So Cool!

Monday, August 15, 2011 Road Junkies 0 Comments

BACK TO THE ROCK, Chapter 2:
IN WHICH WE FIND A NEW HOME

In our jackets, we sat this afternoon on the deck of the vacation rental home that has become the latest version of "our mountain house." It's actually just up the hill from the place we've stayed numerous times; yet in many ways, it seems light years away.
  
Tasker Cabin (pictured above) has been renovated recently, and it shows. From the granite countertops to the new appliances, the house provides all the amenities we look for and then some.
  
Cooking together
As much as we like cooking in the significantly larger kitchen, however, the house is only a small part of the guilty pleasure that we are enjoying here.  The really amazing advantage is the incredible relief from the heat of the Southern summer.  After enduring more than two months of 90+ degree temperatures, this morning the thermometer reported the low 50s, and tonight it has fallen (from the upper 70s) to the low 60s.  It has been a wonderful day.
  
After hiking the Maze Trail at Moses Cone Park this morning (and finding a couple of letterboxes along our course), we made our way to the Price Park picnic area for lunch, even though it just didn't seem right having our picnic without Grandma.  
  
Where's Grandma??
A bit more hiking and letterboxing after lunch before the traditional visit to Harris Teeter, our friendly local grocery store...
  
Grocery shopping again, of course
Then it was back to the house to relax and explore the neighborhood before preparing dinner — a delicious pasta with Heather's one-of-a-kind tomato sauce and Ken's incomparable bruschetta.  Of course, the only way to top off such a meal was a trip to Kilwin's, the local ice cream establishment.
  
Emma never needs to be asked twice about Kilwin's.
Back to the mountain house, a couple of games, and it was time for bed.  Still missing Grandma, we make our plans for tomorrow.
  
MONDAY, 15 AUGUST 2011