We're back from 10 days in Hendersonville, NC where we met my folks for
a family vacation. Western North Carolina is a beautiful area, very
green and lush despite the drought it's experiencing. People are
friendly. There was a surprising amount to do. I'd been thinking of it
as a small town where we'd be bored, but Main Street is vibrant, and if
you look around, there's community theater, restaurants, hikes short
enough for my parents, antique stores, crafts, and quilts.


(Evidence of the drought was apparent in Asheville where we visited the
arboretum. There are usually water gardens with water flowing through
in unusual and artistic ways. All was turned off. Workers hand watered
a few precious plants with buckets and misters, not even a hose turned
on outside. Along the Blue Ridge Parkway, we stopped at a look-out.
From there, I could see the water line on a post supporting a highway.
The actual water in the river was far below it, looked like about 2
feet to me.)


There were dogs everywhere and people who apparently didn't think I was
dotty when I walked right up to them, introduced myself as a dog fan,
and asked if I could say hello to theirs. The response was always positive.


The motel didn't allow pets in the rooms, but there was a loaner dog,
Priscilla, an Old English Sheepdog x Golden Retriever, who belongs to
the owner, who greeted me every morning in the lobby. Priss didn't get
her good looks from her GR father. I was told that only her tail showed
signs of retriever, and she lost that in an accident.


The motel owner told stories of past dogs. For years she had a yellow
lab and an invisible fence. For years her dog was in her yard when she
drove off in the morning and there again when she arrived home. For
years she dutifully changed the battery in the collar and made sure all
was working well. When he disappeared, she scoured the rural area, put
up signs and asked everyone where her dog might be. A nice couple
several farms over said they recognized her dog. He'd been lunching
with them for 3 years previous.


Turns out he'd been wearing the battery down on the collar as soon as he
got it by lying close to the fence line and letting the warning sound go
off. As soon as that nasty chore was done, he was free to roam. This
had been going on for ages without her knowledge. She got him back and
decided he needed a playmate. She went to the shelter with a checklist:
a little older, smallish, active but not hyper, on the mellow side.
She came home with an 8 month old Irish Wolfhound puppy, bounding and
bouncing in the shelter run. He and her lab became best buds, but when
they were out together, the IW attacked an elderly dog and threatened a
child. She had to put him down. (From my perspective now, I can think
of plenty of other things she might have tried, but it wasn't my place
to tell her what she should have done.)


The next day I was asking to say hello to the attractive Irish Wolfhound
a man was walking down Main Street. He proudly told us that his dog had
just been certified as a therapy dog and would be visiting hospitals.
He was astounded at the story of the aggressive IW. He couldn't get
over it and said how unusual that was. He's had IWs before, and they've
all been therapy dogs. This particular one, for reasons he can't figure
out, keeps getting attacked by other dogs. Even so, he doesn't respond,
and his owner is there to break things up and protect his dog. It's a
hard thing to picture. IWs are huge. And gentle.


Hendersonville has square dancing and clogging outside near the
Visitor's Center on Monday nights. It's something I remember from when
we'd visit when I was a child and my grandparents had a summer home
there. Either the dances are now in a parking lot instead of several
blocks on Main Street, or those dances are like park slides that get
smaller as the child grows up. One woman had brought her small dustmop
dog, and everyone responded positively, but she was politely told my a
police officer that dogs weren't allowed in the area. She did take her
dog to the sidewalk just on the other side of the barracade, but then
everyone left in her wake had to talk about the rule, and I couldn't
hear the music. I had to move.


My parents are slowing down. Dad naps in the afternoons. Mom needed a
trip to a walk-in clinic for a scrape on her leg. This is a new phase
for me, one where I'm bossing them around. They seem amused.


--Lia

Very nice story of small town life. I lived for a few months in the small
college town of Yellow Springs, OH, and I really enjoyed it.
http://www.yellowsprings.com/

Everything was within walking distance, and people were very friendly.
There was really a lot to do, probably in large part due to the presence of
Antioch College, and I remember going to outdoor movies, jam sessions,
plays, and small festivals. On one of my first days visiting my friend
there, we attended a softball game between the two local taverns, the
"Yellow Gulch Saloon", and "Desolation Row". I think they had free beer for
the spectators, and after the game many of us celebrated or drowned our
sorrows back at the taverns.

I don't have any dog stories from those days, although I did mention my
experiences with my friend's GSD, Rex, when he was in the Baltimore area
(actually in D.C.). Later, he got another big dog, Bear, and we went on a
trip to Ocean City and Cape Henlopen when they visited here.

The last time I was in Yellow Springs was about eight years ago, and I
visited my friend's father, who is in his nineties, and a professor
emeritus of Antioch College. He has written extensively about the Nobel
Peace Prize, and has devoted his life to the promotion of Peace in the
world:
http://www.irwinabrams.com/bio/index.html

While I was there in 1974, I had the pleasure of meeting Arthur Morgan, an
engineer and a proponent of intentional communities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Ernest_Morgan
http://www.communitysolution.org/about.html

The short time I lived in that small town was filled with many adventures
and good times, during a formative part of my life. Small towns rock:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Town

Paul and Muttley

"Julia Altshuler" wrote in message
...
We're back from 10 days in Hendersonville, NC where we met my folks for
a family vacation. Western North Carolina is a beautiful area, very
green and lush despite the drought it's experiencing. People are
friendly. There was a surprising amount to do. I'd been thinking of it
as a small town where we'd be bored, but Main Street is vibrant, and if
you look around, there's community theater, restaurants, hikes short
enough for my parents, antique stores, crafts, and quilts.

This sounds like the kind of place I'd like to retire. Sounds nice!


There were dogs everywhere and people who apparently didn't think I was
dotty when I walked right up to them, introduced myself as a dog fan,
and asked if I could say hello to theirs. The response was always
positive.

Thats always nice when you are missing your own canine.


The motel didn't allow pets in the rooms, but there was a loaner dog,
Priscilla, an Old English Sheepdog x Golden Retriever, who belongs to
the owner, who greeted me every morning in the lobby. Priss didn't get
her good looks from her GR father. I was told that only her tail showed
signs of retriever, and she lost that in an accident.
Turns out he'd been wearing the battery down on the collar as soon as he
got it by lying close to the fence line and letting the warning sound go
off. As soon as that nasty chore was done, he was free to roam.

SMART DOG!!!

The next day I was asking to say hello to the attractive Irish Wolfhound a
man was walking down Main Street. He proudly told us that his dog had
just been certified as a therapy dog and would be visiting hospitals. He
was astounded at the story of the aggressive IW. He couldn't get over it
and said how unusual that was. He's had IWs before, and they've all been
therapy dogs. This particular one, for reasons he can't figure out, keeps
getting attacked by other dogs. Even so, he doesn't respond, and his
owner is there to break things up and protect his dog. It's a hard thing
to picture. IWs are huge. And gentle.

I've never met an IW who was aggressive either . I LOVE them They are on my
someday list.


My parents are slowing down. Dad naps in the afternoons. Mom needed a
trip to a walk-in clinic for a scrape on her leg. This is a new phase for
me, one where I'm bossing them around. They seem amused.


LOL, you've crossed over!! you are now the parents of your parents. I'm not
there yet but things are changing. My mom actually takes my advice.

"Julia Altshuler" wrote in message
...
We're back from 10 days in Hendersonville, NC where we met my folks for
a family vacation. Western North Carolina is a beautiful area, very
green and lush despite the drought it's experiencing. People are
friendly. There was a surprising amount to do. I'd been thinking of it
as a small town where we'd be bored, but Main Street is vibrant, and if
you look around, there's community theater, restaurants, hikes short
enough for my parents, antique stores, crafts, and quilts.


snipped
--Lia


Glad to hear you had such a wonderful time Lia. Sorry to hear the mountains
are still suffering the drought so, though. We've started getting rain and
things have really eased up here in the mid section of the state.

td

In article ications,
Beth In Alaska wrote:
This sounds like the kind of place I'd like to retire. Sounds nice!

I think there's a real difference between places that are
good to visit and places that are good to live. And having
spent all those years in school and then living in college
towns, I've found that having a large number of people
around who don't really have much of a commitment to the
place and who tend to treat where you live as a big theme
park has some huge drawbacks. YMMV, obviously.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

Melinda Shore wrote:

I think there's a real difference between places that are
good to visit and places that are good to live. And having
spent all those years in school and then living in college
towns, I've found that having a large number of people
around who don't really have much of a commitment to the
place and who tend to treat where you live as a big theme
park has some huge drawbacks. YMMV, obviously.


You put your finger on why I keep mentioning the drought. I'm not in
the habit of wasting water anyway, but when I learned how severe the
drought was when we got there, I wanted to make sure I wasn't one of
those tourists who comes in, pays no attention to local concerns, then
leaves with the faucet dripping.


Another tiny example. When we checked into the motel, the owner
explained that if we wanted a clean towel, we were to leave the dirty
one on the floor. If we thought we could use the same one another day,
we were to leave it hanging neatly on the curtain rod. Since we don't
use clean towels daily at home either, we followed the rules and left
our towels neatly hanging. They got changed anyway. I've noticed this
everywhere I've traveled. The guest gets instructions. The
housekeeping staff isn't as good about following them. Normally I
wouldn't care, but thinking about how much water it would take to wash 2
towels daily for 10 days, I wondered about how to communicate that I
didn't want the water wasted on me. I ended up hanging the towels in
the closet. It worked. A little more water saved on my account.


--Lia

"Beth In Alaska" wrote:
"Julia Altshuler" wrote:
My parents are slowing down. Dad naps in the afternoons.

Is that a sign of slowing down? Cripes, my Dad has napped pretty much his
whole adult life, a fact that I've only recently come to appreciate (and
emulate).

Mom needed
a trip to a walk-in clinic for a scrape on her leg.

A vacation isn't a vacation until someone has to see a doctor. Or maybe
that's just my family...

This is a new
phase for me, one where I'm bossing them around. They seem amused.

Mine'd still kick my butt for trying, so I think amusement is a step
forward.

LOL, you've crossed over!! you are now the parents of your parents.
I'm not there yet but things are changing. My mom actually takes my
advice.

Ah, but does she take naps?

--
Mary & the depleted Ames National Zoo
(Ranger, Duke, Rhia-cat)

tiny dancer wrote:

Glad to hear you had such a wonderful time Lia. Sorry to hear the mountains
are still suffering the drought so, though. We've started getting rain and
things have really eased up here in the mid section of the state.


I found this page informative:
http://www.ncdrought.org/index.php


It looks like the Hendersonville area where we were is still
experiencing the most severe drought, category D4, exceptional.
I believe your area now is experiencing a moderate drought, D1 on the map.


The funny thing was how it didn't affect day to day life that much. It
was all in the local newspapers, but everything looked so lush and green
that a brief visitor wouldn't have to be aware of how serious it is. On
one of those short hikes (very short- my parents are down to a quarter
mile) in a state park to a waterfall, I caught an informational sign
about floods a few years ago. It made it more interesting-- to see
where the water had been, the efforts to prevent erosion, the effect on
trees and other plants.


--Lia

"Julia Altshuler" wrote in message
...
tiny dancer wrote:

Glad to hear you had such a wonderful time Lia. Sorry to hear the
mountains are still suffering the drought so, though. We've started
getting rain and things have really eased up here in the mid section of
the state.


I found this page informative:
http://www.ncdrought.org/index.php


It looks like the Hendersonville area where we were is still experiencing
the most severe drought, category D4, exceptional.
I believe your area now is experiencing a moderate drought, D1 on the map.


The funny thing was how it didn't affect day to day life that much. It
was all in the local newspapers, but everything looked so lush and green
that a brief visitor wouldn't have to be aware of how serious it is. On
one of those short hikes (very short- my parents are down to a quarter
mile) in a state park to a waterfall, I caught an informational sign about
floods a few years ago. It made it more interesting-- to see where the
water had been, the efforts to prevent erosion, the effect on trees and
other plants.


--Lia


Yes, a few years back one of the hurricanes, can't recall the name of which
one, blew through the mountains something awful. Really devastating
flooding. Earthen dams broke, etc. Asheville had significant flooding, I
remember seeing the photo's and video of the floodwaters in the Asheville
area.

If you don't mind my asking, about how old are your parents? Just curious
because of your prior comments, about how long I've got left before my kids
start looking out for me more than they do already. I keep telling my
daughters "I'm going to let my hair go gray, so they realize I'm really an
*old* woman. I think sometimes they forget. ;-)

Thanks for the link, I'm off to check it out now. We had a drenching
rainstorm here last night. Rained out the minor league baseball game my
daughter and son in law took the boys to after the second inning. The grass
is green here though, finally. We are about 40 minutes east of Raleigh now,
and our particular area has been getting more rain than Raleigh even.

td

"Beth In Alaska" wrote in message
mmunications...

"Julia Altshuler" wrote in message
...
We're back from 10 days in Hendersonville, NC where we met my folks for
a family vacation. Western North Carolina is a beautiful area, very
green and lush despite the drought it's experiencing. People are
friendly. There was a surprising amount to do. I'd been thinking of it
as a small town where we'd be bored, but Main Street is vibrant, and if
you look around, there's community theater, restaurants, hikes short
enough for my parents, antique stores, crafts, and quilts.

This sounds like the kind of place I'd like to retire. Sounds nice!



We love the small town atmosphere for the children. Actually, there is so
much more available for them that's FREE then there was in Raleigh. Robin
took the boys to a Fourth of July parade where they actually threw candy and
novelties to the children along the curbside. They got balloons they
didn't have to *buy*. The libraries have lots of free activities, various
animal groups visiting and bringing along their specialty, everything from
ferrets to snakes and lizards, for the boys to see and touch and learn
about. Santa and the Mrs actually come and sit in the gazebo in the town
center after the Christmas parade. Lot's of various street and church
festivals in the fall. In fall and spring it seems there is always
something to do, someplace to go, at one of the various little towns each
week-end. We love that.

td