Looking For Balance, Love in the Rally

 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Apologies for waiting so long to post…..there’s no good excuse, except the continuing emotional rollercoaster of downsizing.

Not wanting to reenter the world of depression, we start working on the basement soon after returning from the Townsend rally.

There’s another room to the right where most of my energy is being spent.  It’s almost empty of my possessions….can’t say the same for the hubby!  Thus the roller coaster.  On this particular morning, don’t know if we will be able to sell the house.  Is it worth going through all the conflict?  When trying to push (him), our relationship suffers.  Life is too short!

I’m trying to remember how to live, happily, in a house, in a town, in the same place.  Trying to reconnect with people I enjoy and it’s challenging after being away so long!  Taking more effort than available.  Looking for balance between the travel world full of bloggers and fiberglass rallies  and the home world with family and old friends.  Must also find a way to balance the downsizing work with exercise and socializing.  This hermit stuff is not working for me!

Subject change…….

Townsend 2014

It’s a rainy Tuesday when we arrive at the Townsend/ Great Smokies KOA.  We enter a pull though and don’t unhitch.  Our 4 night stay on the river starts tomorrow. 

Pleasantly surprised that many good friends are already here.  Find a whole row of old friends with new trailers, some moving to Escapes, some to more traditional S. O. B.’s, (some other brand).  One of our favorite couples arrived 4 nights ago! We walk, frequently stopping to chat and catch up with our buddies.

And the rally begins……non-stop visiting and eating for 4 days!  

We are getting braver with the Dutch oven, preparing a breakfast casserole for the morning pot luck.  Black Forest dump cake is a success the following night.  (Notice, below, the bottom spoon scrapings.)

Our site on the river

The Little River

Difficult to describe a rally….it’s all about the energy of the people….their love for each other and their trailers.  Going to parade just a few of our friends…..

This is our third rally in six months and I find myself enjoying the events more and more.  Each one better than the last.  This time I feel so much love in my heart….are the people here more loving?  Or have I changed and can accept the love that was already there?  Whatever!  Loving the feeling of being loved!

There are 64, maybe more, trailers here.  Many friends are not in the pictures as it is Saturday before I remember the blog and the need for documentation.

A few trailers:

Kentucky Burro

Most of the campers, as usual, are Casitas….from the old to the new.

The high spot of the rally is always the Saturday night pot luck.  Hungry folk wait patiently for their turn.

One of the reasons the pot luck is so appealing…..this is made in a Dutch oven!

The music begins after dinner.

And it is over!  Time for goodbyes and plans to meet again!

We decide to spend another night in the Smokies as a few friends are heading to Elkmont campground.

Another night of tale swapping fun.

Finding wildflowers along the river at Elkmont.

Celandine poppy

Showy orchid

Large white trillium

The weather forecast is ominous with several days of storms, possibly tornados, coming.  We are anxious to get home but a trip to Cherokee, NC is necessary. The Tacoma pulls the Chatta-Egg up and over Newfound Gap, elevation 5,046, without a problem.

Happy Holiday RV Park has had a few changes with a new pizza and breakfast addition.  We check out the covered pavilion and central fire pit.  Discuss some details with the manager and everything is good.  The 2014 Cherokee rally is just 5 months away!

 

Flame azalea in Cherokee

One Month Home…

Backyard in June 2011

(Home from winter in the Southwest)
I’m in bed with the laptop resting against my knees, looking out the open window at a dogwood and Bradford pear.  The pear has an abundance of green leaves, the dogwood’s buds are just opening and I am contemplating the upcoming changes in our life.
We met with a realtor yesterday…did not make any decisions or sign any contracts… just wanted to see what needs to be done.  Little was mentioned that we did not already know.  The kitchen wall paper with it’s brown and blue theme must be covered with paint, the paneling, (that I always wanted to paint) must be painted.  The dishwasher that has not worked in years must be replaced.  And there is more…but not a lot!

Kitchen

It always feels strange to return home after months of being gone.  The first week is wonderful…marveling at hot water coming from the faucet, long showers, constant internet and a stream of news from the TV.  We even binge watch our missed shows on Hulu Plus. 
Then boredom sets in….not real boredom as we stay physically active with walking, the gym and bike riding but kind of a mental boredom.  Kind of a “I’m not living life to the fullest” type of boredom.
So the journey begins.  We are not trying to downsize into full timing, part timing works well for us.  Love the southeast spring and autumn.  Just need to rid ourselves of what’s not working in our lives; the yard is part of what is not working.

Our home after returning from our almost 4 month Alaska trip.


February 2010

The realtor says one must let go of emotion surrounding one’s home.  It would be so much easier if someone else came in and took everything away….maybe while we bask on a beautiful beach!
So we have been working on the house, sowing grass in the front, raking leaves, pruning, mowing.
What else?
Our annual visit to Townsend is less than three weeks away! This is our fifth year to attend this Annual Eggscursion (sorry, it is full!) and we can’t wait to see our old friends!  (Townsend, TN is called the sleepy side of the Smoky Mountains as it very quiet compared to Gatlinburg.)
Not much else going on….doing some planning for the other Smoky Mountain rally which is in Cherokee, NC in October.
And the only other new thing is RVillage.com.



A dear friend sent me a link several weeks ago and, after joining, I’ve been having fun playing with this….just for rver’s….. new social media group.  It is fun to see where my friends are staying and helping travelers as they visit my home area.   Also very exciting to be on the ground floor of something that going to be very BIG!  There are 4278 members as of 4/4/14….only a few weeks old!
Look for me in the Bloggers group, led by Eric and Brittany of RVWanderlust.  Hope to get enough confidence to change/improve the blog.
Closing with flower pictures from last May……getting nostalgic before we even move!


Peony


Wild Geraniums


Iris


Azalea

Sixth Annual Eggscursion!

 

This is our fourth year to attend this egg rally held in Townsend,TN, on the sleepy side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and compared to Gatlinburg, it is a laid back, sleepy place.  The picture above does not do justice to the 60 to 70 trailers present. This is a part of Loop A…there’s also a B, C, D and E? loop.  Most of us old timers make our reservations one year in advance so we can book a coveted riverside campsite.

We were fortunate to get a site at the back end of the campground with a deck overlooking the river.  It’s very private and I need the downtime to recover from all the socializing.  This rally normally has two pot lucks, music every night and an egg parade (open house showing trailer).

 

Due to heavy rain on Friday morning, the potluck breakfast is moved to 5 PM and it’s eggs and bacon for our evening meal.  I thought it sounded unappetizing, but the breakfast dinner is a hit….maybe we’ll do it again!

The temperatures plummet after the rain ends, going from highs in the 80’s to lows in the 30’s.  I am layering clothes to stay warm….again!

The entertainment does not disappoint…..clogging, ole timey fiddle music and 60’s, John Prine and Bob Dylan.  Tears flow down my face….it always happens when I hear the old stuff….. many memories!

The egg parade is Saturday morning and I am in a tizzy trying to cook a meatloaf in my yard sale crockpot and get the trailer ready to show.  I find a recipe, go to the store at 8 AM, mix it up outside in the cold…with my fingers freezing and turn the slow cooker on by 11 AM.  At noon I discover the crock pot still cold! Fooling with the outside electric breaker, I try again!  Still cold! Deciding that the pot luck will go just fine without my meatloaf, we take off to tour the trailers.

This is a brand new 19’ Escape….the only one in Missouri (at this posting).   The owners are also talented dutch oven cookers…..this is a pineapple upside down cake!  And it gives me an idea!

 

 

So many different sizes and shapes!

The owner describes this as “poor man’s central air conditioning”.

These are Olivers, made in Hohenwald, TN, and they are back into production!  We had seen one last fall at the Kansas rally, http://peteandthewonderegg.blogspot.com/, but they were not in production at that time.  Some of the Oliver family are present to explain features.

So many different trailers from many different places…..did not get a picture of the 5th wheel Escape from Canada!

 

And my hubby’s dutch oven rescues the meatloaf…..slightly overcooked….but I was proud of it!

(Forgot to get a picture.)

And then it’s Sunday morning, time for goodbyes…..see you down the road!

 

FYI: The 2014 rally will be at the Townsend KOA on the last weekend of April.  The Tremont campground has been an excellent host; the physical separation of the loops prompted the change of campgrounds. Y’all come!