Cappy's Corner

6 STATES, 9 DAYS

Day 5

First off, I want to apoligize for the delay in getting day 5 to my viewers, most of you know that I was busy.

Though not as exciting as yesterday, we still had a blast....The usual start in the morning, and then off to the Pisgah National Forest. As we were in route, we passed a sign that said "Blue Ridge Parkway", so we decided that it would probably be beautiful so "let's drive it". Well, after driving for about 2 hours, we realized that we were in the wrong spot. AHHHHHH!!! We had traveled north two hours instead of south. Ok to be honest, I literally cried. I didn't want to take more time to get where we wanted to go, it wasn't that far to begin with. The good thing about it is that we did get to travel the parkway, and see tunnels and overlooks. One of the overlooks was at 4000'.

We also got to see the Cherokee Indian Village. It was a little town, so we drove straight through. Now, lets try that again, this time no Blue Ridge Parkway.

So we are on our way to Sliding Rock, a natural formation at the bottom of a fast moving stream. As soon as we arrived at the rock, the kids ran out and went to the stream directly in front of the RV. They were ready to get wet. We first had to have lunch, then they were free to play. They changed once again. Their suits pretty much remained wet. We walked down the steps to the bottom, just to walk back up the rock to slide down. Well of course, I had to go, at least once to say "I did it". It is cold as can be, 52 degrees. So, that was enough for me. The kids on the other hand spent two hours going up and down the rock. Jason and his bunch were not able to go as often. Jazzy was just plain ole afraid, JT was too little and Jason had to watch JT. Jason did get to go a few times, but he was also very happy watching JT play in the shallow part of the stream. Jeff was hooked instantly, he couldn't get enough. There were rules for sliding down the rock, but my group wouldn't listen. They slid down on their belly's and backwards, both no no's. What can you do, kids will be kids. They were having fun and no one got hurt, that's whats important.

We made one more stop after leaving Sliding Rock. Only a mile or so down the road was another waterfall. It was not as impressive in size as Cumberland Falls, but just as pretty. It was called Looking Glass Falls. There were some kids swimming in the water down at the bottom, that was cool.

Well, again its getting late, so we needed to find a place to camp for the night. We ended up at Black Forest Campground. Which was 5 minutes from the border of South Carolina. So I am sure that you can guess, that is where we will end up tomorrow.

2 comments  

BIMINI BOUND

7 comments | Posted in » Adventures, Fun or Disfunction, Travel Tails  

TAEKWONDO TESTING

Tonight was testing for our new belt rank. I am testing for my red belt decided, my daughter Monica and son Jason are testing for their red belt recommended.

We have to do some sparring, without contact and our form for our rank. It is a nerve racking event.

The Black Belts who are moving up in their ranks are always first and the more we sit waiting the more nervous we become. Somehow we always get up and do our performance. Sometimes we draw blanks other times it goes off without a hitch. Here are a couple of photos of myself and Monica and Jason.

2 comments | Posted in » Fun or Disfunction, Martial Arts, Photos  

6 STATES, 9 DAYS

Day 4

Well like I said before, this was going to be a great day. The regular morning routine and then off. The guys wanted to go for a hike and that we did. As we started to feel the incline we made walking sticks from what we found. We walked up part of the Appalachian Trail, it connected to the campground we were in so it was nice and easy to begin . Most of the trails that we were on were also horse trails, so it got a little messy in spots. We saw nature in the raw. There were trees down and rotting. There were little streams of water that ran down the mountain side. The air was cool and so fresh and clean. I never thought I could breathe so easy. JT was the only one to spot wildlife, in the form of a turtle. I thought it was weird to see a turtle at such a high altitude, but hey you never know. The best thing that I saw was a weed of some sort covered with ladybugs, love em. So, I'm sure that you would guess that with 5 kids were weren't able to go too far, so we didn't. We all started home to get ready to go to Fontana Village.

We got back to the RV and headed in to the village, where the kids could hang out for a while. It was only 5 minutes up the road so we wasted no time getting there. I decided, the mom that I am, to do some laundry while we were there. We all changed in to our swimsuits, had lunch and headed to the new pool and lazy river. They had just opened it two weeks ago, lucky us. It was lots of fun! Everyone spent most of the day in the little lazy river, drifting around and flipping each other out of the tubes.

Jeff and I took off on a little walk while Jason was with the kids in the pool. We found a baseball field where I showed off my skills, ha! Then we went inside what was an old house from the 1800's. There were pictures of the history of the house and the village when they were building the Fontana Dam. After seeing that we had to go check out the dam. So we went back to the pool for a little while longer and then packed everyone up and headed to the dam.

When we first reached the dam, we went to the picnic area. mainly just to see Fontana Lake, that was the high side of the dam. We found a little trail that had steps at the bottom that went right in to the lake. This was cool, of course, they had to get their feet wet. Seemed to be what happened anytime there was water.

We headed up to the top of the dam. It was amazing! The dam stood 480' tall and 2365" long. It was started in 1942 and took only 36 months to complete. It had huge spillways, which are in case the lake gets too high. Shy was interested in how far they went down so she threw some ice in one. It took a long time for it to even hit the side, not something I would want to fall in. This picture is at the top of the dam looking down to the low side, also known as the Tennessee River. If you look down on the left of the river you could see our campground. That was a scary thought, hmmm, if the dam breaks, we get washed away, ok! Whatever, this was an adventure.

3 comments | Posted in » Adventures, Fun or Disfunction, Photos, Travel Tails  

6 STATES, 9 DAYS

Day 3



Ahhh, it is morning now and its time to eat. Everyone is awake and ready for our next day. We decided to first check out our campground before leaving, since we were not able to see it when we arrived the night before. The adults switched off on the hikes because it was too dangerous for any of the kids. So off we went. The campground was not what we expected. Where our RV was parked is directly over us in this picture, you just cant see it. We walked around for some time taking pics of all the different things that we don't see here in Florida.

After we had been exhausted from walking up and down the steep incline of the mountain, we decided that it was time to start our adventure for the day. The kids were playing in the playground and they were starting to get bored, time to leave. The one great thing about having the RV was the fact that they all pile in and we go, simple!!!

We are now off to the Cumberland Falls State Park where we get to see our first waterfall. It didn't take us a long time to get there. That was, of course, driving on the Cumberland Parkway, which was a beautiful scenic route. We saw many trees as you might expect, also rivers and streams, again amazing!! I think that was my word the whole trip. So we arrived at the state park and headed towards the waterfall. We first walked out on the riverbank leading up to the waterfall. The water levels there were quite low so we were able to walk a good distance on the banks. When the kids were done looking at fish and collecting rocks, we went to the falls. Now as you know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but this was beauty beyond any imagination. My favorite pic at this spot was when I was watching Max watch the waterfall. That is beauty, the innocence of a child in nature.

The Cumberland Falls is 125' of cascading waters. It was a beautiful curtain of water. Locals had said that many, many years ago you were able to camp down at the waterfall and go behind it, where they used to tell stories and have adult beverages. Ha! I wish I could have done that!!!! We stayed at the falls for two or so hours, checking it out from every possible level. After viewing the falls, the kids had ice cream and we departed to our next spot.

Because of where we were, we had to go back through Tennessee to get to North Carolina. We arrived back in Tennessee at about 2:15 pm that same day. We stopped at a local boat ramp so that Jason could collect his rocks. We played at the waters edge for a while, skipping rocks and wading in the cold water. JT was not supposed to go in being fully clothed, but sometimes you just can't help wanting to get wet, and he did.

We continued our trip to North Carolina. We knew towards dawn that we were getting close. We pulled off the road when we noticed smoke covering the roads and the water. We must be in the Smoky Mountains now, if not, we are real close. We realized then how the Smoky Mountains got their name. Jeff and Jason took off to take pics and I stayed back with the kids. The smoke of the mountains engulfed them as I watched from a distance. It was a little cold and creepy, like out of a horror flick. When we first arrived at this spot, you could see a bridge in the background. By the time we left, the bridge was covered with smoke. Awesome!

1 comments | Posted in » Adventures, Fun or Disfunction, Photos, Travel Tails  

THE HOME-SCHOOLING DEBATE

How can we not be a part of our children's education? The public school system finds ways to involve us, by assigning children science projects before they can spell the word science. Guess who has to do the work. Hours and hours are spent on homework, what are the kids doing all those hours during the day. My grandchildren learned to read at home, thank goodness, who knows when they would have learned in public school.

I hear so many people say I don't have time, I don't have the ability. If they look at the work they do with their children after school that's enough time to school them. The teachers today have their hands tied. They are so busy teaching the kids to pass tests that are motivated by politics and budgets. The funny thing about these tests are if the kids fail they are not promoted, but if they pass the kids don't get a grade or credit for all their work. Does this sound right to you? Is this preparing our children for the future, I am getting old enough to know that the children are our future. What are we looking ahead towards, cuts in the salaries of the teachers who are responsible for making our new law makers, dentists, vets, judges and perhaps even a president. It's time to step up to the plate and be the Teacher of your children, look at it this way, your already doing it. Now you can teach them what is important without wasting their time, they will have more time to explore, create and invent.

4 comments | Posted in » Fun or Disfunction, Politics  

GETTING OLD

My sister June mailed this to me, I wish I knew the author, I would give credit where credit is due.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometimes despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long.
I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend.
I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.
I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon?
I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love .. I will.
I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set . They, too, will get old.
I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.
Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when some body's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.
As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.
So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it)

MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART! MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE AND IN YOUR HEART FOREVER AND EVER!

3 comments | Posted in » Fun or Disfunction  

THE BUCKET LIST

Now this is a must see movie The Bucket List. I watched this movie the other night and it was certainly an eye opener. How many people go through life without enjoying the things they wish for. The acting was superb and the story was something everyone can relate to. I am going to make my own bucket list, of course I have pretty much experienced most of my list already. I have done so much in my life time I am not sure what is left to add. I have gotten to the point in the movie, where I realize what is really important in life. I hope that everyone gets a chance to see this movie, without giving away the ending it is a life changing movie. If I was going to rate this movie it would get 4 stars, that's because no body gets 5.

2 comments | Posted in » Movie Review  

6 STATES, 9 DAYS

Day 2

So here is Jeff inside the cave behind me. All the metal behind him is stairs that we took to get to the bottom. I am not sure the exact number, but it was somewhere around 3000 steps to get all the way down. I have lots of pics of rocks, which I have been told are just "rocks", so I will not bore you with those.

We had lunch in the RV when the tour was over. Then we started en route to Daniel Boone National Forest. We arrived at the campground and had dinner. We stayed up for a while and then down for the night.

Stay tuned for Day 3, coming soon!!!

1 comments | Posted in » Adventures, Fun or Disfunction, Photos, Travel Tails  

6 STATES, 9 DAYS

Day 1


Well the main question here is can it be done?? I can honestly say "yes, it can". I didn't think at any point that it couldn't, but I did think how much we would actually see in that time. Well proven wrong I was. We left on a 9 day journey through 6 states with 8 people. Maybe I should play those numbers...



So our journey starts off at around 4:30 pm on Friday the 30th of May. In tow are 5 kids and 3 adults. Along with everything we need for camping. Everyone is nestled in to their own spots, and we take off.



To start the trip was Jeff, we figured since he drove fire trucks he could handle this 30' RV. Just as we expected, no problems. Along the way the kids colored and played games. Not too long after, they all made their beds and went to sleep. We crossed the border of Florida and Georgia at 12:34 am. We were on our way through Atlanta to Alabama.


Jeff drove most of the night, until he could no more. Jason was next. Not as comfortable as Jeff, but he did good nevertheless. I slowly dazed off trusting that the guys knew what they were doing to get us where we were planning. During my nap we crossed into Alabama at 6:21 am. We then arrived in the Talladega National Forest. I awoke to the sun shining in the RV. It was absolutely the most beautiful thing I had seen. We were at the top of a mountain looking down.






Magnificent!!!! We took a few more pics and headed down the mountain to find something to do. We drove up and down through different mountains for about 30 minutes, until we come across a sign that looked like something to check out.



Lake Cheaha Park. It was soo cool. The lake was at the bottom of the mountains. It was beautiful. Since at this point no one had really eaten. We decided to park here, eat and play for a while. It was a quiet little place at the foothills of the mountains. The restroom and changing area was an old building made of stone. In the middle of the lake was a floating dive platform. Definitely a place to hang out for the day.



The kids decided very quickly that they were going to swim out to the platform and jump off the two story structure. The water was cold and there was no way that I was going with them. So off they went, Sam was first, he is brave. Shortly behind was Shy. It was real neat to watch them swim out there and jump off the platform.

They did this for hours. During the course of the day, I was taking all kinds of pictures. A particular butterfly caught my eye and I figured that I would try some macro shots. Well to my surprise, just as I gave up and sat down, the butterfly landed on me. It was amazing. It stayed on me for about a 1/2 hour. I got some amazing pics!!!

It was a great day, but it was starting to get late. We had to find camp.

2 comments | Posted in » Adventures, Animal Antics, Fun or Disfunction, Photos, Travel Tails  

GRADUATION DAY

2 comments | Posted in » Fun or Disfunction, Photos  

FATHERS DAY TRIBUTE

1 comments | Posted in » Fun or Disfunction, Photos  

RESUMPTION OF TURMOIL

I knew all this peace would end. I had no idea it would jump up in the middle of my sleep, like a nightmare. I expected the RV'ers to be here in the evening, not 3am. My best friend in the whole world, Shelah had set some surprises up for my kids. Monica, my lovely daughter has this thing about any object being close to the edge of the furniture. We can't even take Monica to a restaurant without her moving peoples water glasses off the edge, it drives her that crazy, almost as bad as clothing tags sticking out. Shelah and I went into Monica's room with the intention of putting up a birthday banner, in addition we put anything we could find, lamps, staple gun, animal cages, picture frames, pillows, everything was hanging over the edge. I couldn't wait to see her face when she walked into her room. I waited and finally she went in the room, I followed and waited for her reaction. Her eyes opened wide and she hardly got inside the room before she started moving everything back in its original place, she moved everything even things we didn't touch, the whole time she was laughing, mumbling Shelah's name under her breath.

Now wide awake, Jason, my son told me that I had to look at every picture he had taken of the trip. There must have been over 500 pictures, I heard the stories and the events. You think he could have waited for morning, oooops it is morning.


Shelah, Jeff and myself have a little prank for Jason, I went off to work leaving Jason sleeping on the couch. Finishing work for the day I head home to find Jason's car gone. I was wondering how long it had been since he left when the phone rang, I answered in a casual voice "hello" When I heard my sons surprised voice, "I hoped to come home to a nice clean house like I left it!", he shouted. As we were talking on the phone I could hear bottles clinking then Jason saying "shit", he started to laugh as he was discovering more and more sneaky surprises. Condoms stuck on the mirrors, messages from Shelah written in lipstick on the mirrors, bathtub full of balloons, beer bottles all over the place, pictures of us doing things around his house, strategically placed, covering over the toilet, totem in his bed, with a smoke and a condom next to it, streamers, balloons and confetti everywhere. Jason couldn't help laughing since he is the King of pranks. I think everybody should have friends like Shelah, Jeff and especially a mom like me.

1 comments | Posted in » Fun or Disfunction  

FIRST TO PASS OUT AT A PARTY

What happened to me last night, after a couple of bottles of wine at my friends Shelah and Jeff, well we played in the pool, had a great time, I cant remember until I went to http://www.queeniesplace.com/ on my morning read and nearly had a heart-attach. I didn't think I got that drunk , but this is how I ended up click to see WARNING ADULT CONTENT

1 comments | Posted in » Fun or Disfunction  

IS SUMMER COMING?

In South Florida, we don't really have Summer and Winter, we have wet and dry. Which is perfect for my taste. I heard from a friend today who resides in Alaska, definitely my next vacation choice. Bruce sent me a photo of himself in the great outdoors and told me Winter is still holding... and I know for certain, this southerner is glad she lives here. My lawn mower would never get through that. Bruce how did you find your car to get to the store?

No Comment | Posted in » Fun or Disfunction, Photos  

BIRTHDAY'S TODAY

Who is on the birthday list for today, my group has a couple of birthdays. The first is my daughter, Monica. Who sometimes I think takes after me more and more. My gang is off RVing around the mountains, they plan on 5 states in 9 days. Good thing there are three drivers. I haven't heard from them except once, they must be busy. My son and daughter and the combined 5 kids, with of course my daughters special someone, this poor guy doesn't know what he's getting into. I am having a vacation myself, this house is just as quiet as a mouse, what am I thinking, with 9 cats running around and the dogs and all the others demanding my attention, who's kidding. Pets are just as bad as kids.
The other bird-day is my parrot Shela, she is 3 years old today, do I get her a cake, perhaps she would like some broccoli instead or maybe some figs.
Happy Birthday to all the other June 4th babies.
Tomorrow is another birthday, a little girl named Joan, she lives in Arusha, Tanzania in East Africa, she is 6 tomorrow. Joan is the daughter of our guide on Safari when I was visiting Africa a couple of years ago. I keep in touch with her dad and my good friend Gaddy, I call him the Town Maasi, that's another story.
I have so many stories to tell and adventures, as they come to my old brain and time permits I will forward them to you.

2 comments | Posted in » Fun or Disfunction, Photos  

WHAT I FOUND IN THE TRASH

Long ago when my daughter Monica was a very little girl, she asked a question that most kids ask "Where did I come from?" My mother was standing near and heard the question and she decided to give the answer to her first grandchild. My mother told her that she was found in a dumpster behind a Denny's, she told Monica we were going to get in the car that was parked behind the restaurant and heard crying. So we went over to where the sounds came from, a boost up and in the dumpster we looked. There she was a beautiful little baby girl. But there was something strange about her, she had a handle sticking out of her head. Well mom thought that is a great way to carry this little girl, we pulled the baby out of the dumpster by the handle. We named her Monica, cleaned and dressed her, grew her up as our own. As time went by the handle broke off. My mom said to Monica, feel the top of your head, there is a bump there where the handle broke off.

Monica was completely satisfied with the story, once in a while you would see her feeling the top of her head, remembering what my mom had told her. Time passed and she grew, we never told her that it wasn't true. When she got older she figured it out. It was fun while it lasted.

2 comments | Posted in » Fun or Disfunction, Question of the Month  

MONDAY MORNINGS

Seems like there will be a long week ahead. I am going to try to get my work done early today. I have quite a bit of work to do, I should get an early start but I am not a morning person. My animals are running all over the house and beginning the demands for food and attention. That will be the first thing on the agenda. I have two customers and then I may get a chance to eat before going to TaeKwonDo class, it will be my first time back in a couple of weeks, I am getting old and my knees seem to be the first thing to go.

3 comments | Posted in » Fun or Disfunction  

A DAY AT MY ZOO

I love animals, my problem is everyone knows it and thats how I have so many. Let me start with the dogs, I have 2 dogs, 9 cats, 2 ferrets, 3 parrots, my daughter has 2 rats and a bearded dragon.
Today was my day, to scrub and excersie the lot of them. The ferrets had their bath, the birds are easy, the cats, don't submit readily, but I always win. My Maltese (Bogart) is the worst, he doesn't know he is a fufu dog and gets into everything. What is in the yard always ends up in the livingroom by the end of each day. The fun part is all these animals play together. The ferrets and the parrots (except Cash the Cockatiel)are at the top of the chain. The Umbrella Cockatoo is my baby, I got her after a trip to Australia, her name is Shela, when I got her she hardly had feathers.
Can you imagine what I go through to leave town. I do have the best, I mean the best animal sitters in the world, that is besides me, it's my Queenie, my fabulous friend. My sister-law is always there when I need her too, Margo has been my best friend for over 35 years, I think I'll keep her.
I have to spend the whole afternoon at this chore. Every morning at my zoo it's feeding time. God forbid if I try to sleep in, my dogs both jump all over me until I let them out. The cats are meowing for food. The rest of the gang is calm. It takes me an hour and then off I go to work. I don't work weekends, unless it's on the boat. I can work on the water everyday without a problem. Before I go to bed at night the same ritual begins and in the middle of the day the caged animals have to come out to play. I can watch them for hours.
It is a great place for the kids to come and play, A local petting zoo.

1 comments | Posted in » Animal Antics, Fun or Disfunction  

Question of the Month

This months question is:

What is the best thing you ever found digging through the Trash?

Lets see what kind of trash you got. Go to the comments and see what we found and tell us what you found!

7 comments | Posted in » Question of the Month