Family
My grandmother had 13 siblings – most of whom raised their families in Southern California (where I grew up). My mother has 58 first cousins. First cousins! Family events, holidays, etc in SoCal were always jam packed with lots of people, good food, great music, and canasta! It was not uncommon to have 200+ people at a family reunion.
Over the years, most have left SoCal (including me) and are scattered across the country. Several of my cousins ended up in North Carolina. We came north deliberately to see them and Dave’s niece.
We missed the Welcome to NC sign – but we stopped at South of the Border (basically on the border of SC & NC). It’s a gawdy Mexican themed tourist stop which seems to be fascinating for those who have never been to border states and felt the authentic Mexican vibe.
Raleigh
This city is lovely! So green and lush with incredible history!
Oddly enough, we know a lot of people who have moved to NC. Our niece and 2 cousins are here in Raleigh, so Sunday has been all about family.
The Great Smoky Mountains
When American Settlers came to the area, it was populated mostly by the Cherokee. They called it: “Schconage” (Sha-Kon-O-Hey), which means “land of the blue smoke” – referring to the “fog is caused by the vegetation emitting volatile organic compounds, chemicals that have a high vapor pressure and easily form vapors at normal temperature and pressure”.
There are sections on the highway that have a series of low, brown signs with numbers 0-9, about 10 feet apart. Apparently these are useful when the fog is thick to give drivers an idea of how much visibility there is.
This is an absolutely stunning area that seems to have mild seasons. The people take pride in their community – it’s clean and the landscape is well maintained. They have lots of outdoor recreation areas – we visited a park that has walking trails along a creek, baseball, volleyball, skatepark, and dog parks.
If we’d had another day, we would have driven to the road to nowhere – which ends at a tunnel. Apparently the federal government started a project it never finished – displacing an entire community in the process. Learn about The Road to Nowhere
We stayed 2 nights in Waynesville (at the foot of the smokies) visiting more family, talking about natural medicine and enjoying good food and good talk.
PhilippiJoy 