's car is the size of a peanut, and easy to turn around.

Eventually we passed into Tennessee. And soon, we noticed not only was the snow gone, but we were seeing greening grass.

We got off the highway to go peek at Lake Norris, and Norris Dam. We discovered much on our cruise of East Tennessee waterways today.

• Lake Norris is invisible. At least unless you're willing to take a hike through the woods. 
• Norris Dam is probably quite lovely for civil engineers and ambitious beavers. Not so lovely to me. 
• The Tennessee Valley Authority has a whole system of dams and lakes up and down the Clinch River between Chattanooga and Knoxville. They drain water out of the lakes and rivers about 6-7 feet in winter, so most waterfront properties convert to "mudfront" for winter. 
• Off topic, but the District of Columbia is called that to honor Christopher Columbus. Bet that gets some folks' panties in a twist. 
• Also, there is a difference between a Funeral Home and a Mortuary. It is subtle, but I think the Funeral Home is like your sit down restaurant and the Mortuary is akin to the drive thru. (Never stop learning, even in your Third Age. And, info like that might help during this stage.)

We continued on, and found that to get to every waterfront property we sought we passed through the following trifecta;

1.  RV park/trailer park.
2. Boat, and/or car graveyard.
3. House buried in junk.

This was a particularly uninviting junk lined street leading to a riverfront property. Windshield wipers are going. It was snowy, rainy or foggy all day, and this was a light as it got. It looked like 6 am or 6 pm consistently.

Definitely vital to go visit properties. This is a flattering photo. Older house, right on the river, house has some Tennessee farmhouse charm. Also, it has a red barn, right on the water, last house on the street. Those are the good points. It is practically under a highway bridge, surrounded by run down homes, and has been on the market for about 4 years. I don't think anyone occupies the home, or takes much care of the place. It's overpriced, under-loved and will be on the market forever unless both change.

So, what do y'all think? I don't think I've found my Third Age destiny. Yet.

Tomorrow, Eldest and I jog east to Lake Santeetlah, NC and a visit with a friend!

"She got a new dress- what about me?" said the half-bath.

As it works with home improvement projects, you do one thing, and then other things start complaining loudly.
The kitchen got a spiff, so the half bath nearby started bellyaching.

"I'm so blue. And, I haven't gotten a new outfit in 10 years!"

 I had to agree. When I did the half bath after we remodeled the house, I went with a feel of sea glass. My parents have a wonderful little beach near their house on the Eastern Shore of Maryland that we call the "Sea Glass Beach" as it has been a shore where sea glass regularly washes onto the rocky sand.
I made a primitive mobile using sea glass from Maryland and sticks from Cowfeathers to hang in the window. I mixed a custom color until I found just the right blue-green I was imagining. I put the white beadboard around the space and the rest was Sea glass blue, walls, ceiling- it glowed in the sunlight.

 But after 10 years, it was looking worn. So, out came the white paint for a clean shiny coat  on the beadboard and trim. Then I painted the ceiling with the lighter green used on the floor of the kitchen.
This is the point at which I remembered to take a "before" photo. Oh well. Better late than never!
In this photo, you can see the table I have set up to help the next stage of redress. In the top photo you can see the ceiling has been painted green.

Then, a new outfit!
I chose a sweet wallpaper by BorsåTapeter, a Swedish wallpaper designer.

 The mirror is a favorite family antique, made in 1916, with imperfect silvering. The milk glass collection was my Gram's. Some treasured antique books; A Children's Garden of Verse, Captain Horace,  and a few nests made by the busy birds of Cowfeathers found their way to the window sill.

The sink is a reminder that this room used to house the hand pump that brought water from the cistern into the house. It sits on a table salvaged from a trash pile, I cut it in half and covered it in roof metal.

The background of the wallpaper is a very dark green/black, just like the darker squares on the kitchen floor. Slates with important information- quotes- provide bathroom reading.

The room is small, but the window fills it with light! And a view of the garden.

So, who's complaining now? The mudroom thinks she's being neglected.
She's not wrong.