chimney rock, south carolina. home of, well, chimney rock [ $15 PER PERSON to climb five hundred stairs for a view that we heard wasn't all that fantastic, frankly. so we didn't do it ] & temporary home of amber, the dear, dear, dear friend i mentioned in my last post.
i reached out to amber a few months ago [ we've been pen pals since the camino ] to let her know that luke & i were headed across her beautiful country & would be finishing our journey in british columbia, not far from tacoma, washington where she is from. but, lucky for us, it turned out she had moved to north carolina which meant we wouldn't have to wait until the end of the journey to see her. [ the world works in mysterious ways ].
we arrived in the chimney rock, lake lure area & were immediately taken with its beauty. the lake itself was lovely [ but cost $8 PER PERSON to spend the day at, & apparently the water isn't all that clean. so we didn't do it ] & the surrounding area offered lush forests, a stunning river, waterfalls &, you guessed it, a brewery - our first stop when we arrived in town & couldn't find amber's cottage. [ needed wifi. the brewery had wifi. no fee to enter the brewery. went to the brewery ].
after a chat to the brewer, the bartender & the owner about all things beer, a sticker exchange & some tasters we made our way to the agreed upon meeting spot; a stone wall on the side of the highway upon which she would be perched. & when we arrived we found her, as promised, perched on the wall, a huge smile spread across her face. i swear, i jumped from the car before luke even came to a complete stop, i wanted so badly to hug her [ those of you that know me, even just a little, know that i am a hugger, born & bred. no one can stop me & very few hug as well as i do. i've been honing this talent for years ].
a half dozen hugs & an introduction later, we three made our way up the hill to the cottage where luke & i would spend a few days relaxing thanks to amber's generous offer to have us stay with her. [ the cottage, it was beautiful. it had a front veranda with rocking chairs, tomato plants & a view of the mountain side. it also had air conditioning, a warm shower & amber ].
the two days luke & i spent with amber were glorious. we rocked on the veranda, drank wine, ran the hills, cleaned our clothes, cooked meals together, aired out the van, found ourselves happily lost in the forest, played in a waterfall & talked & talked & talked. we caught up, learned things about each other & from each other & we confirmed that this bond we formed two years ago was still very much there [ & now includes luke ].
when it came time for us to move on to asheville i found myself wishing we could stay longer. amber made us feel so welcome & made me feel so loved. i hope one day i'll have the chance to return the favour.
i reached out to amber a few months ago [ we've been pen pals since the camino ] to let her know that luke & i were headed across her beautiful country & would be finishing our journey in british columbia, not far from tacoma, washington where she is from. but, lucky for us, it turned out she had moved to north carolina which meant we wouldn't have to wait until the end of the journey to see her. [ the world works in mysterious ways ].
we arrived in the chimney rock, lake lure area & were immediately taken with its beauty. the lake itself was lovely [ but cost $8 PER PERSON to spend the day at, & apparently the water isn't all that clean. so we didn't do it ] & the surrounding area offered lush forests, a stunning river, waterfalls &, you guessed it, a brewery - our first stop when we arrived in town & couldn't find amber's cottage. [ needed wifi. the brewery had wifi. no fee to enter the brewery. went to the brewery ].
after a chat to the brewer, the bartender & the owner about all things beer, a sticker exchange & some tasters we made our way to the agreed upon meeting spot; a stone wall on the side of the highway upon which she would be perched. & when we arrived we found her, as promised, perched on the wall, a huge smile spread across her face. i swear, i jumped from the car before luke even came to a complete stop, i wanted so badly to hug her [ those of you that know me, even just a little, know that i am a hugger, born & bred. no one can stop me & very few hug as well as i do. i've been honing this talent for years ].
a half dozen hugs & an introduction later, we three made our way up the hill to the cottage where luke & i would spend a few days relaxing thanks to amber's generous offer to have us stay with her. [ the cottage, it was beautiful. it had a front veranda with rocking chairs, tomato plants & a view of the mountain side. it also had air conditioning, a warm shower & amber ].
the two days luke & i spent with amber were glorious. we rocked on the veranda, drank wine, ran the hills, cleaned our clothes, cooked meals together, aired out the van, found ourselves happily lost in the forest, played in a waterfall & talked & talked & talked. we caught up, learned things about each other & from each other & we confirmed that this bond we formed two years ago was still very much there [ & now includes luke ].
when it came time for us to move on to asheville i found myself wishing we could stay longer. amber made us feel so welcome & made me feel so loved. i hope one day i'll have the chance to return the favour.
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