Old Things R New

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Our daughter returned to Florida on Monday and my aunt and cousin from the Raleigh area arrived on Thursday, October 17th. In between visits, I made meal plans for the next week.

We follow a strict Keto lifestyle and that requires a bit of planning.

I put two flavors of homemade ice cream in the freezer and made a Black Forest cheesecake, that covered desserts and aren’t they the most important part of the meal?

Our church holds a craft sale each fall and Friday the 18th was the first day. We were out early, eager to see what the talented ladies had to offer. I sighed over the beautiful quilts and settled for a Christmas throw that I love. To my delight, the crafters had put together $1.00 grab bags. I have always been a sucker for grab bags. My bag was worth far more than a dollar and I was thrilled with the contents. To be honest, I wanted to go back and buy all the grab bags.

The weather was a bit sketchy and the forecasts indicated that Sunday, the 20th would be sunny so we embarked on a Sunday drive.

I had been wanting to go on a waterfall hunt by typing waterfall into the GPS and following the directions. Scary, I know, especially after the way Bill’s Greta leads him astray.

On the way to the first waterfall we decided to stop at the Sky Valley Golf Club. in Sky Valley, Georgia. They decorate hay bales each Halloween so we oohed and ahhhed and snapped a few pictures.

Each summer I read on the local Facebook page of injuries at Bust-Your-Butt falls. On the GPS it appeared to be quite close to a waterfall we have enjoyed for years and now I was determined to locate it. And we did! Of course we had seen the cascades many times but didn’t know they had a name.

The Fall colors were gorgeous.

Our next stop was Bridal Veil Falls. In years past one could drive behind it, but falling rocks put a stop to it. The area is famous for rubies and when our children were small, they would “mine” for rubies at the bottom. One summer we even found some suspicious stones. Unfortunately, we put them in a Pringles chip can and I threw it away while cleaning out the car.

When we arrived, my cousin was sure she heard a kitten. I thought it was a bird. It turned out there was a kitten and we think its mom was killed by a predator. It just about killed my cousin to leave the kitten there and alone.

Our next stop on the GPS was Silver Run Falls in Cashiers, NC. This was our first time there and I was looking forward to seeing it. Here is the description from the website:

Silver Run Falls is a nice 25′ waterfall just south of Cashiers. It’s easy to get to, family friendly, and very popular. To get to this falls, head west on Hwy 64 from Lake Toxaway into Cashiers and take a left on Hwy 107. Parking is a little over 4 miles down on the left and is just a wide area on the shoulder with room enough for maybe 5 vehicles or so. The trail head is obvious – the trail is less than 1/4 mile and easy. On the way to the waterfall you’ll cross the Whitewater River. It’s not very wide at this point. Crossing used to be on a log, but a bridge has recently been built for safety reasons. There’s a nice swimming hole at the base of the falls and the area is usually crowded on a warm day

NCWaterfalls.com

My 86 year old aunt uses a wheeled walker and the path at the trailhead looked promising. Alas, as so often happens, the trailhead was deceptive. My aunt soldiered on and at the falls, my husband placed the walker on a large rock, locked the brakes and helped my aunt mount it. She scratched her leg in the process and the only thing I had in my purse was a peppermint tea bag. I was careful to not place the tea part over the wound for fear it would sting. On the way back to the car I walked behind her and each of her steps gave off a pleasant peppermint scent! She received many high fives and compliments for not letting a walker prevent her from enjoying the adventure.

We talked with an older gentleman at the falls. He said his family had been swimming there for fifty years, way before the park service had put in the trail and bridge. That must have been amazing. He looked nostalgic and I am sure he was recalling those days. He had with him a couple from Germany. He met them while doing volunteer work in Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall. I don’t think they spoke a lot of English but they greeted us with nice to see you and I responded welcome to America.

Back at the car we were hungry and in need of the “facilities”. The thing about nature is it tends to not be close to conveniences. Cashiers is one of those towns that require businesses to have a uniform appearance and I was afraid we wouldn’t spot the Wendy’s I had seen as we passed through town. It took three pairs of eyes searching, but we found it!

Next week, Fun With Family Part 3

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  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

My 2019 goal is 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.

Tags: Time with family, Waterfall by GPS