Our November, So Far: New Motorcycles, New Purpose and Hiking

 Well, November sure has started out with a bang! We've been busy the past couple of weeks, and it's been awesome.😃

New Motorcycles

Our son, Henry, has been talking about getting a motorcycle for months now, and instead of trying to discourage him (it wouldn't have worked, if we'd tried), we decided to join him! So now we're all signed up to take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's riding course at our local Harley Davidson in December. 

Bill and I bought matching bikes, so we're ready to learn! We each got a Honda Rebel 1100 DCT. His is a gunmetal gray, and mine is a deep burgundy, and they're beautiful! Henry's bike won't get here from the Kawasaki place for another month or two, so he's anxiously awaiting his 2024 Kawasaki Ninja 650 KRT. He's working hard saving money up for it in the meantime.

The Emerald Outback

The day after we bought our bikes, we decided to go hiking on the Emerald Outback Trails in Beech Mountain, NC. There's an old, closed down theme park up there called "The Land of Oz." It's a Wizard of Oz-themed park that was open from 1970-1980. These days, they open once a year in the autumn for a festival. Unfortunately, we missed it this year, but we took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed out on the trails nearby.

Lots to do in Beech Mountain

Fred's General Mercantile was a neat store full of all kinds of goodies and had a delicious smell of bacon wafting up from the deli downstairs.

After a visit to the mercantile, we hit the trails for a four-mile hike. We took the Emerald Outback Outer Loop to Oz Road. The "Emerald" Outback was a perfect name for this area, due to all of the lovely green present all along the trails.

We had a gorgeous view of the surrounding mountains.

New Purpose

After taking early retirement this summer from teaching, I've been searching for something worthwhile to do with my time. I began volunteering for Carolina Caring at their thrift shop, the Hospice Resale Shop. 

Carolina Caring provides hospice, palliative and primary care to seriously ill patients in Western NC. The resale shop assists in raising funds for support of the organization. After volunteering there for a few months, I've been hired as a part-time store associate. 

I spent several days last week in training and worked my first paid shift at the store last Thursday.

Interestingly enough, after lots of prayer this summer for God to show me a new purpose, I saw this button at the register one day while shopping in the Hospice Resale Shop. I took it as a sign and joined as a volunteer.

The other new purpose I've found in the past few months is writing. I love it! I started a blog called bluebirdfit! I also created an author page on Amazon, where I've been writing and publishing journals, such as the Healthy Habits Journal. It was my first book and was published last week!

My goal in both of my new purposes is to help others. I just want to make a difference for good in other people's lives. I miss that part of teaching, so I searched and found it in other ways.

Moses H. Cone Memorial Park

Last weekend, Bill and I took a trip to Blowing Rock, NC, to hike at Moses H. Cone Memorial Park. We challenged ourselves to hike the longest distance we've done so far- 14 miles! What an absolutely lovely day!

view of Cone Manor from Bass Lake

the old carriage house on the estate

our perfect picnic spot

I love the silhouettes of the trees and the shadows they make without their leaves.

on top of Rich Mountain

the Cone Manor

This sweet deer came out of the woods and crossed the trail behind us.

Bass Lake

There is just something so special about late autumn. Most of the trees have lost their brightly-colored leaves, and they are content, falling asleep for winter. The sun shines differently, and everything just seems golden. It's a perfect time for Thanksgiving, and that's what I feel - so very thankful.

Thank you for joining our journey! Until next time... 💙