Thursday, October 22, 2009

Leaves and Lunch

There are few sights more splendid than fall gold on the area waterfalls. The leaves against the black rock shimmer in the clear cold waters cascading down the cliffs, giving the impression of delicate gold doubloons tossed into the turbulence. Bald River Falls, with its hundred foot drop -- swollen from all the recent rain -- was a thundering wall of white water. The mists rose as high and far as the bridge from which we viewed the spectacle. Pat and Will took our pictures; we took their pictures. They’ll love showing these in the lowlands of Louisiana.

Will is an avid fisherman, asking several times along the way whether we ever see fishermen in the river. We usually spy several on any given trip, but saw none in the lower river or at the base of the falls. Pat and Will were interested in learning more about the area fishing, so after leaving the cascades, we continued on to the trout hatchery. The river on this ride was full of fly fisherman; there must have been a recent release from the hatchery.

Pat and Will were duly impressed with the sizes of the grandparent stock. They said they’d never seen such large trout. It’s a good thing the hatchery has the foresight to cover the tanks with netting. I’m not sure we could have restrained Will’s angler urges once he saw these whoppers. If it had been possible, I’m sure he’d love to have caught one for a trophy photograph before releasing his catch.

Pat made several purchases in local shops, her favorite being the iridescent fused glass cross pendant she obtained from the stunning collection by Elisabeth Baerreis. Our lunch at Tellico Kat’s Deli was delightful. We relaxed on their porch overlooking the Tellico River while enjoying their made-on-the-premises scrumptious soup and sandwiches. The crisp fall air and the sounds of the river were a perfect backdrop for being with best buddies.

The last stop on our daytrip tour was Jack’s house for a meet-the-author moment. Jack’s way of life brought back memories of an uncle’s house for Will and exclamations of wonder from Pat that Jack is content with so few conveniences. Then it was home to our holler for a home-grown, home-cooked dinner.

Richard lit a fire in the fireplace for our enjoyment as we sipped our before-dinner wine. We dined on Richard’s lovely salads, and my pork with ginger-cran-pear chutney, spiced butternut squash and green beans. We finished with coffee and carrot cake before slipping into food and fun induced comas for the night.

Pat and Will leave in the morning, but we were just getting started. So many things we didn’t have time to see or say. The next time through, we’ll have to entice them to stay for a week or two.