7/5/06 Today With Patty ...

by Patty

Our good friends from Phoenix, Karen and Tom, came to see us over the 4th of July holiday. They suffered the trip from hell to get here, but once they arrived, it was just like one of our old Friday night get-togethers from years ago. Whether it’s been ten years or ten minutes since we’ve seen Karen and Tom, it doesn’t seem to matter, because we always have such a great time with them, and our friendship never changes.

The four of us left Raleigh and drove to the Blue Ridge Parkway, through the small towns and backroads of Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. Gatlinburg was the cutest little town, and Pigeon Forge wasn’t. Lined with every ticky-tacky retail joint you can think of, Pigeon Forge was like a big parking lot.

While we sat in traffic in Pigeon Forge, we played “Name That Restaurant,” and discovered quite by accident that the town doesn’t lack a single one of the well-known fast food restaurants. From Krispy Kreme to Dunkin’ Donuts to McDonald’s to Chick-fil-A, every fast food joint in America is well-represented in Pigeon Forge.

We went on to Asheville and saw the Biltmore Estate in hotter-than-hell weather. I climbed endless staircases, went all the way to the fourth floor and saw more of the mansion’s 250 rooms and 65 fireplaces than I care to remember. Finally we went to the winery to replenish ourselves. Now that was worth the trip.

Blowing Rock was a disappointment, so we just went home and spent the 4th of July lounging around and watching a Monk marathon on television. We did leave the house once on a quest for the perfect tomatoes and perfect corn-on-the-cob, which we found at the Cary Downtown Farmers Market.

Now it’s back to reality. I’m in the office today, doing the billing. Sigh.

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