After a look at some of our pictures this morning we were given a box lunch and set free to pursue our own adventures. I decided to head back up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to make my way back to the North Carolina side of the Park where I will be staying the next two nights. I stopped along the way to practice creating a forest abstract using intentional movement of the camera. I’ve been trying to get a good result with this all week and finally got one I like.
View from the Blue Ridge Parkway
Forest Abstract
I then spent some time photographing along the Oconaluftee River practicing my new skills with running water. Then I stop back in at the Farm Museum to play with my Lensbaby Sweet 50 which hadn’t been out of the bag yet this trip.
Oconaluftee River
Chain
Iris
Now settled into my hotel in Cherokee, I’ll set out tomorrow morning in search of waterfalls in the Deep Creek area.
s which were the only thing available at the hotel.
ast 50 miles of the Parkway. Even before reaching the Parkway the scenery became amazing and I encountered my first waterfall in the Pisgah National Forest. Looking Glass Falls can be accessed from a stairway by the side of the road. I made the mistake of not taking my super wide-angle lens down to the base of the falls. So, while I got the shot, I would have liked a little more of the surrounding rocks and forests. I would have gone back but there were a LOT of stairs and my heart was already thanking me for the workout.
The views along the Parkway were nothing short of breathtaking. Even on a cloudy day. Some azaleas and rhododendrons were in bloom along with numerous other wild flowers. Toward the higher elevations I encountered some fog which was enchanting until it turned to pea soup. But it didn’t last too long. There were plenty of long vistas to be had.
I had been worried that the 120 or so mile drive would get me into Gatlinburg before I could check in to my condo for the next three nights but there was nothing to worry about as there were plenty of things to stop and photograph and I didn’t even make it to my planned lunch stop before my stomach insisted on a detour. I found a little place called Country Vittles in Maggie Valley. A real family run business, Grandma showed me to my table, Mom brought out my food and took my money and granddaughter Pearl was the waitress and bus girl. The daily special was Chicken and dumplings and the vegetable of the day was pickled beets. To which I added fried okra for my second side, a delicacy I have not tasted since my last visit to North Carolina. Of course, a biscuit and cornbread were served with the meal though I had to shy away from a commodity labeled “whipped spread” which purported to be 48% vegetable oil but was vague on the other 52%.
Arriving at the Park after another half hour’s drive I stopped off at the Oconaluftee Visitor center and toured the life-sized farm museum on the grounds. I especially liked the Irises planted next to the log cabin. By this time, I was beginning to zone out and even had to take a short nap in a roadside pull off. Then I proceeded to Gatlinburg (can you say tourist trap extraordinaire?). The condo took some finding and the time share people had to give me a sales pitch before letting me go to my room. Next time Holiday Inn Express, I think.
my digs (no more driving today, yay). I should have known when I walked in and saw no other diners that it was not going to go well. I almost walked out when the guy handed me a styrofoam cup for my iced tea (No, Jeanne, we are not in Oregon anymore). But I was tired and hungry so I went ahead with the most mediocre BBQ I’ve ever eaten (How do you ruin barbeque?). Oh, well, I still have that coupon for Bubba Gump Shrimp that the time share sales lady gave me for tomorrow night. I still haven’t figured out where it is though I should have walked right by it on the way to Bones BBQ. My recollection of my one and only previous Bubba Gump Shrimp experience was underwhelmed and overpriced. But hey, I’m here for the scenery.
I set out today on my next adventure, a garden tour of Vancouver and Victoria. So far, I have only made it to Portland. I fly to Canada tomorrow to meet up with the Road Scholars. But in the meantime I wanted to kick things off right with a visit to the Oregon Garden. It has been on my radar for awhile but it is 12 miles off the interstate to the east of Salem, so this is the first time I took the time to make the trek.
And it was well worth the time and effort. There are 20 specialty gardens packed into 80 acres on the outskirts of Silverton. I’m glad they have good signage to get you there or I would surely have gotten lost. I’m glad I have a good map or I would surely have never found my way back to the Interstate. My first stop was the water garden and one of the employees pointed out a frog pretending to be invisible. I’m always looking for frogs to photograph and rarely find them so this certainly got me off on the right foot.
aw a bunch of flowers in bloom including these Black eyed Susan’s. It was only after I headed into the Home demonstration Gardens that I realized I had just been photographing in the Medicinal Garden.
e Gordon House, which was moved to the Oregon Garden property in order to save it from destruction. When I come again though, it will be in the spring or fall. the Dahlias should be lovely in September. Though I did find a few blooming in July. 
Our first stop today was at the home of a tea master who demonstrated the preparation of tea and explained the tea ceremony which would normally take four hours. Ironically, Michael is not Japanese but Swiss. He became interested in the tea ceremony through martial arts and now lives in Japan and provides lessons in both.
where we learned something about the man who invented the tea ceremony, or at least formalized the ritual, Sen No Rikyu. He is also credited with developing the concept of wabi-sabi, beauty through simplicity, a concept I can definitely get behind. We had an opportunity to view some gardens that Sen had designed. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures and the post cards they had available did not capture what I would like to have taken pictures of. One interesting thing we were told is that the white rock gardens associated with Zen Buddism came 
about because there was a big fire in Kyoto back in the 15th century and after all the temples had been rebuilt there was no money left to replace the classic gardens so groomed white rocks were substituted for water.
c sort of pottery used for tea bowls which has been produced by the same family for 15 generations. Personally, I could not see what all the fuss was about. But they also had a display of Noh masks which was of more interest to me. But once again, no photographs. I’m beginning to understand that the advantage of cell phones over real cameras is it is easier to cheat in a situation like this. They did, at least, have some nice flowers in their front garden. From there, we caught a cab back to the hotel and are once again on our own for dinner. I am thinking of returning to the Nishiki market to taste some street food and look for souvenirs.
This first picture is from the Guenther House where we ate lunch. Typical of the solid limestone buildings built by the German settlers who flocked into Texas in the mid to late 1800s and one of many listed on the National Register of historical places as the plaque states. But note the San Antonio twist, as the citizens prepare for th
eir annual fiesta, homes and businesses are decked out with brightly colored ornaments to celebrate the occasion. I believe the flags on this next home with beautiful arched window served the same purpose.
Steinbeck is often quoted as saying Texas is a state of mind and so it is. They are proud of their state, proud of their history, proud of their flag and proud to tell you how many generations their family has lived in Texas. They love it that much. I can only be proud to tell you I am a fifth generation Vagabond as my ancestors just couldn’t get enough of moving west, though somehow they 
managed to miss Texas altogether. Maybe that was the problem.
s. So here are a few of my favorites.
I ended my free afternoon at a great modern vibe restaurant with a southwest twist called Acenar. Overlooking the riverwalk I dined on the patio. My entree was duck crepes made with serano peppers and for desert, pineapple flan. So much fun to try new tastes!
I had a busy day of touristing yesterday and was too tired to process any images so had to make up for lost time this morning. My first stop enroute from Pismo Beach to Santa Barbara was the Santa Inez mission in Solvang. There I found the kind of detail I love in the old missions. Solvang itself is fascinating with a Scandinavian theme but I decided to save that for another day.
beautiful of the missions and you can see that this may be true.
Roman columns and such. I don’t know if this is true but it does make some sense as this does not look very Spanish.