Ladies of the Canyon (or Mtns as it were)

Melinda, Amy, Elaine and I took a road trip last year this month. This year, because Melinda is still breastfeeding we did an abbreviated version. We did an afternoon/evening in Floyd and then sadly bid Melinda farewell and drove on to a cabin on the Blue Ridge Parkway, about an hour from home. (3 cheers to Melinda for being a responsible mom!) Elaine was able to procure its usage for the $30 cleaning fee, so we were thrilled!

It began with window shopping in the local hippy town of Floyd where we bought organic this and that, and clothes from Ecuador under the no-so-Hollywood-Label "Wear The Change You Want to Bring." (Didn't Gwenyth or Britney sport that on their last red carpet walk?) Then on to dinner at Oddfellas where we had salmon, scallops, and chimichangas. I think our table menu was Floyd-Mex Neuveau. Paula Deen will be coming out with a cookbook soon.We proceeded to the Friday Night Jamboree at The General Store where we thought we were going to listen to bluegrass, but instead were blessed by the musical stylings of a gospel quartet who taught us that indeed, Today is Just Another Day in God's Coloring Book. Who knew?
We also learned why there aren't very many women in politics--it turns out it is to hard to put make-up on 2 faces! Oh, now I understand--I always thought it was chauvanism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9SxcQEiQOk

But then the Bluegrass band came out and it was fantastic! Cloggers and flatfooters sprung up from the their seats and it was a free-for-all. Regrettably we couldn't stay long for the band, because claustrophobia had set in and we had expended most of our coping skills on the gospel band. We headed off to our cabin and drove the parkway in the miserable rain, with the engine light on, hoping to not get lost. The cabin was great, with some eccentricities of its own...Amy turned out to be the brave one (but not brave enough to sleep up there!).

Saturday was spent walking the Parkway, at Mabry Mill, shops at Meadows of Dan (all four of them), lunch at the local diner for $9.98 for the 3 of us, and back at the cabin making cards, playing games, and eating lots of food. (Turns out we are not so hot at the self-portrait shot)

We drove home Sunday AM since we were instructed by our Bishop we needed to be in Sac. Mtg for the "count". (We're trying to get a new bldg) Right, Jack?

I am grateful for good friends who like me enough to spend more than an hour with me, and for a wonderful family who knows I am better for them when I have been good to myself!

(*Prize to the first person to identify the title reference)