Sukkot, Urb-e riding, stink bugs - Day 461 (Yr 2, Day 94)

Asheville, NC

The holiday of Sukkot is here.  It's an 8 day festival, with the first 2 and last 2 days being days for attending services.  I explained more about the holiday last year (http://mitcheryl-rv-journey.blogspot.com/search?q=sukkot).  Again we felt very bad about not having a sukkah, so we're really going to try to make one next year, even if it will only fit a bridge table and 2 chairs (and we'll throw away the wood as there's nowhere to store it).   We did attend services both days (Mon & Tues) which were very lovely and inspiring.  The custom is to "live" in the sukkah, or at least have meals there.  We did so on Monday but couldn't on Tuesday due to a downpour.  Still, it was a very nice luncheon and the rabbi's words about the holiday were insightful.

After having such a great spell of amazing weather, it was time for Mother Nature to balance things out - with non-stop rain all week.  Monday was the first day it actually stopped for a while (although it was cloudy) so after services, Mitch and I decided to take the urb-es out for a spin.  I'm very pleased that it didn't take me long at all to find my center of gravity and be able to balance well.  It was great fun to ride and I'm looking forward to the freedom it will give me in going longer distances when my hip starts to give out after walking a while.   First we explored the greenway, which was only about a mile.  There were a few picnic benches along the river with a somewhat scenic view (not much different from our "back yard" however), but other than that, it was very disappointing to find nothing else worthwhile to see or do there.  I guess it's just a path for bikers, dog walkers and joggers.  Having gained confidence, we returned and went in the other direction to Carrier Park down the road (Carrier Park is one of Asheville's premier parks (near French Broad River Park) and offers volleyball courts, a giant playground, a roller-hockey rink, a basketball court, a multi-use track, a lawn bowling court, a paved trail and a multi-use sports field for baseball and soccer. It also includes a picnic pavilion, river overlooks, a wetland interpretive and education area, and more trails. The French Broad River Greenway Extension, a 2.8-mile bicycle and pedestrian trail that connects Carrier Park to Hominy Creek Park in West Asheville has on-road and off-road sections and winds along the north bank of the French Broad River, providing pastoral views of the historic Biltmore estate. Located on Amboy Road and Michigan Avenue in west Asheville.)  With all the twists and turns and a few steep hills, we got some really great practice in.  We're almost ready to ride where there are people now!

On a down note, remember the annoying gnats (fruit flies) we had last month?  They've now been replaced by shield bugs, aka stink bugs.

There are hundreds of them outside, and every time we open the door, they wait in ambush and fly inside.  If you squish them, they give off a very unpleasant odor.  I would prefer to just collect them in a napkin or on a fly swatter (they're slow and easy to catch) and let them back outside, but for every one I set free, 5 more come inside.  So I'm squishing and spraying Fabreeze all day and night.  Hopefully their season will end soon.

I've noticed that the leaves have started to change colors.  We're told by many about how amazing this area is in the fall -- in fact, it's the height of tourist season: people come here specifically for the fall foliage.  I suspect within the next week or 2 things will be in full bloom.  I hope the weather will allow us to take a nice drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway or visit the Biltmore Estate then.

Urb-e's at last! - Day 458 (Yr 2, Day 91)

Asheville, NC

After a year and a half wait, while this start-up company finally got their act together and worked out all the bugs in their very unique product, it was manufactured, shipped and finally arrived at our doorstep!

Here it is in the box:

Here it is inside the box:

Here is Mitch assembling it in the living room (only needed to attach the handlebars):

Here's a video of Mitch's first ride on it.  He took one of me, but I was a bit less coordinated and am ashamed to post that one.  Don't worry - hopefully you'll get to see me ride in a future post!  By the way, mine is white with a yellow insert.  Mitch's is black with a light blue insert.

We were hoping to take them out for a ride to the end of the greenway.  We haven't walked it yet because we don't know how far it goes; we're told about 2 miles.  Unfortunately, it's raining today (forecast is for rain all week).  Maybe if it lets up for a while, we'll go out anyway.

Week in review - Day 456 (Yr 2, Day 89)

Asheville, NC

I can't really say anything exciting happened this week.  I closed my office on Tuesday at 3:00 to prepare for the holiday of Yom Kippur, and we stayed in shul all day on Wednesday (from 9:30 until 8:30 pm).  For the 3 hour break in between services, we stayed in the truck and napped or read our magazines.  Of course, having all this time off, I was "up to my eyes in alligators" for the past 2 days, with every client needing stuff.  Even the one I terminated asked me to stay on a bit longer as the VA he hired (for me to train) isn't a good match for him.  I told him I'd finish this round of monthly reports, but after that I'm done OR he'll have to pay me double plus communicate better.

The campground has had a great deal of turnover this week -- a lot of small weekender type campers have come and gone; most staying just overnight or 1 day, so I didn't really get to meet a lot of folks.  Some of the "regulars" such as Kurt & Kristen, and the guys in the van, and of course, Critter, have left.

Weather has been awesome until today, where it is just a non-stop rainy, dreary day.  But Shabbat approaches, so I'm busy preparing.

OH - the most important item of the week - OUR URB-E's are here (ordered July 2014)!!! (www.urb-e.com).  Currently they are sitting at the office until Mitch can pick them up.  Since it's raining so hard, I doubt he'll have a chance to unpack it (which I insist be done outside) today.  Will have to wait until Sunday.  I promise next post to have photos of our new electric scooter experience.  Hopefully it won't take too much time to get the coordination down-pat!

High Holidays - Day 448 (Yr 2, Day 81)

Asheville, NC

Before  backtracking over the past week that I missed posting, let me share the serenity of my "back yard" once again:

Once again, it is the time of year for introspection and atonement as Rosh Hashanah, which was this past Monday and Tuesday, and Yom Kippur (next Wednesday) come around.  It's hard to believe this is the 2nd year that we were not in NJ.  Last year we were in Cary, NC and were lucky not to have to drive to services, as they were held in a banquet hall where we could park our home in the far corner of the parking lot.  This year we don't have that luxury as there's hardly even room to park our truck.  But we are very grateful to be in an area where at least there are services!

This is the first year, however, that we didn't have the privilege to be with any family members.  In NJ, it was always Doris who came out to join us, and last year, Jessica joined us for diner on R.H. evening.  I'm sure I've mentioned Ethylin Morgan in a previous post -- someone Mitch originally met on one of his survey jobs who we learned was Jewish and attended the synagogue we planned to.  We've become friends (she is recently widowed).  We invited her to join us for Rosh Hashanah dinner and we all had a very lovely time.  It was a completely vegetarian meal:  I made a veggie loaf (stuffed with apples & nuts), tsimmes (a sweet casserole made of sweet potatoes, pineapple, raisins and marshmallows), a curried carrot/sweet potato soup, our usual mushroom dish and a salad made with lettuce, pomegranate seeds & orange slices in a balsamic vinaigrette.

Services were quite nice, uplifting and spiritual as well, although I really do miss the beautiful cantorial voices of the Blesofskys in NJ.

It was great having all that time off, but Wednesday was non-stop busy, catching up with all my clients' work.  It is great how God always provides, and to use another cliche - one door closes and another opens.  Last week I decided to fire one of my clients.  I decided that the pain and aggravation I derive from this account doesn't come close to justifying the work.  Although a steady client, the number of hours per month was usually less than 10 and did not make up for any substantial amount of income, so I didn't feel bad letting him go.  Working for him has just been a constant headache, as IF he answers my questions (which is rare), it's usually one word answers or very vague ones.  That means I have to make a lot of judgement calls, and about 10% of the time they are wrong.  There was a recent major screw-up, causing me to redo at least a month's worth of work.  At that point, I decided enough was enough; he's just not the type of person I want to work with.  I still think I'm the best person for this job, and if he realizes that and wants to hire me back, it'll be twice the cost and I'll demand better communication.  Meanwhile, he insists I stay on at least another month to train someone else (that should be fun, since it took me months to figure it all out and I had somewhat of a background.  She has no skills and no background.  I don't think she's going to catch on at all.  But.... not my problem any more, is it?)

But the door that opened is that I almost immediately took on another client, who I will be starting with after the holiday next week.  We've spoken a few times on the phone and there's a great chemistry between us.  I think we'll make a good team.  This job will entail mostly setting meetings, organizing her calendar and making extensive travel arrangements.

Back at the campground, a few folks we've hung out with have left (Critter and Kurt & Kristen), but we met a few other nice ladies -- Kathy and Jane.  Kathy is a solo and Jane RVs with her female partner.  We're hoping to maybe do a pot luck and campfire some time next week.

Time with Jessica & Ellie- Days 439-441 (Yr 2, Days 72-74)

Asheville, NC

What an awesome few days!  Our darling daughter, who is between jobs now (she got a very nice job offer with another company and starts next week so has 1 week in between as vacation time), decided to drive 4 hours, puppy in tow, for an impromptu visit with us.  We felt so honored and extremely grateful that that's how she'd use some of her free time.  It was really a lot of fun as well, and I'm pretty sure she enjoyed it.  If nothing else, she got a kick out of just how hipster this place is!  It was also interesting for to compare this place (scenic with only 25 sites) to where we've stayed in Raleigh (either in a mobile home park or a 200 site fairgrounds) with only sites to look at.

She brought Ellie with her (our grandpup - I can't believe we didn't take any photos of her while here!!!) who seemed to enjoy herself as well.

This was only the 2nd time that we had a sleep over guest (the last time was Mitch's sister Doris at Thanksgiving last year).  Back then, we discovered how horrible the sofa bed was (not even fit for a dog), so we invested a small fortune in a high quality air mattress (the same one we had in the house when we sold the bedroom set -- no clue where that disappeared to so we had to replace it). Of course, to accommodate a guest, the coffee table has to be put on top of the kitchen counter and the bed takes up the entire living room floor.  I'm not sure I could live with a guest for more than a few days at a time, although it certainly worked out well for 2 nights. I should have taken some photos for posterity.

They arrived around 2:30 on Tuesday afternoon.  We pretty much just hung out and walked around until Mitch got home and then decompressed.  I think Jessica was impressed by the river.  I showed her the stair case down to the water which I'm too afraid to climb, but she was very brave.  Here she is, coming back up the steps:

 

In the evening, we went downtown to the Grove Arcade district, where we had dinner at a very exclusive place called "The Marketplace."  This restaurant, like just about every place in Asheville, boasts about how everything there is from very local sources (even the soap in the restroom was made in Asheville!).  In the nearby forests grow many types of exotic edible mushrooms (there's actually a tour that takes you there to learn how to identify the stuff, and then sources the finds to the local restaurants; the Marketplace is one such place).  We ordered the mushrooms as an appy; Mitch got a curried cauliflower dish, I had trout, and Jessica had quail.  I admit I've never seen one before.  I expected something around the size of a small chicken, but was really surprised to see how tiny it was (and rather adorable!)  I'd love to see a live one!  Some photos of the inside of the restaurant:

And our meals:

Curried cauliflower

Quail

Trout with black quinoa

After dinner, en route back to the car, we heard some music and decided to walk in the other direction to check it out.  Apparently there's a group that specializes in hula dancing with LED lit hula hoops, who perform every Tuesday night in a small park.  Here's a photo and video of their performance.  It was pretty awesome!

On the way back to the campground, we stopped at a local ice cream parlor.  Of course, it was all homemade with a sign stating that it was made from the milk of local cows (and to wave hello to the cows).  It was adjacent to a mom & pop video store - something I haven't seen for a long time (even the big box Blockbusters haven't been around for a while).


The next day (and the only full day Jessica had to spend), she and I did the tourist thing (unfortunately, Mitch had to work).  At least he captured a nice sunrise before he left:

We decided to take the Gray Line trolley tour, which had 10 stops in the various areas of Asheville and let us on and off wherever and whenever we wanted.  The day started and ended with storms, but we had a good few hours of dryness.

We started out at the visitors center which was loaded with brochures and had a gift shop (I didn't go in there).  A fudge shop set up a samples booth there (with a special discount coupon), so we decided to make that one of our stops to buy some for the boys.

Here is the bus and driver:

The first part of the tour took us through historic Montford which is the Victorian area of town.  Here is one such house, as well as a photo of the rolling hills and mountains one sees from the road:

There were 2 major benefactors of Asheville:  George Vanderbilt and Edwin Grove.  You can read about Grove here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Wiley_Grove.  Personally, although he had great talent, I don't like him as a person, as he was very self-centered.  He hated the poor and sick.  In fact, he purchased up a bunch of hospitals near his area and turned them into upscale apartments so that the sick would be as far away as possible.  He built his property in areas where only the rich could access it.  He even built the Grove Arcade in the downtown area so his guests would have their own special place to shop.  Reminds me very much of Robert Moses who built parts of NY for the rich & famous.  Here is a photo of the Inn:

Next on the tour was Pack Square Park, where Mitch and I attended the Organicfest a few weeks ago.  What a difference when the place is empty!  We came upon another plaque and statue.  I didn't take more photos of the surrounding buildings such as the art museum or city hall, although it was interesting history behind them.

We walked around the area a bit; even stepped inside Magic Mushroom to take a peek at the unusual decor.  We had lunch in a place called Farm Burger, where the meat is (of course) organic and only sweet grass fed without chemicals or antibiotics.  Jessica was surprised that she really could taste the difference.  They also make their own vegan burgers, which I had.  It was very tasty although it didn't hold together all that well.

We got back on the trolley and got off at the next stop, which was the Grove Arcade.  That is a building that takes up a large square block and is filled with all types of stores, including the fudge shop and this awesome place, which is on my bucket list to spend some time in:

The next 2 areas that the trolley went to were the Biltmore Village which is on the outskirts of the Biltmore Estate.  It was built for folks who work at the Estate and is totally tudor style and incredibly upscale.  The area houses the Grand Bohemian Hotel which, if the Ritz is 5 stars, this would be 10.  It also went through the River Arts District, where there are over 180 fine art and craft galleries and antique shops.  Since it started to downpour and we were rather tired by then, we just listened to the tour guide but didn't get off the bus to explore further.

In the evening, we visited the farmers market where we went last week (we bought more roasted peppers which I will use for Rosh Hashanah dinner, more of that awesome seeded bread and some homemade balsamic vinegar.  We then brought back some Chinese takeout and watched a movie (Big Hero 6).

This morning, it was very sad to say goodbye to Jessica and Ellie, but again, I'm so grateful for the time we had and honored that she made the trip special for us when she could have stayed home and spent time with her friends.

I will probably not be posting again for a few days.  Tonight we're going shopping to pick up groceries for Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah.  The holiday is from Sunday  night until Tuesday night, so I may not post until Wednesday.

Shana Tova (Happy New Year)!

Labor Day Weekend - Day 438 (Yr 2, Day 71)

Asheville, NC

We had really lovely weather this weekend.  We spent a quiet Shabbat on Saturday, and mostly the rest of the weekend has been spent with Mitch puttering and fixing things.  We noticed a leak under the frig again.  This time, he brought out all the manuals we had and decided to check all the filters and coils and anywhere where air needs to flow, to see if anything was blocked or clogged.  He discovered there are 2 small fans in one of the compartments that were not working, so there's a chance something is overheating, which may be why I had to defrost the freezer again after 2 weeks.  He also devised a more permanent system using foam core and waterproof HVAC tape to divert the water to outside the rig rather than thru the cabinets.  Here he is up on the ladder investigating the situation:

We also hung just a little while with Kurt & Kristen.  Here they are (cute couple!)

We also spent time sitting in the "back yard" and watching all the rafters.  The river got busy again this weekend (which makes sense, I suppose).  We fired up the grill, but had problems with the coals getting lit, despite the great firestarters I made out of wax & dryer lint.  After over an hour, I gave up and grilled the zucchini on the stove.

Today (Labor Day), we started off the morning trying to figure out how we wanted to spend the day.  Some thoughts were pedal (paddle) boating at Lake Julian, about 10 miles away (possibly also fishing there as well), or going to a movie theater, or to the last day of the Hendersonville Apple Festival (where there's a big parade).  There was nothing playing in the theaters that interested us; we figured with 60K people attending the festival -- plus the fact it's in a historic downtown area - there wouldn't be anywhere to park, and we were too cheap to buy the fishing licenses and permits we'd need ($21), we decided to go shopping instead.  Besides a few needed groceries, we wanted to find a sale on a tabletop propane grill instead of the charcoal one we have.  We ended up going to Target.  WHAT'S REALLY VERY FUNNY (and kind of scary) - I took a look back at my blog post from last year (Sept. 1, 2014); curious about how we spent last Labor Day.  We spent it at Target in Panama City Beach, FL!!! (note: we didn't find the grill, but we  bought some lighter fluid, and I'll have Mitch disconnect and reattach the hardware to get it back in alignment, and see how that works before we order one online).

When we returned home, Mitch got distracted and decided to build some compartments in the drawer where he stores all his odds & ends.  On the table are the contents of the drawer.

I'll let you know how it looks when it's all done.

I was actually hoping that we'd come home and do a movie marathon, but alas, Mitch had his projects to do.  Time to go make dinner.....

Wildflowers - Day 435 (Yr 2, Day 68)

Asheville, NC

Nothing new to report on over the last few days, except that my daily walk took me along the French Broad River Greenway, which can be accessed through the campground.  I came upon a bunch of wildflowers growing along the edge and picked a few.  Not sure what type of flowers these are, but they do have a nice fragrance as well.  UPDATE:  They are mountain lemon marigolds.

Dinner w/Neighbors; Another farmers market- Day 433 (Yr 2, Day 66)

Asheville, NC

It was a rough work day and, boy, did I need a happy hour at the end of the day!  I noticed our neighbors in the Airstream (Kurt and Kristin) were outside grilling, so we decided to hang out a little.  I brought out the wine and they had their own drinks.  They grilled chicken sausages with a yam and a side salad; I made BLT sandwiches (fakin' bacon), corn and a salad as well.  Turns out Kurt is the owner, Tony's, son.  They are both in their early 30s.  She's an occupational therapist and will be taking on a job in Washington, DC for about 9 months starting mid-Sept.  Still not sure what he does.  They are both from this area and had a few good tips.  They also have a huge dog - 12 yr. old Paisley.  Not sure what breed, but very large!  Enjoyable evening.

Mitch is still very sore, but he's not incapacitated and went back to work today.  Hopefully he'll be able to handle a full day using the knee brace.

UPDATE:  Went to another local tailgate farmers market today.  Amazing how this town is still so bohemian, so into nature, and green, and natural and local, etc, etc.  I love it!!!  I could see myself settling down here if the roads were less like European ones (windy and narrow and not big truck friendly).  These places bring out the impulsiveness in me -- just so many great products I can't resist, like today's purchases of goat milk garlic chevre (the farm has a herd of 65 goats, so they draw their own milk and make their own cheese); homemade salsa, non-alcoholic ginger beer (drinking right  now mixed with vodka), freshly baked gourmet bread (bought a loaf of seeded wheat - can't begin to describe how delicious it is: they do give free samples), and farm fresh peppers (for a 2 lb purchase, they roasted them all for us.  We will have them for dinner along with some quinoa and tempeh which we bought at the Organicfest).