July 2007

All I could think of when we saw this squirrel perched besides the road, was the Insurance ad where the two squirrels give each other high 5's after causing a car crash. Who says good advertising does not stick with you? What was the NAME of the insurance company that ran that ad? No fair going to Google to check!

Dan and I are having a blast together. This is the longest we have spent in each others company since he was less than 2. For all the people who were so sure we would clash, I am sorry to disappoint you. He has been very good about chores, cleaning up after himself and the little things that go with living with someone else. These are especially important when living in a small place. It would be nicer if his diet was a little bit more varied, as I have found that I have put back on some weight eating his diet. How come he doesn't? That is just not fair :-)

We had a great time with Mom and my "Aunt" Dottie while in Columbus NC, even if the fireworks in town were a dud.

The highlight was a pontoon boat ride around a manmade lake. The views of the country were spectacular

and so were the houses.

This lake was made by flooding a town. I do not know if you caught the story about divers who found and recovered in amazing shape a vintage fire engine, but this is the lake it came from. Home and Garden built their million dollar view house over looking this lake, and I could see why. Dan picked up an idea for a website on this ride called Flag Etiquette. After looking at several houses who had their American flags improperly displayed, he set out to build a collection of informational postings on the subject. I was amazed at things in the flag Code that I either never knew or had forgotten. It is worth reading.

We also drove the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The parkway goes from about 1500 ft in VA to over 600 at its highest point just out side of Smokey National Park. It was a fun day and the views, well once again the camera just does not do them justice.

Dan is taking photos of his Top Hat where ever he goes. Across time zones, state lines or places of interest. I think he has found his trademark!

We hopped back and forth across the Eastern Continental Divide over the 4th of July period. I had to laugh at the 2000 ft Eastern Divide vs. the trip over the Western Continental divide. Just a little bit different :-) See the photos from my trips crossing the divide out west the older postings pages.

We were also amazed to find out that the bat cave does in fact exist and have been there to check it out to make sure it was just not some tourist trap thing. (PS it was)

There is a Transylvania though and that was pretty nice. US 64 might not have the "fame" of US 66, but it sure is a pretty road to cross the Southern United sates with. Beats the heck out of I 40 which runs nearby. If you want to see more of the south than concrete and 18 wheelers, take US 64!

We also spent some time later this month with our friends at Baileyton RV Park. It was great to catch up with them and to see the improvements to the park since I was last there. They continue to blame Dan for the increase in traffic load they are experiencing. Over 75% of the new, first time visitors to their Park are coming from the Internet. I guess the keyword optimization and submission campaign he did for them really worked out! I am not too sure how some of the guests there made of the two of us though. After several hot and humid (oppressively so) days, the sky finally opened up and rained on us. Dan and I looked at each other, and had the same idea. We grabbed the Frisbee and headed for the door! Running around in that rain like a kid was one of the more simple and fun things I have done in ages. For the rest of our stay there, we were referred to as the two teenagers in site A-5. Next stop a Nature Preserve on the Alabama-Tennessee Border.

On the road, some where in warm and Humid TN