Escape from Wintery Ohio

It took a few extra weeks for the dogs and I to make our way out of Ohio but we have accomplished the feat as of last week.   I hung around the extra weeks so that I could participate in the real estate closing on my father's property and my brother didn't have to sit at the table by himself and sign away what had been my father's dream of retirement life.  My father spend the last 30 years of his life on the acres and in the house he help design.  Sadly, for me the house had so many bad memories of my step-mother's life style and presence, my heart did not pine away at the table as much as it might have.  

We used to hang out at the old barn that my father had converted to his workshop and my step mother could never quite understand why we hadn't come over to the "nice" house to visit with her, yet.  His barn was his sanctuary and all of us will miss those times and hold those memories fast even though the barn burned over ten years ago.

He rebuilt a nice workshop structure but by those years his health has slipped enough that he just never got to "play" out there in quite the same manner.  

But the chapter of stewardship of the property is now officially closed. Another retired gentleman and his wife will be using now and watching their grandchildren explore the woods.  I hope he likes a nice workshop to play in.

The escape from Ohio took place three days after the closing and took the dogs and I off towards Knoxville and into a winter storm.  Heading down I-75 the roads were clear but the trees around Lexington and south had the sparkly glaze of ice that made me sorry that Stuart couldn't handle the camera without thumbs.  We were aiming for the Escapee's Raccoon Valley RV Park a little north of Knoxville.

Knoxville. Apparently that was the hitch in the excellent plans.  Though the last 15 miles of I-75 before the exit for the park, looked just fine, the drivers in Knoxville proper had been dumped on by 2 inches of snow just before rush hour and as a result the interstates in and around Knoxville had turned into parking lots. The eighteen wheelers and myself sat out on the interstate and waited. Luckily we did not have to park out there all night.  I sat still for a hour and then we slowly moved forward. All together it took me 2.5 hours to make those last 7 miles.  But all the time I was also being very thankful that I was warm and not part of some multiple car pile up (as I heard the drivers around Cincinnati experienced today.)   Did I mention that I was glad to have made it out of Ohio. Temps are expected down to 4 degree in Ohio tonight and tomorrow.  Brr Shiver.....

Anyway, though the campground was a frozen ice rink on Friday morning when I got ready to head on down the road, the interstates were all open and moving well.  Could have been because all the schools were cancelled for the day and folks in Knoxville don't know how to drive after three flakes of snow and had decided to stay home after the night before.

We made it to Charlotte, NC, after uneventful driving and found sunshine and good hiking. We stayed at a County Nature Preserve that maintains a modest campground.  We were less than 30 minutes from my daughter and it made easy traveling in to meet up for dinners both Sat and Sun evenings. It was all very convenient without sucking all the life out of their weekend with a need to "entertain" the Mother/MIL parked in the driveway.

Stuart and Remi and I got to enjoy the wonderful January weather and sunshine that periodically passes through Charlotte.  We were able to hike enough to begin to build back some of our endurance for keeping up with our friend Liz later in FL and we did so without maiming any major muscle groups.

Winter in the Charlotte area. 

"No, Stuart. No swimming on the schedule today...but you can dream."

Lake Wylie is also ringed by "small" cottages and boat docks and fancy boats.  I don't think I need to price any of these properties.

Before we headed off to our restaurant reservations. Yes, we were that fancy and it was "Restaurant Week" in Charlotte ....  My daughter, Kate, provided me with a private tour of her studio that she is using during her three month sabbatical.  The building was a huge old stone church that had been deserted for years and suffered a serious fire that destroyed the entire interior.  It was then purchased and transformed into an Art Center for the entire area with exhibition areas, artist studios and space for community art classed and workshops.  The pictures show how the studios still have the original brick walls of the interior of the church. The outside is all stone....  The windows are all new but retain the shapes of the original church windows.   My father is somewhere smiling to see his granddaughter make good use of his red tool chests.

Kate is a High Art Teacher for the Charlotte schools and applied for the sabbatical last year. She teaches high school art but as an Artist she is currently focusing on working with metals and, for the purpose of the sabbatical, specifically jewelery.  She continues to receive her teaching salary, receives a stipend for supplies and the sub in her classroom is paid for......   The other handful of artists currently in residence come from across the nation and represent diverse backgrounds and focus.  Life is good. She is enjoying her time tremendously.

After a wild late night on the town, I got to walk some of the dinner off on Sunday with Stuart's encouragement.  It was another fine 60 degree NC day with sunshine. 

Monday, as this most recent cold front was bearing down on Charlotte, we packed up the rig and headed further south in search of good hiking weather.  We are now sitting a little west of Charleston, SC, in a small Passport America RV park and have filled our water tank with confidence that the worst of the cold is behind us.  We are officially un-winterized until such time we have to head back to Ohio....