Christmas Surprise

Anyone who knows me well knows how much I love Bell's scotch.  It remains my most favorite of all whiskeys, hands down.  I was introduced to it by the late Ted Hall, a business associate and friend from the UK, during trips to Toronto.  Later I enjoyed it in London pubs whenever I traveled there.

The only time I find it now is when we travel to Michigan and I cross the border to buy some.  Last time, in the spring, I was detained for 45 minutes returning to the US, just so I could pay $12 duty on 5, 750 ml bottles.  It was well worth the wait and the hassle by border guards.

Yesterday we had lunch at a new British pub here, Pete's Pies, and the owner came by to introduce himself.  He's a Brit, with the accent and good pub food to prove it, and we were discussing British pubs in general, and beers and Scotch in particular.  When I mentioned Bell's his face lit up and he went on to tell me where and how it was made to make it so good.

During the conversation Lynn mentioned that the Bell's box was still under the bed in the trailer and there might be a bottle left in it.  "No, that couldn't be", I said .  A friend had brought me 2 fifths from Canada in early fall and they were long gone.  There was just no way I could keep a big bottle for that long.  But I wondered....

Upon returning home we went straight to the trailer and lo and behold!  There it was!  A huge bottle of nectar from the Gods!  I was so excited I nearly wet my britches!

When I brought it into the house, I poured a small amount in a snifter and just sniffed it for a long time.  Finally I took a wee sip, swirled it around with my tongue and finally let it slide down.  My oh my!  Surely one of the best sips of Scotch I've ever tasted!

So, it was as if Santa came early, the Gods smiled upon me, I outsmarted myself again, or any one of a number of explanations.  Whatever, it's an even Merrier Christmas to me!  Oh yeah!

Searching for Peace

Today I swore off political commentary for a while in order to search for some peace of mind.  So I hopped on the Burgman and headed for Davidson River only to get caught in another rain storm, my second in as many days.
   Last night at Isis Restaurant & Music Hall Lynn & I celebrated Myra Grant's birthday, enjoyed some excellent blue grass music and saw this splendid bottle of wine.  No, we didn't try it this time...but surely will have to in the future.  With a name like that, who could resist?

How did I wind up so lucky to be with 4 ladies and it wasn't even my birthday!  Yee ha!

Last week daughter Barbara and grandsons Houston and Patrick were here for an evening of pizza and looking at pictures of Barbara as a very young girl.  The reactions were priceless!  Love 'em!

Of course I had to stop at Looking Glass falls, which was crowded with swimmers on this day.

And finally at the Cradle of Forestry where we lived and worked for the past 3 years, a bunny munching out on sweet clover.  Oh yeah!  A brief search for peace and I found it, for a while.

We do, indeed, find what we seek...with our hearts.

Isis Restaurant & Music Hall

We went here Saturday night to see two of the best musicians on the planet, David Holt and Josh Goforth.  David toured with Doc Watson for 14 years and was greatly influenced by the master.  Josh is a very fine, young whipper snapper who thoroughly enjoys his music and many break into a dance at any moment.

                                                                 David Holt

                                                                 Josh Goforth

These guys play straight from the heart and have an obvious love for the music they make.  David knows the history of the songs and learned them from former masters.  He has pictures of the mentors to go with the stories.  You just can't find a better show for and $18 ticket!

Isis provides a great venue for performers and audience alike.  We were seated at a table near the front for dinner and remained there for the show.  The sound system is excellent, especially for an old fart like me with poor hearing.  So is the lighting and view of the stage.

                                              Seared grouper sandwich

                                                      Filet mignon with sweet potato hash

                                                       Crab cake with remoulade

The food was excellent!  Myra had the grouper, Lynn the filet and I, the crab cake.  We also shared some mussels to start and the coconut curry sauce with lemon grass was delicious!  Our only mild disappointment was the service.  We couldn't catch him after the meal for dessert, more drinks or our tab.

Overall it was a terrific evening with our friend, Myra Wiggins Grant and my loving wife, Lynn.  Oh yeah!

This first post to a new blog for me and Lynn is about a recent trip to celebrate my birthday.  It could be called "Flexibility", or "Adaptability" or "Go With the Flow" and any of those would fit well.

We planned to go to the coast to a camp ground called Cedar Point in Croatan National Forest. Reservations were made there and on the ferry for a day trip to Ocracoke, plus I had found a popular seafood restaurant offering an all-you-can-eat oyster roast.   I had stayed at Cedar Point several years ago, got caught in a tropical storm and had to evacuate suddenly.  So on Monday morning as we watched the news and saw a tropical was headed that way we changed our plans.  We went to Pipestem Resort State Park in West Virginia, another place I had stayed before and enjoyed greatly.

 On Tuesday we took the Burgman to an Indian village called Wolf Creek and had a very enjoyable visit.  It had been discovered during the construction of the interstate and had been restored along with the addition of a museum.  Several graves were marked among the shelters.

Planning for a nicedinner on Thursday, my birthday, we rode by The Oak Supper Club that has fabulous food and beautiful setting, only to find it closed for renovation.  So our next choice was fine dining at the bottom of the gorge in the resort, accessible only by tram.  A lovely place!

On Wednesday we played golf on the par 3 course and found it in excellent shape and very challenging!  That afternoon we rode the Burgaman down to Sandstone Falls on the New River to take in these gorgeous views and the sound of rushing waters.

On Thursday we played the championship course in perfect weather: 72 degrees and cloudless skies! It was quietest round of golf I can ever remember.  No airplanes, no trucks, no cars or motorcycles or honking horns...nothing except the birds chirping.  Heavenly!  Our scores weren't heavenly and we still had a wonderful time.

After golf our entertainment for the afternoon was watching chipmunks devour some stale peanuts on the picnic table beside the trailer.  I removed the screen from the window and used the camera zoom for these shots.

Watching these guys eat whetted our appetite so off we went to enjoy our dinner by the river.  But when we arrived at the tram it was out of order!  And no one had let us know!  So first and second choices are now gone.  We head for a little town called Princeton, 15 miles away, and found an Outback Steakhouse, our favorite place for lamb.  We're sipping our drinks when the manager comes up, introduces herself and informs us that...they are out of lamb!  I told her of our sad story and she stated that my dinner was on the house, please stay.  So we did and had steak and lobster.

It was a fun filled trip and a very happy birthday.  Flexibility was the main thing.  Thanks to my lady Lynn for the gifts of a new bamboo shirt, a UNC toiletry kit and a cap from Troy & Sons distillery.  Oh yeah!  Life is goooood!!!!