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We drove up to Luddingto SP to do our favorite 2 mile loop around Lost Lake (badly named as the location of the lake is perfectly obvious). Then we had lunch on the dog-friendly patio of the brewery in town. We came home via Baldwin for a cone of Jones's Black Walnut ice cream. It was amazing. It was surprisingly uncrowded at the park, considering it was a holiday weekend with perfect weather. appalachiantrailcafe.net/index…455a77b27de71e4c254824c8fappalachiantrailcafe.net/index…455a77b27de71e4c…

Finally an easy one. I've driven under this bridge a gazillion times. It's clearly labeled, which helps.

So it's Friday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the summer season. They are predicting warm sunny weather for the whole weekend - very unMichigan-like , so I decided it would be the perfect time to break out for the first time this year the Bigfoot and palm tree shirt.appalachiantrailcafe.net/index…455a77b27de71e4c254824c8f

Quote from hikerboy: “Quote from max.patch: “Quote from Astro: “318 curves in only 11 miles. images.app.goo.gl/nzGH67gWD3xwSbzF6 ” I bet almost every car has an annual event on the Tail of the Dragon. My Honda Element FB group has an annual ride the 2nd weekend in May; this year they had 140 Elements riding the Dragon together. Not anything I'd care to do but they seem to have fun and the event grows every year. ” 2 years in a row for me it was mini coopers.2014 and 2015. ” we saw all the car gr…

Quote from Astro: “On my way back home Sunday morning I stopped at Fontana Village Rest to pick up my resupply box and saw a lot of Camaros in the parking lot. Then to get to Reliance to get my other box I drove thru the Tail of the Dragon. As soon as I started it several of the Camaros were behind me, so I pulled to the side as quick as I could so thy could pass. ” on our drive home from NC via Smokeys and KY we saw several gatherings of car enthusiasts. We passed parades of Chevy SSR, Corvette…

My water bottles are the 24 oz Gatorade bottles with the wide mouth twist open sippy lid. Lid makes it easy to drink, open, close, refill, and put in hydration tablets.

Quote from max.patch: “I don't belong to that group but the post (125 responses) showed up in my feed this morning. I read about 5-10 of em and moved on. Ironic that MB said the spelling was phonetically correct. youtube.com/watch?v=pTP_EAWQkG0 ” I've seen some discussion on other AT hiking groups where people were unfamiliar with the term GAME. A few years ago it occurred to me that this jargon has in recent years seems to have been mostly replaced with NOBO (and likewise MEGA with SOBO). Have …

We saw a mother bear with cubs in Cades Cove, GSMNP today. It was pretty far away, so this is the picture we could get. You'll just have to believe me. appalachiantrailcafe.net/index…455a77b27de71e4c254824c8f appalachiantrailcafe.net/index…455a77b27de71e4c254824c8f

Chonkosaurus is breaking the Internet. The BBC newsfeed reports it was sighted by two kayakers with "thick Chicago accents", which makes me wonder how you pronounce chonkosaurus with a thick British accent. appalachiantrailcafe.net/index…455a77b27de71e4c254824c8f bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-65529029

did a morning 4 mile walk on the Neuse River Greenway Trail, a paved walking / running /biking trail on the east and north sides of Raleigh. They have distance markers every quarter mile so I could time my pace to be within a few seconds of 4 minutes per quarter mile which comes out to be 3.75 mph. The deer are not shy.appalachiantrailcafe.net/index…455a77b27de71e4c254824c8f

This was in the covered area open to the putside. We kep getting "attacked" by the barn swallows. This was not a band. There were a couple of locals (banjo and ukulele) who lead the show. There was a mandolin and autoharp players who were visiting friends. All amatures just playing for fun. The ukulele player was impressed with my playing which speaks to their "casual" standards.

"Golf is a good walk spoiled. " Unknown

We got to the Blue Ridge Music Center for the noon jam session. A few songs in they asked if there was a bass player in the audience. I stepped up. It went well. It's fun playing songs you don't know by just listening to them once. On the way to Raleigh we stopped at Pilot Mountain to see the overlooks.appalachiantrailcafe.net/index…455a77b27de71e4c254824c8fappalachiantrailcafe.net/index…455a77b27de71e4c254824c8f

The highway we drove through WV yesterday follows the New River. It's quite large downstream from VA. A few years ago when we made this trip we stopped at New River Gorge NP. It was still a NR back then. It's one of yhe newest NPs.

One of the coolest sections of the C&O Canal is at the Paw Paw Bends. They got sick of following the river so they took a shortcut by cutting away a ridge and when the ridge was to big, the just wet through it with a tunnel. Amazing.appalachiantrailcafe.net/index…455a77b27de71e4c254824c8f

The MI boy lost in the Porkies was found. Yay.

I don't know Andy Thorn. We've been listening to a CD by Molly Tuttle while driving to NC. Excellent Bluegrass album. We're spending the night at a B&B in Athens WV, not far from Bland VA. Tomorrow we are stopping at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the BRP near Galax VA. They have a jam session at noon, plus some trails to walk. I don't have an instrument to join in with so we'll just listen.

What sad news. Wishing the best for both of you.

woo-hoo. Congrats. I'm looking at retirement in a year or two. No way I'm making it to 50 years. Next year will be 38 years, not counting grad school. Mrs OMO retired a few years ago, but she doesn't hike or bike.

For all you guitar enthusiasts: Last night I went to a great program at the Ford Presidential museum to go with their special exhibit on the history of the guitar. Chris Martin (6th generation CEO of C.F. Martin & Co. Guitar) talked about the 190 year history of Martin Guitars while Craig Thatcher (really good guitarist) played samples of various signature guitars, such as the Joan Bayez, John Lenon, Gordon Lighfoot, Steve Miller, etc... models. He played a song by each artist the guitar is name…