Hi,
Something different this week. For one reason and another, we didn’t get out this week other than to the grocery store and the pharmacy. But that is not the end of the world. Stay tuned and we will do our best next week to take you someplace exciting and wonderful.
As many of you know, I have always talked about moving to Europe when I retired. Of course, in my dreams of a European retirement, I included winning the lottery and living in a castle with rooms available for all my friends and family to visit or live with me. It was a lovely dream, with ties to my youth and hopes for the future. And while I did not manage to win the lottery and buy a castle, we did manage (with help from everyone) to move ourselves and the dogs to Portugal a few years earlier than we had planned. We opted to retire early due to several health issues. We wanted to experience life in Europe while we still could.
For the past year and a half, we have done our best to see what Portugal has to see and learn about life here. We have also done our best to keep you all involved by posting pictures and telling stories here. We love what we have found here, but we will never forget what we have left behind. Each place has good and less-than-good qualities, and this week we are focusing on the good (places and people) that we love in America.
Our happiest place was our house in Marietta. A home is comfortable, and we were lucky to have wonderful friends and family to drop by and share our life there. We loved hosting parties, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, marathon game weekends, and simple chats on Friday evenings. I will always remember our time there fondly.
Also committed to memory are the times we travelled together. My favorite places include Southwest Harbor in Maine, Savannah Georgia, and the various mountain cabins in North Carolina we shared. It’s a little sad that I was not good at taking pictures back then. I honestly am not sure if I just didn’t take pictures because I didn’t like being in pictures and assumed nobody else did either, or if I took pictures but lost them. Either way, hopefully these few will help you remember. In order listed above:
Southwest Harbor, Maine
Savannah, Georgia, Bonaventure Cemetary
Hummingbird Lodge at Highlands Pass – Franklin, NC
Bryson City, North Carolina
Lake Lure, North Carolina
Love to everyone, and I hope this walk down memory lane made you smile. Looking forward to seeing you all sometime in the near future.
Nola
PS: Princess Dawn Aurora and Princess Leia grace one of the Bryson City cabin pictures. Shout out to Leia – Opal and Onyx miss you so much! As for Dawn and her sister Dusk, we will never forget you sweetie-peeties.