On the Porch
Onisha Ellis
Day 1 Scottsboro Alabama
On September 24th my husband and I loaded up our truck and set off from our home in Western North Carolina on a three week road trip to Arkansas. Why Arkansas, you might ask? Well, we had never explored the state and a friend who would join our journey in Arkansas, offered to share her time share week with us.
It was a beautiful day to begin our journey and we chose the slow route on US 76 through Northern Georgia. We decided to stay on back roads once we entered Tennessee, avoiding the traffic and interstate of Chattanooga.
Scottsboro, Alabama boasts a fun store, Unclaimed Baggage. The company buys bulk lots of unclaimed baggage and freight from airlines. Basically one is buying someone else’s clothes and gear. We have been there twice before and have found bargains. On this day, we struck out, but it was a fun break from being on the road.
On previous visits to Unclaimed Baggage we didn’t spend any time in the town of Scottsboro, but this trip we had decided to spend the night. In part so that we could explore and also because we were limiting our daily travel to around 6 hours. After checking into our hotel we were ready to eat. Searching online for a place to have supper, I found a restaurant that looked promising. The phone GPS did a fine job routing us and we arrived with no problems. On the way I was surprised to see how pretty the area was with beautiful Lake Guntersville and distant hills. Hugely different from the dismal original downtown.
I chose tonight’s restaurant due to it’s funky name, 50 Taters and excellent reviews. What a great southern name! My meal goal on this road trip was to eat in as many local establishments as possible. Little did I know how necessary this was going to become. The business began as a food truck specializing in 50 ways to load a baked potato and I wasn’t expecting the huge menu. Another fun thing about this restaurant is our table for two was made from an old Singer sewing machine!
We decided to share a BBQ platter and it was delicious! The wait staff were friendly and fast and seemed happy to be there.
When we finished our meal, we decided to go back to our hotel for an early night. I didn’t want to tire my hubby on our first day of the trip.
November 4, 2021
Last week we drove to South Carolina to deliver chicken soup to a friend. We decided to add a little adventure to the familiar drive along US 76 west to enjoy the delayed Fall foliage. We stopped at the Bull Sluice put in on the Chataooga river and I walked down to the beach.
I was a little disappointed with the amount of color but it was a steep walk down the path to the water and I didn’t trust my ability to make it back up if I went any further.
As I began up the return path, I felt some anxiety. There was no one to help me and my husband definitely should not try to rescue me. As my concern increased, I decided to check my heart rate on my fitness watch. 117. Not bad. I’m ok. I can do this. I began counting my steps, finding that 40 steps was my limit before I needed to rest. And so I made it up the trail, 40 steps at a time.
Afterwards, I reflected on how easy it is to become discouraged. I gained two pounds this week, I lost my cool with someone on Twitter, or when will this pandemic ever end? I need to realize life’s problems can be approached by just taking “40 steps” at a time.
After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience. Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites, Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix
In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books
My 2021 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.
Old Things R New 
That climb was too steep for me!
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Good story. I’ll remember-just 40 steps at a time. Or I hope I will.
Love,
DiVoran
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