Tuesday, August 31, 2021

It’s a cloudy morning here in the Valley. Ida’s wrath is forecast for Western North Carolina today in the way of downpours. We’ve pulled away from Jonathan Creek so our jacks aren’t clinging to the bank like they were. (That’s how management wanted us … and I wasn’t happy about it from the get go.) 😬

Mark walked the kids at 12:30 and I missed it … so a solo walk for me, and a few stormy day pictures. 

The 125 year old barn is picturesque! Yesterday a big rig was parked here and I couldn’t get the correct angle. The massive silo is quiet testament to building products back in the late 1800’s. 

There’s the silo to the left. Note the length of the old barn! Massive. That’s the steel roofed community room, laundry and several private bath rooms. All spic ‘n span clean. 

Many RVers have fled the area … more than half of the creek sites are empty today. Even in the misty sky the mountains are lovely. 

These folks are here for the season and beautifully setup. Two years ago we had Halloween 🎃 here! It was nice! 

It was LaDonna and Wayno’s night to cook … and it was great. We had a big salad 🥗 and a cheesy casserole done on the Pizzazz. Yum. Afterwards, we played a few rounds of chasing marbles. LaDonna and I couldn’t get a darn card. We were beat sadly again by the guys. LOL

We check the water level of the creek before turning in tonight. I will set the alarm and check in about 2 o’clock in the morning as well. The rain is supposed to continue until tomorrow at 6 o’clock in the evening. 

Monday, August 30, 2021

Good morning. It’s a bright beautiful sunshiny day here in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. We four are going to Waynesville for lunch and a walk about town. Rain, from hurricane Ida, will affect us tomorrow and Wednesday, and we are only in a slight marginal area for flooding. We will, however, take precautions and be ready to move if necessary. Meanwhile, today is going to be a fun one. It’s our turn to cook dinner tonight and Mark has sausage peppers and onions planned. 

At noon we went downtown shopping in Waynesville! We found a few things we needed … like doggie raincoats. Tomorrow and Wednesday are going to be wet! I said to Mark how affordable the raincoats were … but, alas, I didn’t have my glasses on. 😂 We spent so much the lady threw in a bag of treats. 🐾💕 

Lunch at the Sweet Onion was planned … but, alas, it’s closed on Mondays. 🙄 Boojum was open so we all had craft beer and started with an order of  fried green beans! Yum yum. LaDonna had veg soup and a salad.while we 3 had wings. It was a good lunch.  

Lookin’ like tourists in downtown Waynesville. 

On our way back to the RV we stopped at Ingles grocery to pick up a few things. LaDonna and I were sitting in the truck waiting when she realized Wayno didn’t have his phone, so no way to pay for the grocery. We had a laugh, then she ran into find him. 😜

I just checked the weather and as you can see, we are out of the cone in the Maggie Valley area. Yes, we will continue to monitor it.

When we got back to the RV I checked with the Creekwood office. They will be monitoring the rainfall and river height. If necessary they will move us to a pull through site away from the creek. You don’t have to worry, she said. 🤨 

Meanwhile, Robbie and BeeZee wanted to try on their new raincoats. They fit perfectly and I’m going to send a picture to the lady at the dog bakery in Waynesville.

After our Italian sausage dinner and salad we sat creekside for an hour while the guys enjoyed cigars. Then, they moved both rigs forward several feet for a margin of safety. 

That’s it for tonight. 🥱 

Sunday August 29, 2021

Good afternoon sunshine and all y’all. 😂 Listening to the locals yak while LaDonna and I paint in the community room off the laundromat has me goin’ wit my Suthun accent. 😁 Hey, we’ve mostly had the place to ourselves. One patron stopped to look at our art and proclaimed “I cain’t ev’n drah a steeck peeeple.” 😜

LaDonna’s painting for her friend Rene. (Nice!)

So, after painting, we had poured a drink and sat Creekside. LaWayno is doing the cooking tonight… so that means that MarLie can misbehave. We came in at 4:30 to feed the kids, and Mark sat down to watch golf. Dechambeau was in the lead and doing a critical putt when I dropped the tea towel down between Mark and the TV. There was no response, hence someone was asleep during the final moments of the golf match. LOL Life is good.  

We are thinking today of the folks in harms way with hurricane Ida. We are carefully monitoring its travel to see if we need to get out of the way here in the mountains of North Carolina. Meanwhile, we are sure enjoying sitting Creekside with temperatures in the upper 70s. Tomorrow, we’re planning lunch in Waynesville and will take a bunch of cool pictures there. It’s a charming town.

Tonight LaDonna is cooking zucchini boats for dinner. Hey, if it has the word boat in it, I’m there. Ha ha. As always, the kids are invited over to drink their water, and mop LaDonna‘s totally clean floors with their beards. 😏 They are lucky pups to have devoted aunties and uncles who love them. 

No picture so far, but Mimi and Cheeky both had grooming appointment yesterday in Kenora. I think Shorty hot pants has to be groomed at home. Randy named him Shorty hot pants during our 2013 RV trip. If you want to read about that trip in detail it is twowaggingtales.blogspot.com It was a fantastic 44 day trip across the southern United States, north along the Pacific coast, and through the Canadian Rockies all the way to Winnipeg. We avoided disaster by two or three days all along our trip. LOL

Great dinner … good food (Zucchini boats) and boozie drinks. Robs and Beez had some salad leftovers. Yum yum. 

Here’s the dogs dinner 

Chicken, rice, broccoli and apple chunks. 🐾💕

And THIS is why we RV …

Hahaha

Siting about the fire tonight loving life! Wayno fixed Mark’s phone glitch! 👍🏻

Look at this cool web!

Wowsa! 

Saturday, August 28, 2021

Good morning sunshine! I checked in with friend Nancy and her tough as nails Kachina. Both are hobbling around today … Nancy twisted her knee at Zumba yesterday! Kachina defies the worried vets and carries on despite the cancer diagnosis. 🐾💕 Kachina is a great reminder that no one is stamped with an expiration date. 😇

I had a terrible calf cramp this morning … too much sitting … so today, more walking about. I’ll take pics of this gorgeous RV farm for y’all. 

LaDonna joined me for a walk … 

The ancient barn is 125 years old! 

The barn rafters are hardwood trees! 

The chicken coop is beside the barn. The hens enjoy visitors and cluck clucked to us.  😂

LaDonna, always with the artist’s eye sees a Wonderbra on this camper. 😂 Nice! 

The sign posts are so pretty … and everything is pristine! 

Eagle Park is a place for Tenters, right along the creek. It’s a beautiful spot. There’s a little side creek that flows into Jonathan Creek. 

Bear Park is a large community gathering area at Creekwood Farm.  Sometimes there is music in the gazebo. And at night, it is all lit up with beautiful fairy lights. 

This is the larger gazebo …

And the waterfront gazebo with the open air deck and glider beside it, creekside. 

Jonathan Creek is deeper here, and would sweep you off your feet. Once in a while you’ll see a rafter go by.

There are several cute cabins for rent! It’s a great spot to chill-lax. 

Beautiful rocky creek view from Bear Park deck. 

Our Site 70 with LaWayno next to us on #69. (Last summer there wasn’t a site to be had in here! This summer 🤷‍♀️ there’s plenty! COVID19???)

Although Site 70 allegedly is long enough for us (42’) we overhang the bank. That’s all fine and dandy right now, but we are watching Hurricane Ida closely. The last hurricane, Fred, a couple of weeks ago wiped out a campground on the Pigeon River in Canton, just 10 miles from here. 21 people perished.

So, as the Cat 4 hurricane approaches New Orleans, we will be watching its path closely. (It could come right over the mountains here in North Carolina.) If it looks eminent, we will be pulling out of the mountains. 

So, that’s a little tour of beautiful Creekwood Farm RV park. It’s address is actually Waynesville, not Maggie Valley, North Carolina. However, it’s in the valley. What ever! 🙄 

It’s noon now and LaDonna and I are going over to the laundry house, and will set up our painting. It’s a lovely large room, air-conditioned with a big TV. I imagine the guys will be doing a little fishing in the creek.

Ducks following Wayno while he fly fishes. 😀

Dinner tonight was porterhouse steaks and sautéed mushrooms complements of Mark. (He cooked them perfectly.) We were all full so enjoyed a walk around the park with Robbie and BeeZee. 

Beez and Robs with their dad … 

Tonight Mark wanted to watch the NASCAR race so we’re having a Telly night. G’night all. 

Friday August 27, 2021

Good (earlybird) morning y’all. I conked out and slept great til 3 o’clock. What’s that all about? Anyway, we’re going out for breakfast at nine and I’ll be ready! 😂 It’s nice hearing Jonathan Creek rushing past in the quiet darkness. At this CG there’s a rumble that just started at 6 a.m. We think it’s a sawmill … hear it weekdays. I’ll post pictures from around here today. It’s an old farm complete with barn and chickens … and Creekwood Farm RV is clean! 

We’re on sites 70 and LaWayno on 69 … creekside. There’s quite a bit of space between our rigs as you can see from last night’s fireside picture. 

Hangin’ o’re the crik. 

The weather … we love it! Depending upon where home base is, in our case Central Florida, it’s cool and misty in the morning … warm by noon … 80ish by 2 o’clock … and coolish by 8 p.m.  If it rains, it doesn’t put out a campfire! True story. 

FLORIDA NEWS FLASH …

👍🏻 for children’s safety!

So today, we took a ride to Maggie Valley and fueled up the truck. Afterward we went to the buttered biscuit for a delicious breakfast. After that we went to Ingles, grocery shopping. Mark and I love that store, it’s huge! 

The guys went fishing, and Mark caught a rainbow trout, about 12 inches long. Yes, he kept it. LaDonna and I painted for a couple of hours before having happy hour down by the creek at 4 o’clock. It’s been a nice day here, a high of 81.

After happy hour, LaDonna wanted a picture of the creek taken through her crystal ball. (Hey! Doesn’t everyone have a crystal ball aboard their RV?) 😂

Cool, eh! (You should have seen the video made while LaWayno negotiated the slippery rocks.)

Dinner at LaWayno’s was shish kebab with steak … 

with drinkies and followed by a game of Chasing Marbles. The guys won, again. We girls really gotta catch up. 😂

We had a beautiful evening with a bonfire til 11 o’clock. The stars were amazing last night … plus 1 shooting star! 

Thursday, August 26, 2021

Good afternoon. Morning was spent catching up on laundry, and Mark prepped tonight‘s dinner. The lady servicing the laundromat was pleasant. LaDonna asked if we might be allowed to paint in the community area which is air conditioned (and has a big TV.) The answer is yes! 🖼 👩‍🎨 🎨 

Robbie and BeeZee had extra cheesy eggs for breakfast today! Then, a good brushing! Life is good. 

While Wayno was fishing today, he had a slight slip on some rocks and went down on one knee. (When Randy phoned and heard this he said Wayne was begging for forgiveness!) He thought nothing of it and continued fishing for another half hour. Then, he noticed his knee was swollen.

No pain … but an ice pack was needed. Carry-on fishin’ Wayno! LaDonna checked the symptoms … he’ll be a’right. 👍🏻

We had our dinner, Buffalo Chicken (dip) on rice cakes and celery with a salad. Yum. After cleanup, we walked the doggies about this pristine park. 

Mark started the evening fire 🔥!  Cigar:30

Happy dog day! 🐾💕

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Good afternoon. We had a great sleep last night! It’s quite dark here in the morning because the sun doesn’t come over the mountain until later. We took the dogs with us for a ride around Lake Junaluska. LaDonna and Wayno hadn’t been there, and really enjoyed seeing it. They loved the area and looked at house prices online. LOL. It’s a good thing we both have RVs and can come up here when we want. 😂 I needed some antacids so we stopped at Walmart, and I ran in to get some. Alka-Seltzer p.m. that has been discontinued was still on the shelf … five bottles!!!

I bought them all. LOL. After that, we took a ride past Stonebridge RV park in Maggie Valley. Sue and Wayne had stayed there last year on their way home from Canada. Their pictures look beautiful.  As it turned out, the prices were better than where we are staying. So, after a little debate and looking online we booked it for 24 days next summer. We have seats side-by-side, premium creek front. Yahoo! 

Back at the RV park, Mark and Wayne all went fishing for a couple of hours while LaDonna and I painted at the picnic table. 

After fishing, Mark took both dogs in the creek, just to let them have some fun and cool off.

Robbie with Mark cooling his paws in the creek. My two Mr. Handsomes. 🥰

For tonight‘s dinner LaDonna is cooking stuffed peppers. Mark is making a salad to take over. It’s another feast! 

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Good afternoon sunshine! The mornings here in the valley are misty until the sun creeps over the mountains. Mark and Wayne went fishing after breakfast, caught a few chubbs, but no trout. They want trout! Maybe tomorrow. 

LaDonna and I had an artsy fartsy day and painted. Maybe tomorrow we can set up on the picnic table! 

It’s a beautiful day … and we’ve decided to try the Brickhouse for dinner out. Yay! No fuss, no muss. 

Sue and Wayne will be sudsing up Shorty Hot Pants every two days with medicated shampoo for a skin itch. It took a drive to Winnipeg to get a vet appointment! So many animals were adopted during Covid that the 4 Kenora vets are booked out 3 weeks.  

Robbie, watching Wayno. 

Supper at the Brickhouse was good. You had to go up to the counter an order and then they brought you the food to your table. It was pretty low-key, but very good quality food. Afterwords, we took a drive to the Michaels craft store in Waynesville. LaDonna needed some pencils and I browsed around. Once back home we got drinks and sat down by the creek and watched Wayno fly fishing. He sure’s enjoying it. We are all tired, and having an early night. Mark is watching TV and I’m sketching in a few more details on my painting.

Fly fishing with a cigar. 🤣

Ta ta til tomorrow! 

Monday August 23, 2021

Good morning mountain air!  Mark and Wayno went to Walmart for their trout fishing licenses plus a few ofds ‘n sods we’d forgotten. While Mark was gone I tidied drawers in the RV. Now it’s organized! 👍🏻

After lunch … we’re sitting at Jonathan Creek watching the water burble by.  It’s so relaxing. There’s an otter nest across the creek just to the left of this tree 

Last night the baby otter was chirping a whistle at us. Maybe it was more at Robbie and BeeZee. 

Well, the little rascal revealed himself and it turns out it’s a woodchuck. Just how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Where is the Wii rascal. Ha ha ha, I like how Siri spelled wee. 

This afternoon, after sitting outside having happy hour for a couple of hours, well I guess it’s not just one happy hour if I say it that way. Anyway, Mark put pork chops on the grill and did asparagus in the pan and that was dinner. It was pretty darn good. Now tonight we’re going to have a round of marbles before we sit outside.

Sunday, August 22, 2021

🤮 There’s nothing like the sound of a retching dog to get ya outta bed! 😂 Poor Robs … just a bit of bile on the kitchen floor. No problem! 

I went into the living room, turned on the telly and Mz Beez followed me … retched and barfed at my feet. OMG … on the carpet. 😳 (All this before 6:30) Renuzit to the rescue.  Guess it was the chewy from their BarkBox … 🤔.

So, good morning y’all … it’s coffee time! (By this time Mark is up too!) 

Today’s drive, although the same distance as yesterday‘s, will take at least an hour longer because it is winding roads with traffic lights through towns. It’s a pretty drive, much different than going I-26. 

Big Bertha takes the lead … nice travel morning! 

Stopped for diesel at a Raceway … no diesel. 🤷‍♀️ Walked the kids, ate lunch and carried on down 83. Finally found a very good fuel stop at Ingles in Clayton Georgia. 

58 miles to go to our campsite 

8 miles to go … 

We’re here! Cheers! 😂 Yup, that’s a bit of Scotch my Bestie poured for me. 😊

Tonight’s plans … sitting creekside right after dinner of brats (for da brats) at LaWayno’s. 😋 

Spot the Scot … nope, that’s her shadow. 😂

We had a great evening stargazing, listening to the katydids, spotting satellites, shooting stars and listening to the babbling Brook. It was all awesome. More tomorrow!