Looking for a home

I'm beginning to realize that we won't be here a whole lot longer and it makes me feel sad that we'll only be here a few more weeks. The time has gone quickly. Part of me feels ready to get somewhere and become more settled in. I'm anxious to find permanent living arrangements. But another part of me is definitely going to miss this area, the new friends I've made, and all the pottery opportunities available here.

Oh yeah, and the food!! For a town that only boasts 80,000 permanent residents, there sure is a LOT of food! I'm sure that the tourist industry and semi-permanent residents play a huge role in that fact.

From a health standpoint, it's probably a good thing we're NOT staying! This week I found a great BBQ place. Even better than Fiddlin' Pig! (Well, they don't have live music like the Pig, but the food is better - and cheaper!) It's called 12 Bones Smokehouse and it's located about 1 block away from where I do my pottery!! How convenient! The only INconvenience is that they only serve lunch, they're open 11-4 Mon - Fri. And I believe that there's a line out the door no matter what time of day or day of the week you stop in. That's cuz it's gooooooood!! and reasonably priced as I mentioned....a pulled pork sandwich with 2 sides is 6 bucks. Delicious sides too, I might add. I opted for the jalepeno grits and mashed sweet potatoes. They must've had 20 people working behind the counter! It's definitely not a fancy joint. I noticed the thermostat said it was only 59 degrees inside. I guess it keeps the help from over-heating. Anyways, if you're ever in Asheville, you need to visit 12 Bones. I stood in line 20 minutes to get my food and it was definitely worth the wait!!

We think we may have found a campgrounds to stay at in Indiana while we're waiting for the grand-son to arrive (and looking for our new home.) It's called Hidden Paradise and it's located in St. Paul, Indiana. It's about 50 minutes SW of Dustin and Megan's place. I actually came across them when I was on the geocaching website. I think our friends from Cincinnati found a cache there. What really caught my eye was that I saw there was a cache hidden there that you have to scuba dive in order to find! That intrigued me!

The campgrounds has a 15 acre spring fed rock quarry thats average depth is 25 feet. They claim that visibility is usually 10-15 feet. There are also some sunken "treasures" like a sail boat and a mini-bus. Additionally they introduced paddle fish in 2001 and claim that they're now 3-4 feet long. It gives scuba divers something to look at I s'pose. During the late summer they say you might encounter rare, fresh-water jelly-fish. They're not very large, the size of a quarter, and non-venomous. Steve and I don't scuba dive ourselves, but his brother and our neices are certified and would probably enjoy paddling around. Maybe we can talk them into finding the cache!!

Of course they also allow swimming in the quarry and have what they refer to as a "water-park" which basically consists of inflatable slides, rafts, etc. I think it sounds like a fun place for the family to come and visit and won't be too far of a drive for our Ohio clan and our Indiana clan. Oh yeah, and the Kentucky clan.

It's a fairly large campgrounds with over 160 sites, plus a few cabins. Some of the sites are on a river that runs through the campgrounds. I think it sounds nice and I think we'll enjoy staying there more than at the Indy KOA which, of course, is right next to the highway. It's probably near the area that we'll be looking to settle in so that will be convenient for house-hunting.

Now I better sign off, it sounds like Twiggy wants to go for a walk.