June 1st through June 11th
Day One
We arrived at Denny and Susan’s home on Stone Mt., near Unicoi, TN, on Wednesday afternoon. They actually live in Limestone Cove, but there address is Unicoi. After setting up our motor home on the RV pad that is at the top of their lot, we spent the afternoon sitting on their porch, catching up, and enjoying the fantastic view. They have some great rocking chairs that complete the experience. Of course we had to sample some of the local fine spirits, made right there in the hills. The view is of a range of mountains that rise up across the valley from their house. That evening Denny and Susan fixed dinner for us to finish off a great first day in the Appalachian Mts.
Day Two
We started the day by walking toward the top of the mountain behind Denny and Susan’s property. We did not quite make the top but we got pretty close. Later that day Denny and Susan gave us a tour of Unicoi and Erwin, the two closest towns to where they live. We also visited Jonesborough, the oldest town in Tennessee. Jonesborough is home for the International Story Telling Center. The town also has many beautiful old houses. We finished the tour in Johnson City, the largest city near the Bokemeiers. It is has a great medical infrastructure, a large university, and just about any other amenity you would need.
Day Three
This day was reserved for hiking and looking at beautiful sights. We started off the morning by hiking for about two hours on the Appalachian Trail. This trail runs almost 2200 miles from Maine to Georgia. It also passes within about five miles of Denny and Susan’s house. Later that afternoon we hiked up Roan Mountain and the “bald” that is at the top. These are areas that have very few trees and look bald compared to the other peaks, thus the name. We finished up the day by going to the “Beauty Spot”, to watch the sunset. This involved riding in Denny’s CJ7 Jeep on rough back mountain roads. The trip was fun and Denny added to the adventure by removing the doors on the Jeep. The sunset from high on the mountain was very impressive.
Day Four
Off to the BluePlum Festival in Johnson City. There were all kinds of booths, but strangely enough, no plums were to be found. We also went to the "Hands on Museum" where Denny and Susan volunteer. This is where you see pictures of Ellen inside a fish tank. It was a very unique exhibit. Later in the day Norris and Sandra Glick came for dinner and spent the night on their way to the coast to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Denny and Susan surprised them with a cake for the occasion. They used to live in Freeport, Il, but now live in Wisconsin. They stayed in the apartment that Denny and Susan have above Denny’s workshop. The apartment is a great addition to Bokemeier’s estate, and makes a perfect spot for visiting family and friends.
Day Five
Sunday was a relaxing day with no driving about. Roger helped Denny put up the “Smokey the Bear” sign that Denny had received from a forestry friend. It is both imposing and welcoming in it’s place, towards the top of the lot contrasting against the timber line.
Day Six
On Monday all four of us went to the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC. Thanks to our nephew Jeff Heath for getting us complimentary tickets. Denny and Sue have season tickets and we were happy that they were able and willing to accompany us on the trip. The Biltmore is an extraordinary place, unfortunately we do not have many pictures since photography is prohibited inside the house. Many of the pictures are in the Biltmore winery which is also on the grounds. The building where the winery now operates was originally the estate dairy. On the way to the Biltmore, we stopped for lunch at the 12 bones BBQ restaurant. It is very good and very popular, with a line already forming at 11 am. We orderd ribs….12 bones…and split them.
Day Seven
On Tuesday Ellen and I left early for an all day, three-state road trip. We first stopped at the Bristol, TN NASCAR racetrack. There was no event this day, but a conveniently open gate allowed us to embark on a self-tour and take a few pictures. Next stop was Abingdon, VA, known for it’s historic buildings and antique shops. We stopped at numerous antique shops throughout the day. Our next destination was Mt. Airy, Andy Griffith’s hometown and un-official background city for the Television town of Mayberry. We traveled roughly one hundred miles on back mountain roads to reach Mt Airy. Sometimes we would even be able to go as fast as 35 mph, so we spent about three hours to go that hundred miles. We toured the Andy Griffith museum and visited the downtown, which cashes in on the Mayberry theme.
We traveled back to Unicoi driving cross country on some more back roads. The scenery was fantastic, but the roads were extremely curvy and narrow. We finally got back to Bokemeier’s as the sun was setting.
Day Eight
After only three short years, Denny and Susan have become quite involved in the community, including Denny’s joining the Erwin Rotary club. So, on Wednesday we attended a Rotary Club picnic with Denny and Susan. In the afternoon Roger helped Denny put up a flagpole that was originally at Susan’s parent’s house in Freeport, later moved to Denny and Susan’s house in Cedarville, and now appropriately standing majestically behind Smokey at Denny and Susan’s home in Limestone Cove.
That evening some of Denny and Susan's friends from Freeport came for dinner. They were on a week long motorcycle trip through the Appalachians. We snapped a shot of them while they were getting a tour of our motor home.
Day Nine
Denny and Susan left on this day for the Ohio to go to a family graduation and then on to Freeport to attend daughter Gretchen’s induction into the Freeport Rotary Club. We were left in charge of the estate for our last two days in Limestone Gove. We went to the Library in Erwin, to get a better Internet signal for one of Ellen’s meetings and then to Choo- Choos for lunch. This establishment is a cross between a restaurant and an antique shop. You have lunch at a table and can then buy it if you like. They also had quite the Christmas and train village displays. In the afternoon we drove to Greeneville, TN to tour Andrew Johnson’s home. The pictures of the forward control green Jeep show a vehicle that Denny has restored.
Day Ten
On our last full day in Limestone Cove, we went to Clearance’s (local popular restaurant) for breakfast--good food at 1980’s prices. We made a quick stop at T. K.’s antique shop, where we bought some dishes for Rebecca. We had a nice chat with T. K. about the area and our travels. In this part of Tennessee, you can never be in a big hurry. There is always time to chat about the weather or the events of the day, or whatever. The people are exceptionally nice and want to hear about you and also want to share with you about themselves. In the late morning, we headed back to the Appalachian Trail for one last hike. That evening we sat in front of our RV admiring the view one last time as the sun sank silently behind the mountains. This was a great stop and hard to leave this place for our next destination. The area is beautiful and Denny and Susan were absolutely gracious hosts.
Day Eleven
We were up early getting ready to leave. We spent a little time watering Susan’s garden, feeding the cat, turning off switches, and locking doors. We took one last lingering look at Denny and Susan’s amazing view and then we were off in the RV, gently brushing the leaves of the overhanging trees on the road that leads to this wonderful place.
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