Healing Time

Linda, Rocky and I were understandably tired from the 6 hour journey home but at the same time we were rejuvenated at the same time just for spending time in the beauty of the mountains with it's lush summer growth. Rocky made a new friend while there. A white Jack Russell Terrier, who seems to just make his rounds to all the cabins during the day was very friendly and naturally they had a good time checking each other out. Sad to say business is down in Maggie Valley and lots of merchants are suffering, going out of business or lowering prices trying to survive. I made a new friend, John, at Smokey Mountain Gifts who closed for 3 months last winter but plans to close 6 months this winter as they spend time in Florida. The only place that seems to unaffected by the slow down is Joey's Pancake House who was loaded with business each morning. He does one thing very well and only has to be open until 12 noon each day serving breakfast items. It had been dry in Maggie Valley but the rains sure came this weekend. It was raining when we left Monday and I felt sorry for the many bikers that were there and probably heading home. We finally ran out of it about half way home so I know it must have been a miserable journey for them. We passed some headed west on I40 that would have run into the bad weather. Aside from the limited negatives we are better just for spending time there and can relive in our minds the many memories we accumulated to keep us going for some time.