Home again, home again....

Today was gray and rainy as I left Asheville, and it rained until I was well east of Columbia, SC. Then the sun came out and it was hot. Hot hot hot. Still in the 90s here. It was a very easy drive, I was home in a little over 8 hours. Yes, I do drive a wee bit fast. Not crazy-reckless fast, but I don't think of the interstate highway system as something to linger over.

I have decidedly mixed emotions about coming home. I am glad to have my bed back, 4 nights on an air mattress were enough, thank you. I am glad to have my bathroom back, and my great water pressure and all of my grooming stuff. I plan to take a very long shower later, using half a bottle of L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil and my expensive shampoo. I missed the dogs and my stuff. Unfortunately, all of those critters and things are marooned in Orlando for the foreseeable future, until there is a sign of life in the housing market. So I have vowed to quit bitching and bloom where I am planted, and any other cutesy kitchen magnet wisdom that may apply.

It was a lovely vacation. I've decided that four nights away is probably my maximum tolerance, by last night I found myself getting quieter and more irritable, and for the first time had a little trouble falling asleep. I was ready for my own house again. We Cancerians are a pain in the ass that way.

Yesterday was a lovely, if very tiring, day. Boy and I went in search of waterfalls - actually, I drove, he navigated, he has already seen these waterfalls. I am enchanted by waterfalls, I could easily sit on a rock and look and listen to a waterfall for an entire afternoon and never feel restless. I think it's the negative ions. We went all the way to Transylvania (yes, it's true) County, and Jackson County, and even briefly into SC, on the waterfall tour.

Our first stop was Whitewater Falls, in Jackson County. It's a small park, with a paved path to the falls, definitely worth a detour (but it's quite a detour) if you are in the area. Boy remarked that the lack of rainfall was quite obvious, but it was beautiful. (Do click photos for full effect.)



Our next stop was a roadside pull-off on a highway I can't remember on the way to Cashiers. You have to have a "waterfall map" for some of these things. I left the map with its owner, so I can't tell you the name of the falls:



This is a very charming little spot, and I'll have to ask Boy to give me details so I can add them later. You pull off a winding mountain road onto a postage stamp of gravel, and follow a path into the woods about a hundred or so yards, not a long distance, not a hard walk, and it opens into this lovely little waterfall and swimming hole. Boy has been swimming here when he and his friends were out for a drive. I can't imagine getting into that cold water, but it really is the loveliest little swimming spot. If you are young, hardy, and it is very, very hot.



We debated hitting a few other spots, but by then it was way past lunch and we were hungry, so we made our way to Cashiers and searched for food. Cashiers, NC, is the "hot" retirement spot for rich Floridians - the parking lot at the shopping center where we eventually found a sandwich was full of Caddies and Lexus-es (Lexi?) all with FL tags, and we were surrounded by the Over 65 With Money crowd. For the life of me I can't see the appeal. Cashiers is out in the Middle of Effing Nowhere, there's nothing but big, fancy houses and golf courses and country clubs. I guess this is where you go if you are too rich to need to stalk Early Bird Specials and too old to stay up past 9. They can keep it.

Me, I want to "retire" to West Asheville. It's a hoot, it's the eccentric and artsy side of town, but they are unpretentious enough to mock themselves for it. Boy drove me by one of the houses I'd dreamed about buying - someone else bought it, obviously. Yeah, I could live there.

Last night Boy, his GF and I went to dinner at Chorizo, in the Grove Arcade, lah-di-dah, in downtown Asheville, and enjoyed it immensely. I left my leftovers in his fridge with a heavy heart, and ordered him to eat them for dinner today. The food was great, interesting ingredients and they aren't afraid of spice (I spotted and pushed aside the half of a habanero pepper I found lurking among the veggies) the portions were huge, and by the time we had the fresh, made tableside guacamole, the entree was twice as much food as I could tolerate. We sat outside, and it was actually a tad chilly. It was 64 when I left Boy's house this morning. I'm back in 92 degrees and humid. Party's over.

Tomorrow, photos of yarn. And I think I will wind and cast on a scarf for Cousin C with that amazing Regal Silk. And go to the gym, and do laundry, and have a gentle re-entry to real life.