That's It

Well, those 85 days passed quickly.  But it is done.  So be it.  This was a much tougher project than I originally envisioned.  Since much of life ends up being a bit on the mundane side, this was reflected in these 85 days.  Time commitment, especially with multimedia additions, was a bit of a problem.  Finally, as with all writing projects, purpose and audience leading to a specific focus was probably what prevented Ros and Will from adding to the project more.  I didn't define the audience well enough for them, so it was hard to know who they would be writing for.  Also, I forget how hard writing is overall.  

Now...time to come up with my next new project. 

Day 85: Saturday, August 7, 2010 - Mike

Even though I still have light back spasms, ran the back route anyway.  After getting cleaned up, went down to the downtown parade.  Home for lunch, laundry and vacuuming.  Ros and I went down to the Celebration in the afternoon, caught up with William and Alex eventually, and watched a bit of Lou Graham's performance (of Foreigner fame).  Came home to call it a night.

Day 84: Friday, August 6, 2010 - Mike

One of the last of the meaningless weekends.  Wonderful weather.  Rode the bike ten miles, then went up to work for awhile.  Came home for lunch and just stayed.  Early in the evening went down to the Decatur Celebration, to work for the Mac Booster Club for a couple of hours.  Had a beer afterward, then Ros and I ate at Mi Pueblito.  Came home to watch a Psych episode.

Day 83: Thursday, August 5, 2010 - Mike

A little cooler this morning than the last few days.  Ran the back route.  Went up to work to get some, uh, work done.  Had some back spasms and don't know where they came from.  Home for lunch.  Ros went to her movie class in the evening, so Will and I stayed home and watched an adult, sort of, Superman cartoon, called Doomsday, about the death of the big guy.

Day 82: Wednesday, August 4, 2010 - Mike

Biked ten miles this morning.  Very hot.  I was late because I was figuring out that my laptop had some malware which was very nasty.  Took it to IT and did some work in the office before coming home for lunch.  Napped some and played around on the computer.  Had chicken sandwiches for supper, then our last EOW of the season.  Lyle, Jim and Becky, Michael H., and Eric showed up.  Called it a night around 11.

Day 81: Tuesday, August 3, 2010 - Mike

Got a run in, around 7 AM.  Already quite warm by then.  Cleaned up and went up to the office to work on fall advising and other delightful details.  Came home for lunch, then went back to the office until 3:30.  Will had a teen-fest appointment at the Mall, so Ros and I went out for supper at Pho Golden Bowl, a new Vietnamese restaurant in town.  I had the Shrimp Pho and some spring rolls.  Then we came home and watched last year's Crazy Heart, a quite good movie.

Day 80: Monday, August 2, 2010 - Mike

 A slovenly day.  Or at least, I was slovenly by not exercising today.  Spent the morning manipulating and adding photos to this very blog. Ros went off to work at Millikin. By mid-morning I ran to the post office (a couple of times) and did some grocery shopping.  Ate lunch at home, then did a little vacuuming with the robot.  Ran up to the office in the late afternoon.  I cooked a supper of eggs, sausages and biscuits.  Afterward, watched a old STNG episode.

Day 79: Sunday, August 1, 2010 - Mike

A relaxing Sunday, with quite beautiful weather.  After coffee, did some laundry and played a little WoW.  We all ate lunch at Panera's then I took a little nap.  Mowed the lawn in mid-afternoon, then made a pizza for supper and watched the second part of Tin Man.

Day 78: Saturday, July 31, 2010 - Mike

Travel day.

Up later than the sun this time. Packed our bags, said our goodbyes and spent the day on the road heading home.  We took the Nashville route this time, and other than occasional refreshment stops just kept going until we made it to Decatur.  Unpacked, then back to the old routine.  Watched an episode of Psych and called it a day.  

Day 77: Friday, July 30, 2010 - Mike

Our last full day in North Carolina.  And a fine one it turned out to be. Drank coffee all morning, and Tom and I took a walk down the hill and back,  then headed for Asheville for lunch, where we ate at The Bier Garden (one of my favorites on the trip).  From there it was on to USA Adventures in Marshall and an afternoon of whitewater rafting.  We donned helmets, grabbed our oars to took the bus for a 15 minute ride to the put in point.  We had a good crew in our raft and an experienced guide.  From their morning run on the French Broad River, the water level had dropped a foot or so, making many of the chutes more challenging.  Tom took a spill into the water half way through the trip, but emerged with just bruises.  Made it through about five or six level III rapids.  Quite fun, overall.

Afterward, we cruised back to Black Mountain for some pies at My Father's Pizza.  Took our desserts home with us a re-cooperated from a long day's paddling.

Day 76: Thursday, July 29, 2010 - Mike

Up very early and was again able to see the sun come up from behind the mountain.  A beautiful sight.

Stuck around the property so that we could take delivery of the new couch that arrived in the afternoon.  Went on a driving tour of other "Association" homes and lots and dropped by the local water fall, with its variety of flora and fauna.

Also spent the morning philosophizing on furniture arrangements, which made it easy at the actual arrival (once we got the thing up the hill, that is).

It was baseball in the evening, as we went to historic McCormick Field in Asheville to watch the hometown Tourists take on the Rome Braves.  We were on the front row just to the right of the visitor's dugout.  It was a good game, though a losing effort by the local boys, ending at 6-7.  But since it was Thirsty Thursday's night, we managed to get through the evening anyway.   Highlights included some great defensive plays throughout, a home run by the good guys, and a great coach argument with an umpire.

Day 75: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 - Mike

Woke a little later this morning, around 7 AM local time, and sat on the deck watching the mountains move.

Ros and Bonnie took off for a Biltmore tour, while the men stayed behind and hung out.  We toured around some of the Association houses and drove over to Black Mountain for lunch at Ole's Guacamoles.  Came back to nap a bit and enjoy a quiet afternoon at the homestead.   Had a delightful supper and a relaxing evening.

Day 74: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 - Mike

Up early (at least by Central time standards) at 7:00 and watch the sun rise over the mountain.  Sat out on the deck until others awoke for the day.

A busy day, exploring the neighborhood.  Hiked a few miles up to see water falls at Catawba Falls, which were splendid.  Then, ate lunch at a place called Countryside BBQ.  Very tasty.  Had the pulled pork plate.

Next, we had a little ice cream at the Jack Frost Dairy Bar. Then, after an afternoon thunderstorm, drove up to the highest mountain east of the Mississippi, Mount Mitchell. Very enjoyable drive and views all around (once the clouds cleared out a bit.)  Here's Tom pointing out the spectacular views behind him:

Drove back to Tom and Bonnie's house and relaxed a bit before supper, some ravioli and salad. Chatted and listen to music throughout the rest of the evening.

Day 73: Monday, July 26, 2010 - Mike

Got up and had a snack before heading for Asheville.  Drove through the mountains on Interstate 40, which was pretty amazing.  A number of tunnels.  Lots of work on landslide prevention going on in the westbound lanes.

Met Tom and Bonnie in downtown Asheville at the Early Girl Eatery cafe.  Excellent food all around.  Then drove to the mountaintop on Crimson and relaxed the rest of day.  Here was our welcome to "the deck," also known as the observatory to the north.

Had chicken and rice for supper.  Sat on the deck through the evening, watching a few thunderstorms in the distance pass by.

Day 72: Sunday, July 25, 2010 - Mike

Up early, then hit the road for the lands to the East.  Drove through Indy, and stopped at a Micky D's for a little McLunch.  Drove on to Louisville, then kept going to Knoxville, through the lovely mountain landscape.  Had great weather except for having to drive through a thunderstorm just south of Lexington. 

In Knoxville, had supper at a Puelo's Grill, a combination of Italian and Southern cooking.  My crabcakes and lasagna were horrific, but Ros' Shrimp and Grits were eatable.  Checked in to the Country Inn and Suites and promptly got an internet fix.

Day 71: Saturday, July 24, 2010 - Mike

Up at 5 AM, so made it out on the bike trail much earlier.  Saw four deer, three of them spotted fawns. Spent most of the day either on the internet or packing clothes for the vacation tomorrow.  In the evening, watched the first third of Tin Man, a Sci-Fi mini-series.  Interesting take on Oz. 

Day 70: Friday, July 23, 2010 - Mike

Ran a short route on one of the warmest mornings of the summer so far.  In the afternoon, Beth and Elon S. came by the house to visit.  We had lunch with them at Diamonds Restaurant then came back to the house to chat a bit more. Nice to see them after so long.   Their two children are 3 and 1.  Ros resurrected some old toys we haven't seen in 9 or 10 years, and I could help but be reminded of Toy Story 3.

Watched some recorded shows in the evening.  Got to bed late.

Day 69: Thursday, July 22, 2010 - Mike

Biked to Rock Springs in the morning, while it was still pretty cloudy.  Read much of the day and finished off The Hunger Games.  In the evening, Ros went to her movie class and I ferried Will around to mini-golf and Dairy Queen with his peers.

Day 68: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 - Mike

Did a shorter jog today, then ran up to the office for a bit after getting a Starbuck's with Ros.  Spent the majority of the day reading The Hunger Games.

Had an EOW, which ended up being family night.  Michael H. and his family came over, and Stephen and his family came over too.  Eric came over for a while also.  

Day 67: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - Mike

Tuesday. A rainy, storming day.  Not that it made it any less hot.  Managed to get in a longer bike ride, about 11 miles or so.  Worked on an Adviser/Advisee report at work all day.  In between, went with the family to Panera's for lunch.

Ros had book club in the evening, so Will and I played some Halo while she was out.