Asheville's Interesting People, Tuesday April 10, 2018

It was an off day of travel today so I sought out to find a couple of interesting people to talk to during my wandering around Asheville, North Carolina.

The first was in my campground in the campsite across from where I was parked.  I first noticed his Airstream trailer when I pulled in yesterday and was hooking up my utilities.  On top of his rig was a series of solar panels normally used in what RV’ers call “Boondocking”.  Alaska had many people who boondock in the parking lots of Walmart or other public parking areas.  Boondocker’s find free places to park for the night or two or three, maybe even a week.  Walmart and Sam’s Club allow campers to use their parking lots all over the country and many people will stop in for the night, restock their groceries or other needed items before hitting the highway once again.  There are many full time RV people who do this all year long crisscrossing the country to stay where the weather is warm and there are new places to see.

Andy and his wife (mid-thirties) have been living in camping trailers for over four years now.  They started out in a little “Skamper” travel trailer and lived in it for three years before upgrading to an Airstream trailer.  They were also working on remodeling another Skamper trailer in this RV Park and hope to have it finished shortly and will move back into it and sell the Airstream.

They both work full time with their computers and use the 400 watt solar panels to power all of their computers, phones and several appliances.  They have a passion for rock climbing and travel all over to pursue that endeavor living and working out of the camper.  I think he also does photography as he had just returned from Spain. They work and play hard mixing their passions and free lifestyle not boxed into a “normal” office type setting.  He said they normally spend time in the southwest part of the country around Utah and Arizona but work brought them to the eastern part of the country right now.

Another interesting person today was my friend who lives just outside Asheville who came over to have lunch and spend the afternoon visiting.  Mike is one of my online gaming friends who I played with for several years before finally meeting at a gathering of friends in Orlando several years ago.  I came up to his house last year on our way to Kentucky to another annual gathering of gamers so it was great seeing him again.

Mike is what I would call a typical southerner, accent and all.  He has a great heart and spirit who has lived the American life.  He loves to cook BBQ and we made a batch of pulled pork last year that we took to Kentucky.  We slow cooked it for hours and it was tender, juicy, and the flavor could win contests if he wanted to enter.  Mike cooks for several places each week making BBQ meals for an elderly home and his lodge meetings.

Mike is from the old south and worked his life as a mechanic, whether it was cars or trucks he fixed them.  Back in his day he worked over twenty years as a mechanic in NASCAR for Junior Johnsons’ racing teams.  He has some interesting stories to tell back in the early days of NASCAR’s beginnings.  I think Mike can spin a story as well as I can and when we get together we can spend hours swapping lies, I mean stories about our lives and times past.  Those are the best days and I was glad we spent some time together while I was passing through Asheville.

The last person for today was a fellow named Steve who worked at the Biltmore Estate winery.  Originally from New York in the financial business he tired of the hustle and bustle of big city life and relocated to Asheville.  He took one of the Biltmore wine tours as a tourist and later on answered an ad and now gives the behind the scenes tour at the winery.  He has worked there for over a year and is getting ready to start learning to give tours at the main house.  He is cross-training to work in both locations. 

I am finding what I wanted on this trip, those real people that make up America, the hard workers, the creative workers who can combine their passions both in and out of the workplace. 

Hopefully during this adventure I become a better listener as everyone has their story to tell and I just need to put it to paper and share it with ya’ll.

From Asheville, North Carolina, goodnight.

A new day dawns

Monday, April 9, 2018

Crashing early last night around eleven after multiple long days of working on the RV it was easy to stop and pass out.  During the night I awakened to the soft sounds of popping corn as it had started to rain lightly.  I have always loved the sound of rain fall on a camper or RV as it gives a soothing feeling of calmness.

I rolled over and fell back asleep and woke up about seven to go outside for a short walk across the river.  The sounds of the water cascading off the rocks were ever present during the night as the river is just a few yards away from the RV.  No one in the campground is awake, a sleepy little village made up of about twenty campers.  The rain had stopped, only misting now and the clouds hung low over the mountain just past the treetops here.

It’s time to make coffee and relax a bit before breaking camp and heading into Cherokee to visit the Indian museum.  Coffee pot, check, thermos, check, coffee cup, check, coffee filters . . . now where did those get packed?   Pull out water from the refrigerator . . . it’s frozen, not a good start for morning coffee.  Digging through things while the coffee water boiled I cannot find the filters anywhere so I do not let it dampen things and move on to plan B, use a napkin to strain the coffee grounds.  It worked but the edges of the napkin wicked the fluid and it dripped on the counter top.  Easy cleanup on aisle 1.

Finally fresh coffee to drink as I ponder where the filters are, it’s always those little things to work out when you start a new adventure that makes you crazy.  Planning for the food, the cleaning supplies, the clothing for all kinds of weather conditions on a trip like this there is always something to forget or you did not think of.  I planned well and things are here in the RV it’s just which nook or cranny is it placed until I learn the location of things.  Things under benches you do not want to have to dig through everyday so placing things that you use for easy access and cold weather jackets in the not used much areas is the way to do it.

Anyway, that’s how the morning went but with coffee and a bowl of cereal it is off to a damp but great start to this new dawn.  More later today . . . !    

Cherokee, North Carolina – Museum of Cherokee Indians

The first stop on this journey is in the town of Cherokee, North Carolina.  It is on the reservation home of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation.  At Oconaluftee Indian Village, the 18th-century Cherokee lifestyle is preserved via live demonstrations in the summertime at the outdoor Mountainside Theater, the drama "Unto These Hills" tells the tribal story.  Cherokee is the southern gateway to the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park features campgrounds and Appalachian hiking trails.  It is also the southern start (or end) of the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

After a stop at the Cherokee Veterans Park it was time for a visit to the Museum of the Cherokee Indian which was really informative about the history of the seven clans which make up the Cherokee nation.  They are: Long Hair, Blue, Wolf, Wild Potato, Deer, Bird, and Paint. 

There were displays on basket weaving, pottery, wood carving and bead work.  The information about the “Trail of Tears” was informative and heart breaking seeing the visuals in this museum of how this tribe was forced westward from their native lands.

Why Travel?

Traveling Life’s Highways is the website created so you can follow along and participate on this journey across America. 

The website is: travelinglifeshighways.com  

“A journey is best measured in friends rather than miles.”

Join me as I wander and write about the places traveled.  Good Friends make the time and experience whole and sharing the places and stories along the way keeps everyone involved and hopefully amused by what is seen and the people met Traveling Life’s Highways.

“I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way”

For many years now I’ve wanted to travel the country, write about it and give you a point of view “seeing America through the eyes of a veteran”.  Much has happened in our lives and I think we have all lost a little of the feeling we had so many years ago when things were simpler, the roads before us were not filled with so many potholes to avoid, and we looked for the good in everyone.  Maybe it wasn’t Mayberry but we thought of America once in that way and I want to find it once again and show everyone it still exists during this conflicted times. 

Most of life is about attitudes and how you act and react to things happening to you and around you.  Often we judge things and cynically look at thing with a skewed perspective.

“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.”   — Kahlil Gibran

During these travels I will be showing photos, blog posts, and other things (possibly a weekly podcast) so you can follow along, comment and share your stories of your travels.  I will be using multiple platforms on social media; the Traveling Life’s Highways website, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Youtube (pod cast).

“All you need to know is that it’s possible.” – Wolf, an Appalachian Trail Hiker

 I have felt this way for years and Mark Twain expresses it beautifully:

 “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream!  Discover.”

 Please hit the Like button on the pages so you will be alerted to the next photo, blog post or funny experience Traveling Life’s Highways!  (Yes Placido Flamingo will be on this trip)

D. Whittington