Off the Grid

Since I left Burnsville, NC I have not had access to WiFi. How weird when you live your life with a computer attached at the hip to not be able to 'connect' to the outside world. I have my smartphone so have been able to receive and send short email responses, but writing here has not been possible.

So, what exactly have you been doing since you left North Carolina, you might be asking? For most of the time, I have been visiting relatives, eating fabulous, home-cooked meals, playing lots of card games, laughing, sharing stories about our childhood.

I crossed over the Blue Ridge Mountains outside of Asheville and hopped on US 411 to Maryville, TN where my cousin Mary

lives. This lovely lady used to lock me in the corn crib and throw rotten eggs in my direction whenever I visited her family farm.

Mary and I had a great visit and spent a day in Knoxville shopping and taking in a matinee showing of Crazy, Stupid Love - one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long, long time. Would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys an intelligent, adult comedy!

On the way to her house, I found my first really interesting 'must stop' place. On Hwy 411, between I-40 and Maryville, just outside of Sieverville I came upon the home of Bush's Best Beans!

Sitting in the middle of a big curve in the road is the Bush's Beans Visitor Center. I slammed on my brakes and pulled in their huge parking lot.

This place is so big - lots and lots of beans and merchandise. Even a family cafe.

I was surprised at all of the things, besides beans, that Bush's cans. I just didn't see the need to buy and lug cans of beans with me to California and back and even passed up the opportunity to buy a t-shirt with Jay and the Bush dog on the front.

I left Mary's on a bright, very hot, sunny Saturday morning and headed up the road toward Metropolis, IL - my next stop with lots more cousins. Will tell you all about it...

Next time......