North Carolina Week 5
“At times you have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.”
I anticipated this being brief… alas, it’s not. My last week in Scaly was a bit shorter, but full of joy, surprise, vistas, happy tears of overwhelm, and magick nonetheless. I was only able to squeeze one more hike in due to a freelance job rolling in last minute, (in addition to my regular day job as always), and I’m not one to turn down work. So I cried about it for a minute, then buckled in to enjoy the last few days just as they were. The last hike of my trip was Whiteside Mountain, which I did on Monday and only encountered two other humxns. It was a perfect last hike because most of the way up was views on views on views, and the way down was a fairly wide and gentle decline. AND I had actually done this very hike about 10 years prior with Piggie and Mandy, so there was some sweetness in the return with Fins and myself.
On the day before my departure, I finally made time to visit Scaly Mountain Crafters. I was greeted by the vibrant and kind owner, Darren, and after I mentioned where I was staying he said, “OH! You’re the artist!”. I learned that Sandy had been in there the day before, as she often is, and had told them all about me. What an incredibly special feeling. I chatted with him for a bit and learned about he and his wife’s (Michelle) shop. They are artists and wood crafters and experienced the life altering shift that Covid had on their artist booth business. It was fated when the little building they now inhabit became available. The decided to open their own shop, which includes space to do their wood turning and crafting, host classes, and sell their wares. Their mission is to serve the local community and be a space for other artists to be featured. A portion of every sale is dedicated to providing meals for local needs. I snagged a couple of gifts for my family and promised to spend more time there when I come back some day.
On Friday I started my trek back to Ohio, but added in some stops along the way. I spent an evening in Nashville and had a super yummy dinner at Lyra, waited in an excruciatingly hip and long line for one tiki drink at Pearl Diver, then landed at maybe one of my most favorite bars ever, Greenhouse Bar. It’s a bar, in a greenhouse.
Saturday I made my way to Lexington to perhapst my Airbnb to date (and I’ve been Airbnbing for a decade or so)! The sweetest, coziest, and also perplexing cabin. Perplexing in the contrast of the wifi code (John 3:16), sprinkled with some Tom Robbins, Christmas trees, cat wall art, and some watercolor paintings that had a tinge of nudity. I enjoyed this contrast very much as it was layered and interesting and allows your mind to wonder what the owners might be like. I didn’t venture out of the cabin because I was beyond tired, and just happy to be surrounded by such sparkly, cozy, comfort. And a quiet room with a king sized bed.
Sunday I finished my drive to Ohio, where I’ll be until the end of December. The next leg of the journey will be in January as I make my way to New Mexico for the month. There will indeed be stops along the way.
Thank you ALL for reading this, commenting, texting, dm-ing, facebook commenting, all of it. It’s been one of the most incredible experiences so far. One I couldn’t have imagined. I am so glad I am willing to follow the little sparks of the soul. When I don’t know the why, where, how, and even who, but am willing to show up and let whatever it is unfold. The connections I’ve made, and experiences I’ve had leave me with such an overwhelming feeling of joy and gratitude. And I can’t wait to keep going. So this is all for now. Part one (or season one as my friend Kim T. said, ) if you will. To be continued…
As always, love Jessica, Finley, and Pito.
