WE LOVE AMERICA - NORTH CAROLINA

It was with some regret that we realized that the time had come to return home and end this wonderful journey. We have seen this country from a new perspective and have a greater appreciation of what a wonderful and diverse place we have in which to live. Our sense of love for America has grown many fold and we are thankful.
Driving out of Wilmington, we headed into the heart of North Carolina, a state wrapped in forests and hills, cupping little towns and villages in its midst and providing a lush environment to foster a love of the outdoors and nature. Initially we chose not to follow the freeway, but take other roads, leading through the woods and farms and we enjoyed the changing colors as Autumn creeps and nestles into the bushes and trees preparing for the blanketing cold of winter. Everywhere we looked, the tints and tones of leaf change enriched the visual senses.






Along the way, we passed through little towns with names such as Whiteville, Lumberton, Laurinburg and Hamlet, reflecting the founders, the industry and the ethnicity of the area. As we traveled deeper into the forested country, more and more logging trucks eased onto the road, heavily laden with freshly cut pine trunks, wafting over us the sweet odor of pines. The choice of the town name of Lumberton became obvious. Rivers and streams threaded through clefts and defiles, moistening the air and refreshing the surrounding plant life.
Since it was the harvest season, we were treated with the gift of finding a wayside stand, bursting with produce and the goodness of this productive land.



Inside the stand, we found onions, apples, potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, peppers and plums and a cornucopia of other offerings. Tomatoes, turnips and fine orange pumpkins spoke of the local bounty. The shelves were lined with bottles of apple butter, purple sweet potato butter, cherry and apple cider and Scupernog, a cider like, golden liquid, found mostly in the south. We contented ourselves with purchasing a few apples and a bottle of sweet potato butter. We passed on pickled eggs and cucumbers, onion relish and other enticing bottles. If turned loose, I might have purchased too much, simply to try and test the tastes and to increase the IQ.



Wending our way higher into the mountains, each twist and turn unveiled more color and beauty and we thrilled with the Lord's painted handiwork, His palate graced with colors almost impossible to duplicate.
We noted a sign indicating a school for the development of arts and crafts, sponsored by North Carolina University and offering a gallery and gift shop. The location, high in the hills, proffered the chance to find more lovely items and to add to our experiences. We left the route we had followed, and wove up and up higher into the hills. We rounded a bend and before us spread the magnificent Lake Norman, tranquil and lovely in the rounded, forest carpeted hills. However, the road passed over an arm of the lake, on a towering bridge currently undergoing reconstruction. As we drove across, the bridge rattled and creaked and seemed to be swaying and dancing with the vibration. We both questioned its soundness, but safely got to the other side, with some sense of relief, until we realized that we had to retrace our course.



A picture snapped crossing the bridge does not do justice to the view or the anxiety. We could understand the need for reconstruction.



When not on the bridge, the view lifted our spirits and added to the portfolio of rich beauty we have seen and experienced. The art center focused on the works of the students, many of which, especially the glass and wood works, were wonderful. But those for sale were priced beyond a reasonable level and while we enjoyed the interlude, we left without a purchase. We continued on through this spectacular, mountain richness to stop in Asheville, NC. So far, our whole journey has been an excursion through the wonders and creations of God and a land of greatness which we love more and more.