Spring Fling 2015 - Part 2

I could tell my previous post (Part 1) was getting pretty long, with all the inserted pictures.  It covered about 10 days of our 25 day trip through the southeast USA.  However, I took more pictures during that time than I did the next two weeks.  The first week we were vacationing, so to speak, and the next two weeks we were scouting for a place to live next winter.  And all the while we were enjoying the beauty of spring blooms.  Dogwoods and azaleas can't be beat...they just don't bloom long enough!

We have been attracted to Hendersonville, NC for over 15 years now.  We've made several trips through the area during those years, but this time we wanted to drive through subdivisions and drive past places I had seen on the internet last winter.  We are open to houses or condos, or as a last resort, apartments.  We feel it makes better sense to rent for a while to know we would want to live in an area before we actually purchased a home.  Besides, our house in Michigan has not yet sold, so we aren't in a position to buy.  

Michigan House on Campground

We left Atlanta early on Sunday morning to drive the three hour stretch up to Hendersonville, with the purpose of getting there in time to attend morning worship at the Church of the Nazarene.  It rained all the way, but it was a scenic drive up through northeast Georgia...an area we had not traveled through before.  We did make it in time, attended church, then went to the Cracker Barrel for lunch.  We drove around the town for a while until it was time to check into our lodging.

On Monday we awoke to sunshine, and we were ready to go scouting!  We wanted to see some of the local attractions that we had not seen before.  Just a little south of Hendersonville is the village of Flat Rock, which is an area I had seen several places to rent or purchase.  So we started in that section, and we stopped at the village strip that had some rainbow colored little shops of interest.

My favorite store was "The Wrinkled Egg".  I love that picture of the chicken laying a wrinkled egg!  Cute...funny!!  This shop had several sections...children's toys, home deco, women's clothing...a very nice place to browse.  But my favorite area was where I made a new friend...Lola, the bunny.  Isn't she sweet????

 We then drove down the road a ways to see what Kenmure Golf Community was about.  Oh, my goodness!  We pulled into paradise!!







This picture represents the absolute best of the beauty of spring!!  This golf course community is set in the foothills of the Smokies, and there were many homes up the hillsides...some secluded, and some in clusters.  The golf course itself was simply pristine!

 We went into the Kenmure Club House, an old plantation style house, to inquire about rentals during the off season.  By the way, this is a gated community, and the course is a private course.  We found out that we can rent furnished condos there at about half the price they rent for in season.  That would include the amenities of dining at the club house, using the indoor pool, working out in their gym, and the privilege of golfing for a reduced fee.  Wow.  It seemed like a dream for us to be able to spend the winter on a golf course where we could be out swinging our clubs instead of shoveling snow out of our driveway back in Michigan!!

The Historic Courthouse sets right in the middle of Hendersonville's main street.  It's being refurbished as a museum, but it wasn't open when we were there.  Main street is several blocks of stores and restaurants in a shopper friendly setting.  On Labor Day weekend, they close off the street to traffic and bring in the bands and vendors and all the hoopla to celebrate Apple Festival.  

 

 What drew us to consider Hendersonville as a possible place to retire is the setting of the town.  It's just south of Asheville, NC about 25 miles, but it's set more on a plateau.  You can see the Smokies rising up in the distance.  Also the town is a smaller town, with a population of about 15,000.  Yet it has everything it takes to make a great community to live in:  good shopping, lots of restaurants, scenic sights, numerous churches, and a good year round climate.  It has the four seasons, but not as drastic!  It's also just a six hour drive to Myrtle Beach or Hilton Head, where we like to head when we go to the ocean.

We were enticed to have a steak at Binion's Roadhouse.  There was another vehicle that must have decided to stay awhile, since the food was so good!

We spent one night down in Flat Rock and then spent a couple of nights in the Marriott Fairfield Inn by the Asheville Airport.  Went browsing at one of our favorite furniture stores, Ashley Furniture.  Then it was time for the next leg of our journey...heading to Knoxville, TN.

Actually, this probably makes for a good breaking point in this blog post.  I thought I could do the whole 3 week trip in one post, then decided two would be better.  Now I'm thinking I should make it three.  I had more pictures than I realized.  So...I'll be back!!

Spring Fling 2015 - Part 1

We weathered another winter in Michigan, and decided we owed it to ourselves to head south for a spring fling in April.  We had a wonderful 3,200 mile journey through the southeast USA, taking about 25 days to make this trip.  Our main purpose was to find a location that we thought would be a good place to spend next winter, as we would like to think we have had enough winters in Michigan.  Summers are delightful here, and we plan to keep our cottage on the Indian Lake Campground and make the trek back to Michigan during the summer months...should we be fortunate enough to escape the winters here.

Our first destination point was Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.  However, we took two days getting there as we prefer to take our time on the side roads of America to see what we can see.  Six hours traveling per day is about our max.  Our first night was spent in Lima, Ohio.  We had eaten at Texas Roadhouse in Kalamazoo, Michigan with friends, and headed out after supper for the first short stretch.  Not that we were anxious to get on our way or anything!

As we traveled down through southeast Ohio I noted in the Atlas that we would be in the vicinity of Bob Evans Farm, where history was made in the form of delicious breakfast sausage.  We decided to take a side trip through Rio Grande and see the farm.  I toured through the family homestead (Bob and his wife had six children, and this house was purchased as a place they could grow up and have lots of land to play on).  

The farmhouse is now a museum, but the kitchen was kept exactly the same as it was when Bob and Jewell perfected their sausage.  TV cameras came in to make their advertisements of Bob Evans sausage in the spot where it was created.

Our second night on the road was spent in Wytheville, Virginia, after coming through part of the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia and the capital of Charleston.  As we drove down through North Carolina, through the Charlotte area, we began to notice how green everything was.  We love the blooming season of springtime.  It had not quite started when we left Michigan, so this was a treat to us, coming out of "winter" into Spring!!  From brown and gray to green...from death to life!!

We arrived at our Hilton Head resort late afternoon on a Friday and unpacked and settled in.  Our villa overlooked the pool, and beyond was the Atlantic Ocean!!  What a beautiful sight!  I could hardly wait to get down to the ocean front to walk on the white sandy beaches.  

Joining us for the weekend at our resort were good friends we met in the camping industry.  They are camp directors at the Nazarene Camp in Adrian, Georgia.  After they got checked in and unpacked, we headed out to Shelter Cove for our evening meal (we call it supper) at a really scrumptious Mexican restaurant, San Miguel's.  

The next morning we strolled along the ocean front a mile down the beach to Coligny Plaza, several stores and restaurants spread across a few blocks...a popular tourist spot.  On the way, we came across quite a few "items" on the beach, almost buried in the sand.  I had to ask what they were.

 The item on the left is a jelly fish, which probably comes in with high tide and gets left stranded (my uneducated guess).  The item on the right appeared to be a large tortoise, perhaps having been partially eaten by a shark????  Below is another look at a jelly fish, to compare for size.

Mid-day we drove to Skull Creek Boathouse at the Marina at Port Royal Sound to have a seafood meal...everyone except me...I had to have a hamburger as I don't care much for seafood.  After our meal we drove to the other end of Hilton Head Island to Harbor Town.  The lighthouse was once thought to be a folly of it's builder, but now it is the distinguishing icon for Hilton Head.  This particular weekend, following on the heels of the Augusta National Open golf tournament, golfers and fans were arriving at Hilton Head for the annual Heritage Classic golf tournament.  It's good we went there on Saturday, as by Sunday you couldn't get into that area without a pass, and it was bumper to bumper traffic.  

You can see how some traveled in for the action:

We climbed the 113 steps to the top of the lighthouse and looked upon the picturesque sight.  To the right is the view of the 18th fairway, all set up for the event.

It wasn't that busy on Saturday, and we wandered through the shops, had some ice cream, and sat out on the porch for a while.  Isn't the Liberty Oak an amazing tree!!

We headed back to our resort, Marriott Grande Ocean.  Here's another view from our balcony (second floor).  The resort is absolutely stunning, with so many courtyards, pools, and other outdoor amenities.  Enjoy some of these views:

I enjoyed my daily walks out at the ocean side.  Lots of other walkers, joggers, bikers, strollers, families, sunbathers, swimmers, and dog walkers.  Also some fine-feathered friends.

High Tide

We made a trip down to Savannah on Sunday to attend church with our friends Jeff and Peggy, and then went down to historic River Street to eat lunch.  As they headed back home, we hopped on a trolley to tour the historical sights of Savannah.

 There are many city squares, each with statues or fountains or other artifacts pertaining to Savannah's colorful history.  We passed by several churches and houses commemorating historical events.  At one point Forrest Gump got on the trolley to talk to us about how they made a movie of him.  If you preferred, you could take a horse and carriage tour.  

It was hard to capture pictures on the trolley...too many other people in the way.  And there was so much to learn about the city, that I couldn't keep up with it all.  I know Girl Scouts was founded there, perhaps in the house above???  Also, we went by Paula Dean's famous restaurant.

I had heard about Tybee Island, but had never been there, or really knew much about it.  We drove out there after our tour was over.  I guess it's where the people in Savannah go when they want to go to the beach.  Here are a few pictures: 

We left Hilton Head after a week of total relaxation.  We had very nice weather, lots of good food, and just enjoyed some laid back time at the resort at the putting green, the shuffleboard court, and reading a book by the poolside.  One day we went into Bluffton to an outlet mall, but we aren't much for shopping.  Went more just to walk around.  

When we left the Island, we headed to Adrian Camp and Conference Center...the Georgia District Church of the Nazarene camp.  It was one more chance to be with our friends.  I happened to stand on top of a fire ant colony at one point, but quickly realized my error.  Those are the smallest of ants, with the biggest of bites!!

We drove on into Atlanta, where we spent two nights.  Our purpose there was to go to Stone Mountain and see the laser show on Saturday night.  We went to an Ikea store, just because we had never been to one.  It was time for Mexican food again, so we ate at one of our favorite restaurants...On the Border.

We had not been to Stone Mountain since going there with our sons back in the 80's.  It's a natural phenomenon that you need to check out on-line, if not a personal visit.  The park has changed quite a bit since our last visit, but there is still a train running around the base of the mountain.  We were fortunate to catch an early spring laser show, which is shown on the side of the mountain after sunset, with lots of animation set to music.  To give you a perspective of the size of the carving on the side of the mountain, when it was being carved, a man stood inside the ear of one of the figures.  The figures are the leaders of the Confederate side of the Civil War:  Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis.  If you are ever in the area (20 miles east of Atlanta), this is an experience you must check out!!

 Well...I'm only about half way through our trip.  I think I'll break this blog post into two parts.  Come back soon for Part 2!

A Slice of Kenmure

I just changed out my blog heading picture...isn't it beautiful?!  It was a picture I took while on our spring fling through the southeast USA, looking for a place to escape to next winter.  We endured one more winter here in Michigan, and we would like to think it is our last.  You can't find a finer place to live than Michigan in the summer...but we have had it with the winters!!  So, God willing, by next winter we hope to be farther south!!

I'm going to do a blog on our trip, when the mood strikes, but for now I will just say briefly that we have been researching two areas for our next move destination... Hendersonville, North Carolina, and Cleveland, Tennessee...where we basically raised our sons. The picture above is from the Kenmure Golf Community in Hendersonville.  That is a pristine gated golf community, a private course.  They do have seasonal rentals, however, and we find that enticing.  

The beauty of springtime in the southeast can't be beat.  Flowering dogwoods, azaleas, Bradford pears...it takes my breath away.  I've often wondered why God didn't create the spring blooming season to last as long as the bareness of winter.  Whatever His reason, spring is definitely a glimpse of heaven!

Because this post will not be under the blog heading picture for long, let me include that picture here:

Downsizing

Have you ever seen the "tiny houses" on HGTV?  They are mostly a one room "house-trailer" size house with a loft to sleep in.  In fact, many of them you can pull down the road behind a truck.  That way you can pick up and move to a different spot whenever the mood strikes.  Now that's the ultimate in downsizing, when it comes to houses.  It seems to be a trend these days to purchase smaller houses rather than large monstrosities with too many unused rooms.  Low maintenance...could be a reason.  I don't know what has brought on this trend...perhaps the undependable economy, what's your guess?  Anyway...I like this trend!

I began downsizing seriously when we sold our house in Highland, Illinois and moved to Michigan.  I'm still working on my blog entries for "My Story...God's Story", and my next chapter will be on the move to Highland, so I'm jumping a little ahead of my  story right now.  The reason I am inserting this, which really has nothing to do with that particular blog series, is because I wrote an email to a friend this week regarding downsizing.  It just seems to be appropriate to record it in my blog, to remind me and my heirs why I have been and will continue to downsize.  Getting rid of the "stuff".  "Stuff" that used to be very important to me...it was part of me, of who I was/am.  It sort of brought my history forward with me.  There was even pride in all my accumulations.  So not only have I been dealing with getting rid of "stuff" the past ten years of my life, I have been dealing with breaking down the pride.  God hates pride!  It is the deadliest of sins.  I desire to live pleasing to Him!

Therefore I am inserting a copy of my email to a friend, explaining what I had been up to since moving to Michigan in 2004.  Here it is:

Downsizing as drastically as we did, was definitely a comedy!  (Insert...we moved from a 2800 sq ft ranch house with a 2800 sq ft walk-out basement and a three car garage to a 400 sq ft cottage with a screen porch, no garage.) But we have been learning to let go of stuff and not be so concerned about hanging on to things, or having more than we needed.  Even as we prepared to sell the cottage and house here on the campground we started selling stuff on Craig's List and having yard sales.  We are almost down to the basics!  Feels good.  Now if we could only eliminate the mortgage!!  The three major "things" I have unloaded since we have been here, and it has taken me ten years to do it, are:

1.  My household files from since my first job...before I even met Paul.  All of our bills, receipts, tax papers.  I had large bins full of over 30 years worth of accumulation.  Now I am down to just keeping the last seven years, and shredding each year the 7th year papers.

2.  My library.  I was so proud of it, as I had a lot of good books I had accumulated over the years, mostly theology and inspirational...not so much fiction or fun books.  I looked like a scholar, so I thought.  If the book was in my library, it had been read at least once.  But I was tired of lugging those bins of books all over the country, so I knew before we moved again, I wanted to go through them all one more time, and after the book was read, I would give it away if it wasn't something I knew I wanted to read again.  That was most of my books.  Early on, several years ago, I started taking them to preachers' retreats and putting them out on tables for preachers to take home.  Sometimes I unloaded them to a church library, or the camp library.  They were on my summer "give away" tables in my yard.  Last fall I finished the last book.  I mostly kept my commentaries, and biblical study books and Greek texts.  I had also kept all of my college and seminary papers, and I have downsized those to just my sermons/Bible studies.  I feel good about this.

3.  This winter I tackled the hardest bins to get rid of.  My memories/mementos bins from my life..accumulated since my early 30's.  Every card, letter, flyer from events I attended, travel brochures from our trips, small gifts, pictures my grand-kids had drawn...you name it, the bin held it.  Sometimes I had 3-4 bins for the same year.  I'm talking large shoe bins.  (My household files and books bins were the larger, deeper storage type bins.)  So I would take each "shoe-box" and go back through the items, look at who sent the cards and letters (some people I don't even remember!), and then discard it all.  I only kept any pictures and cards from my kids and grand-kids.  Now I have a manila envelope for each year.  Much easier for storage.  What a walk down memory lane!  Some happy, some sad.  

I'm just thinking "condo", and if it isn't going to fit in a condo (without a basement), then I don't need it...and my kids don't want it!  I've also gone through the family photo bins from my Mom's side of the family and Dad's side of the family.  Gave a bunch of that away also.  I haven't gone through those for over ten years, and I probably will do it again in ten years.  So it's been a walk down memory lane, preparing for the senior years, knowing my kids don't want any of my stuff.  It's sorta sad, yet it's very lightening!  I want to know I can pick up and move and not have to worry about storage.  I weed out clothes and shoes every year in my yard freebie "sale", so I can fit everything I wear into one small closet, both seasons!

So...why am I telling you all of this?  I don't know...just something to talk about.  And as I tell you, I feel good about myself for being brave enough to let go of all that accumulation.  I just gave two bins of fragile glassware to my niece.  They were my mother's fancy glasses from her wedding.  She never used them, I never used them.  My niece was very close to Grandma, and she loves dishes, so she has inherited them.  My granddaughters never met my Mom...she was already in heaven when they came along.  So no need to pass them along!  When we left Highland, I had gotten rid of most of my dishes, knickknacks, and lots of our furniture.  However, I still had a lot of "stuff".  When our house in Highland sold, we moved into a 1200 sq ft ranch, less than half the size of our former house.  

It has felt very healthy to down-size.  Thus far, I haven't missed a thing, and truly, I still do have too much "stuff".  Each summer I unload some more on those freebie tables.  I have gotten rid of almost all of my Christmas decorations.  I used to have four Christmas trees.  Now I have a wreath for the door.  

Well, this downsizing has all been part of trying to live simple and finish well...the catch phrase I came back to Michigan with last spring after having spent our winter with our son in St. Louis.  I started a blog about Living Simple, Finishing Well (you can see it on the sidebar), but I haven't had much to add to it after my initial burst of starting the blog.  Now I'm back trying to catch my Slice of Journal Pie blog up to date.  And this, my friends, has been my entry for tonight.  Have you given thought to Downsizing???  It will make your life simpler, I promise!