THE VACCINE HONEYMOON

Mast Farm Inn

Many of us are in the post-vaccine honeymoon phase.  You know, loving everything about leaving the house safely. Part of that phase for me is planning outings close by. So often we neglect the near for the far.  I'm done with that.  I'm done taking my home, my neighborhood, my state for granted.  That's my promise for a better, simpler life.  

For last weekend I planned an anniversary break in the mountains, just 3 hours from home. I chose the picturesque mountain community of Valle Crucis in the high country of northwestern North Carolina, having no idea just how perfect it would be. We stayed at the Mast Farm Inn, one of several charming B & Bs in the area.  Of course most Southerners are familiar with a Mast General Store or two.  There are ten in all.  They span North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. But the original is in Valle Crucis with an old Esso Gas pump in front.  A sighting is a chance to browse.  

Candy Barrels, Mast General Store

 

As part of our adventure we drove up (and down) 9 miles of scenic hairpin turns to an even steeper gravel road leading to a small parking area and a hike to the Elk River Falls, just outside the town of Banner Elk.  The noise from a 65 foot drop of water is just plain mesmerizing.  You know that.  There were people dangerously eyeing the precipice at the top, swimming in pools at the bottom, fishing in the river beyond, taking photos and sunning on rocks. Dogs abounded.  

There is something so happy about friends and strangers enjoying the day in the freshest of air side-by-side without masks or isolation yet following the CDC guidelines. I lay back  on a boulder--eyes closed, my face to the sun--and listened.  Shouts, laughter, some still moments and, holding it all together, the thunderous falls.  My husband mentioned how trail walkers always greet one another with a comment on something--the day, their dog, the slipperiness of the trail. "Isn't it a great day to be out?" People reach out a hand, at least to someone my age they do.

Everything we do now, to me seems new.  I hope the excitement lasts. I plan to make the most of it.  What's near you to enjoy?  With thanksgiving for the simple things, 

                                           Nina Naomi