Let me say at the outset that I do not consider myself to be one of those people prone to belly-ache, whine, bitch, or complain\u2026 at least not much. But\u2026 Yes, I was an enlisted person in the military once upon a time\u2026 and, well, that is expected there\u2026 but even then I wasn\u2019t much good at it. Nope, it just ain\u2019t in me, I reckon\u2026 for the most part, that is\u2026<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to say I\u2019m not capable of spewing out a string of naughty superlatives, vulgar adjectives, and other censorable descriptors of a rather colorful nature when things really get under my skin\u2026 Like now\u2026 What makes matters even more incredulous: I deliberately chose to be here in this predicament\u2026 even signed up for a couple of extra days! I guess self-inflicted wounds really are often the most painful.<\/p>\n
We all, myself included, have become such pampered, spoiled creatures, and we take so incredibly much for granted\u2026 it\u2019s probably downright sinful. (You\u2019ll need to consult with your own personal guide to all things spiritual for a more definitive opinion on this\u2026)<\/p>\n
Think about it\u2026 My paternal grandfather (born in 1882) saw his first automobile when he was an adult. Heck, I was in junior high school, myself, before I ever personally experienced the miracle of air conditioning (our church built a new, modern sanctuary). However, my grandkids were barely out of diapers before they were playing around with computers\u2026 Yes, mankind has indeed travelled far during the last century and a half; yet, gazing into the future, it appears as though things will actually be accelerating!<\/p>\n
By comparison to the world I\u2019ve grown accustomed to, I\u2019m presently roughing-it in a seemingly most primitive setting. By comparison to all of those who have preceded me, however, I\u2019m just another thumb-sucking member of the affluenza generation. OK, so I\u2019m writing this to occupy some time and distract myself from all of the \u2018hardship\u2019 to which I\u2019ve subjected yours truly. Maybe I should back up a tad\u2026<\/p>\n
I departed the \u2018Fall Color Ride\u2019 in Robbinsville, NC, with Napper following close behind\u2026 It was easier to lead her part of the way home than it was to attempt to list all of the right and left turns, plus I didn\u2019t know all of the fixed features and landmarks to describe at those turns anyway\u2026<\/p>\n
Road numbers and signs along with directions like east and west are meaningless to her. To her, a map is nothing more than a picture of varicose veins. Once we reached a place where I thought she could handle it, we said our good-byes, she mustered the courage to come out of her \u2018happy place\u2019, and I began to backtrack. She, on the other hand, went forth towards her own next adventure\u2026<\/p>\n
I was wanting to wander around some more, and I was in need of a little decompression time anyway\u2026 I had already begun to feel a wee twinge of \u2018group fatigue\u2019 beginning to creep up on me.<\/p>\n
OK, and I simply didn\u2019t want to return to that ominous, onerous recliner I knew was waiting patiently for me\u2026 seductively calling to me just like the sirens had tempted Odysseus. Oh, that diabolical device, that tyrannical would-be master, that sinister, sadistic oppressor of unwary old guys that awaits even now to lure me onto the rocky shoals of sedentary life and eventual decline!<\/p>\n
Nope, I was of a mind to ride some more, contemplate a bunch of meaningful stuff and other lofty pursuits, not to mention I just like being out and about\u2026 just ALI and me doing what we do\u2026 That\u2019s when inspiration struck like a meteor right out of the blue and took command of the helm. (At the moment I\u2019m really starting to wonder if it might have been just another brain fart instead.)<\/p>\n
It all seemed so logical\u2026 I had no plan, after all (what\u2019s new, huh?), so there was nothing driving me forward or stimulating me to go one way or the other\u2026 Within the span of a few minutes I had just been considering going to the east coast of North Carolina, riding out to Arizona, perhaps Missouri instead, venturing up to West Virginia\u2026 or returning home. Yep, my trip planning is just like that usually\u2026 I had completely boxed the compass with possibilities\u2026 and I still didn\u2019t have a single clue.<\/p>\n
As ALI carried me calmly and casually along our route in the interim, I then began to rationalize\u2026 You know, what we do when we delude ourselves into believing we\u2019re seriously engaging in objective thought, but actually we\u2019re just allowing our subconscious desires to speak to us\u2026 Anyway, right about then an old saying popped into my cranial vacuum\u2026 \u201cIf you find yourself in a hole, stop digging\u2026\u201d (Apparently The Donald never heard that one\u2026 but I digress\u2026)<\/p>\n
Yeah, how about a cabin while I regroup, I wondered\u2026? Now there was a downright upright notion, if I\u2019ve ever had one slip into my thoughts! A broad grin spread across my face! I\u2019ve done this many times over the years, and it has proven to be a reliable way to occupy my time and keep me away from that sinister geriatric trap waiting to snare me\u2026 that evil recliner\u2026 A way to stop digging! Soon enough another notion will take hold, I reasoned, and ALI will pleasantly transport me to my next conundrum\u2026<\/p>\n
But what cabin? Where? Hey, we haven\u2019t been to Fontana Village in at least a decade, what about that? Hmmmm, another brilliant idea! Geeze Luiz, those great ideas were really coming in rapid succession now! I truly must be onto something here!!! Providence is surely leading me; I can just feel it\u2026<\/p>\n
We had a really pleasant ride across the Cherohala Parkway on our way back to Robbinsville to make the turn towards the Dragon, then down to Fontana. The Fall colors were nearing peak, the roads weren\u2019t too crowded, the sky was that incredible, deep, brilliant shade of blue that it is this time of year\u2026 Man, we were on a major-league roll here\u2026 This would turn out to be the last ride of any consequence, mournfully, for a couple of days\u2026<\/p>\n
I wheeled into the place where we\u2019d signed up for a cabin the last time I was there\u2026 \u201cOh, that\u2019s been moved up to the lodge now\u2026 You\u2019ll have to go up there to check in\u2026\u201d I rode up there, parked, and paused for a moment to just feel good about myself\u2026 to congratulate this wise road warrior on another impressive call\u2026<\/p>\n
Then, I proceeded to take the next in a sequence of steps that would culminate in my being here\u2026 right now\u2026 frustrated and weary\u2026 not so patiently waiting for the weather forecast to give me a break, so our girl and I can make our break\u2026 This is only our third day here, and I already have a distressing case of cabin fever\u2026 Worse, rain is in the forecast for later today and tomorrow\u2026<\/p>\n
At check-in, I had inquired about grills at the cabins, plus cell phone service and Wi-Fi\u2026 See? It ain\u2019t like I wasn\u2019t warned! \u201cNo grills. The services are very spotty, I\u2019m afraid\u2026 many folks come here to the lobby for all of that\u2026 At the cabins, it\u2019s really hit or miss.\u201d Well, at the cabin I drew, it was much more the latter than the former!<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, even when I was able to connect occasionally, the Wi-Fi was agonizingly slow, had frequently dropped connections, sometimes there were \u2018unavailable connections\u2019 for much of the day\u2026 It was, in a word, terrible! Cell phone service at this cabin was not available at all\u2026 I had to ride to another location, usually once a day, in order to call anybody or return calls\u2026 How do you suppose Daniel Boone ever managed to do it, anyway?<\/p>\n
I stopped by the \u2018General Store\u2019 to pick up some essentials\u2026 There are plenty of over-priced items in that store to be purchased\u2026 but this is not a grocery store\u2026 No grill-able meat, for example\u2026 no need anyway\u2026 no grills, right?<\/p>\n
When the nice lady had given me the \u2018news\u2019 that there weren\u2019t any grills, I had assumed I\u2019d at least be able to fry a steak on the stove\u2026 Nope. I\u2019ll bet a saw-buck even ol\u2019 Dann\u2019el would have drawn the line here! Mercifully, I did find bacon, eggs, bread and sandwich meat\u2026 I thought to pick up some butter too, but I forgot the mayonnaise\u2026 had to return later for that, ya know\u2026<\/p>\n
WAIT!!! I just went out on the porch for a quickie session of inhalation therapy and my final sip of coffee for the morning, and guess what\u2026? There is hardly a cloud in the sky, the temps are quite pleasant, almost no wind\u2026 and an amazing thought just popped right into my headbone\u2026 Why not go for a ride? WHY NOT INDEED?!!! I\u2019m interrupting this melancholy diatribe to go and do something really, really important\u2026 I\u2019ll get back to y\u2019all later\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Let me say at the outset that I do not consider myself to be one of those people prone to belly-ache, whine, bitch, or complain\u2026 at least not much. But\u2026 Yes, I was an enlisted person in the military once …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-meanderings-by-ddt-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=775"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":776,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775\/revisions\/776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}