Tales of an Owled Woman: Our super-fantastic trip to and from a super-fantastic wedding

Picture taken by Waterhouse Studios - https://www.waterhousestudios.com/

When Jessica told us that she was engaged, Norm and I were very excited! But when she told us that the wedding was in North Carolina, I was a little nervous. What would we do with our dogs? That's a long ways away ... would we, at our old, ancient ages, be able to make the trip.

At first I asked sister Candy if she would care for the dogs while we were gone. But no ....... she is in the process of deserting me! She and hubby Wayne live nine miles from us. But Wayne is dealing with health issues and they decided that they wanted to be closer to their daughter. who lives three and a half hours away. THREE AND A HALF!!!! What am I going to do without her?

We left home about 7:30 on Tuesday, June 13 and headed towards Charles City, Iowa. We figured if we hit there then we could plug the rest of the trip in Waze and miss Chicago. After Charles City, we headed to Bloomington, Illinois, for the first night. The dogs traveled well. Pixie got used to being in the car and laid down and slept without shivering. We took lunch things along and had lunch at a rest stop. The weather was great the whole way.

Wednesday morning, we got going about 7:30. The Days Inn that we stayed in had a simple breakfast … cereal, waffles, toast or bagels. The orange juice didn’t taste very good, so I passed on that. We headed to West Virginia. The scenery got prettier and prettier. Illinois had a lot of farmlands. West Virginia had hills and mountains.

Norm didn’t want to eat our lunch that I had packed, so we stopped at Wendy’s and grabbed some burgers and fries. Then headed into Indiana .... weather stayed nice and sunny and not much wind. The trailer follows us wonderfully; Norm is happy that it doesn't take too much extra gas to pull it. The gas is pretty high. The cheapest we've seen is $3.29, It mostly runs around $3.49 to $3.69. We passed below Indianapolis and on through Ohio to West Virginia. Hit Charlestown, West Virginia, for sleeping. Norm was already tired of our lunches so he wanted to eat at Cracker Barrell. And so we did, knowing that the girls were comfortable in the car, as it was overcast and not very hot. After a comfortable night in a Days Inn, we had breakfast at I-Hop and headed out.

We had lunches, mostly, with what I had packed. We usually found a park to sit and eat, allowing the girls to stretch and potty.

When we got to Sparta, we easily found our dog-care person, Kayla. She has a wonderful set-up... an entire room for them to stay in. She was careful and kind and both dogs were sort-of comfortable, considering. It was hard leaving them but I felt confident that they were in good hands. And it really was good to not have to worry about their care while we concentrated on Jessica and her wedding.

North Carolina has mountains! And mountains! And Mountains! And trees and beautiful scenery. A lot of ups and downs and curves and pig-tails. Fast speeds, slow speeds, curves and pigtails and all kinds of construction. And views of rivers down below. My ears popped often because we were climbing and dropping down a lot.

I found that North Carolina also has few bugs. Everywhere we went we saw doors and windows open and very few screens. When we got to West Jefferson, where the Airbnb was located, I saw a total of three bugs. A white moth, a wasp and a bee. Joy had made the arrangements and there was room for twelve people. It was an awesome house with awesome scenery. While there, we were able to rest up from the fast trip we made to get there.

The house was HUGE and awesome and overwhelming. The ceilings were very high. There were two levels and room to sleep twelve. Joy and Ken claimed the master bedroom on the main level with a humungous kitchen dining room and medium sized living room. Plus a big porch off the kitchen. The view was awesome. Unreal. Spectacular!

Downstairs were two big bedrooms with full bathrooms, a medium bedroom and a large room with bunkbeds. A laundry room, a living room and porch off the living room. The porch was directly under the top one. Gas fireplaces in most community rooms. Also gas fireplaces on the porches. The bathrooms were bigger than our bedroom at home. There was a humungous shower with floor to ceiling glass walls and door. I wondered why anyone would want glass showers when people could see you taking your shower. I was told that if I worried about that, why was someone in the bathroom with me. The temperature control was a dial with numbers. I found that 101° was the perfect temperature for me. The shower also had a bench and a steam option so you could have your own personal steam room.

Ashley and I were trying to decide who got which large bedroom. One had a large bathtub with jets, the other just had a shower. But the beds were the deciders. I couldn't get on the bed in the non-bathtub room and she could. I would have needed a stool. I set up my laptop by the window with a fantastic view. There were times that I needed time to myself so was able to go down to the room and read or write or play computer games.

Joy warned me to not pester Jessica with questions because she was so stressed out. So any questions I had I was to ask her or Ashley. I saw very little of Jessica through the weekend but she was glowing with happiness and fun.

Thursday night after we arrived, we all went out to a restaurant in a town about thirty miles from the house. More hills, more turns, twists, hills and valleys. Even tunnels. The restaurant was a sports bar with fantastic food.

We did not drive anywhere, thank goodness. We usually rode with Matthew. I was the navigator if he didn't know where we were going. If he knew, then I just rode in front, as I usually do. Matthew is very shy and I've had a hard time getting him to actually TALK to me. But this trip we had actual conversations. We talked about whether we could live in North Carolina or not; We agreed that there were too many people in the valleys and it was too crowded, trees and hills wise in the mountains.

Friday was relaxing time. We didn't have to go to the rehearsal so I sat in the kitchen and talked to friends and relatives of Caleb's while they fixed the rehearsal dinner. I helped Ken and Matthew decorate the tables for the dinner which was in the three car garage. Ken rented the tables, the tablecloths, the napkins, the dinnerware, the silverware and the glassware. I researched folding napkins which Ken and I followed to fold thirty napkins. A different style for each table. The dinner was a macaroni bar. The macaroni was "bare," tossed with olive oil and had many choices: cheese sauce, grated cheese, browned onions, sausage, mushrooms, olives, veggies, etc. Very, very good!

Saturday was busy for some, not so busy for others. Dresses were being steamed, suits were being brushed. My outfit was almost new ... found bits and pieces in the closet that were approved by Joy, but had to get other bits and pieces to add to. Norm's was the same ... bits and pieces from the closet and bits and pieces purchased new. Breakfast was simple; Ken put out bunches of fruit and meats and we ate as we pleased. Lunch was simple as well. There was a timetable for who left for the wedding site when. We didn't need to be there until later but we rode with Matthew who had to be there earlier.

More mountainous roads, more ear popping, winding, climbing, swooping down. Typical of the Blue Ridge. The site was breathtaking! At the top of a mountain, looking over more mountains.

One of my favorite authors, Nora Roberts, wrote a series of books following four friends who had a wedding business. While I was watching the wedding being set up, I thought about that series. I know that Jessica and Caleb planned the wedding but I enjoyed watching the photographer and her assistant in all their movements. I was in the dressing room with all the girls, moms, sisters, etc. It was fun watching everyone getting ready. There was no professional planning there, just family and friends (who were family). There was no separation of bride and groom before the wedding. Jessica and Caleb were together in the main gathering hall with "their" dog, Clank.

Jessica had "old"= a handkerchief that my mom had from Japan, a necklace from her grandma Lang and a heart that Joy knit when Jessica moved to Ohio. Didn't get a picture of "blue" but Joy had embroidered a lovely blue design on the inside of Jessica's dress.

Picture taken by Waterhouse Studios - https://www.waterhousestudios.com/

Clank was the main reason that they were together. Jessica was not interested in any relationships with anyone, but she met Clank and fell in love with him. Caleb and Jessica had known each other since childhood, in the church. Jessica kept trying to claim Clank as hers and would go visit him (and Caleb) when she was home. Caleb eventually convinced her to fall in love with HIM. I heard Caleb's mother say to Caleb that getting Clank was the best move he had ever made.

Picture taken by Waterhouse Studios - https://www.waterhousestudios.com/

The ring bearer

The wedding ceremony was beautiful, in that beautiful setting. The reception was beautiful as well. I was pleased at the cake cutting because they did not smash cake into each other's faces! There was no bouquet tossing, which seems to me to be a silly custom. There were even a few slow dances so Norm and I could dance.

And now, a whole bunch of pictures of the wedding .... with a spectacular view.

Picture taken by Waterhouse Studios - https://www.waterhousestudios.com/

When people started heading home, we rode with a couple (lost their names) back to the house. I sat in the back and with the winding roads, being dark, having a little wine, my stomach was pretty upset by the time we got "home." But made it down the stairs and into bed.

The next morning was gift opening and special breakfast / brunch. Again Caleb's siblings and friends fixed it. The theme was casual, wear your pajamas if you want. Jessica and Caleb had matching blue satin pajamas. How cute! They had stayed at a cabin on the wedding site. When they came in, Caleb gave me a big hug and said "Good morning, Grandma!" ... touched my heart. After a very yummy breakfast it was gift opening. They sat in front of the gas fireplace and opened gifts.

Joy knit this lovely tablecloth.

I was very pleased with the reaction of my pillows.

After gifts were opened and visiting was done, Jessica and Caleb headed off for a week on a cruise. Someone took Clank for the week. Others loaded up gifts and took them to Caleb's house - now Jessica's as well. Jessica is not working or teaching or going to school so she has the whole summer to get used to being married before school starts up again. They are going to have a long distance marriage until she graduates, then will decide where to go for each of them. I believe they want to eventually end up back in Minnesota.

We had a buffet type lunch and rested the rest of the day. Monday, the ones that were left, Ken, Joy, Norm and I, cleaned the house, packed up the rental stuff to be collected and packed our stuff up. Since we had brought our small trailer along, we were able to stuff it with things that Joy, Ken and Ashley didn't have room for. More goodbyes and Norm and I headed to Sparta to pick the dogs up. The dog-sitter, Kayla, was more than generous with updates on how they were doing, sending pictures as well. I texted her when we left the Airbnb and then when we were about five minutes away. She had the girl outside walking so we could see them as we drove up. It made my heart happy to see that Pixie was not only walking well but was wagging her tail! Kayla took great care of them.

After an emotional reunion, we headed out to Meadows of Dan in Virginia. I have a Facebook friend who I have been in contact with for about 20 years. When we were planning our trip, I asked her how far she was away from the wedding site in West Jefferson, NC. “Two hours!” So, we picked up the dogs, who had done very well with the boarding gal, and headed to Meadows of Dan. I have always loved that town’s name because it sounds so romantic. And it was a romantic type of town. Very little and very touristy. I met, face to face, Leslie, who has a lovely small shop called Poppy’s (after her dad). It’s a crafty place with things hand made by local artists. Also, she has yarn and fiber and all kinds of cool tools. I took my little electric spinning wheel in and she got her beautiful wooden one out and we spun and talked while Norm browsed. He found some cool books and some cute little items. I did a brief tour of the store before we left but held myself in check and didn’t get anything but some new fiber for spinning – which I spun on the rest of the trip.

Hi, Leslie!

"BFL" roving - Blue Faced Leicester

We then decided that we would head to Morgantown, WV, to where the Peterson great-something-grandmother lived. We found a Historical Museum that had records of the people who lived there in the way-back-when. We had a wonderful man help us look for records. He found the records for Martha McCurdy who married David Hibbs in 1861. We could have found the grave of Martha, but it was in another town and Norm said that finding the records was enough for him.

John Denver's famous song, West Virginia, kept playing in my head. So I plugged it into the car's audio system and we listened to it often.

A mural, honoring the coal miners of West Virginia.

Spinning the BFL

The girls traveled very well.

Do you suppose this comes from John Denver's song?

Records of the Peterson ancestors

The museum

Zanesville, Ohio, was the next stop. Norm is addicted to Zane Gray’s books and when we saw that town on the map, we had to stop there. The town was named after his great-grandfather, Ebenezer Zane. And Zane Gray was named after him. Another museum, this one dedicated to three threads: Zane, a pottery factory and the National Road. The road was thought of by Washington, but Jefferson was the one who got it started. They wanted a road that would allow travel to and from the West (as far as Ohio back then). We then went to the pottery factory (of course). It was founded in 1900 as an “art pottery” factory.

We stayed two nights in Zanesville so that we could see everything. The girls and Norm relaxed after a hard day's drive.

The artist who painted all the the pottery says "It's just a job, but I get to sit down!"

She signed my pots that I bought from her

And had a nice visit with the girls

Then started heading west, back home. We stopped at Hannibal, MO, to see some of Mark Twain’s history. Went to a few museums and a pottery outlet. We grabbed some lunch and ate in a park … as usual, in the car … it was easier than taking everything and the dogs to a picnic table. We have two cardboard “trays” so we can eat more comfortably .. and the heat was such that it was nice to eat in air conditioning.

We had another museum, Mark Twain’s boyhood home, when Norm said, “how long would it take us to get home?” I looked and discovered that it would take about 8 hours. So, Norm said, “Let’s go home today!” After we finished lunch, I keyed in the route on GPS (what did we ever do without it?) and headed home. It took 10 hours because of stops and construction but we made it home before dark!!!!

And then home again! A wonderful feeling and everyone was happy!