Keys

Later that evening we went back to Jeff and Jodi’s place; a nicely allocated parsonage on the hill behind the church. We listened to stories and shared a bit of our own for the better part of the evening.

It was enlightening to hear some of the history of some of these fascinating folks. And fascinating to discover how parallel are the stories of the Helpmans and ours.

The salt trucks had finally made their way down the road to our cabin. Maybe we could finally get our van up the hill. Jim and Judy were heading that direction so we asked for a ride to our car. But when we got there I realized my keys were at the cabin.

They graciously agreed to drive us since it was only less than a mile from their house. Good idea. We’d get to see the road conditions all the way there and have a better sense of how our van would handle it. When we got to the cabin I reached in my pocket for the cabin keys and found nothing. I’d left them in my coat pocket which I just realized had gotten left back at the Helpmans.

Jim and Judy drove us back to get my coat and then again back to the cabin. By this time it was pointless to have them take us back to our car and then drive our car back to the cabin. So we said goodbye and thank you and scheduled a ride for the morning.

As I was locking up the cabin before bed I made an embarrassing discovery… the front door had been unlocked the whole time.

Guayabidos and Front-Wheel Drive

We met Jeff and Jodi at the church. They pastor a group of people known in town as The Grove. The church parking lot was full of snow, pushed into small mounds around the perimeter. The front porch decorated in winter.

It was time for us to check-in to our mountain cabin and meet some friends for dinner. The roads hadn’t been cleared and our front wheel drive mini van was having a time with the icy-surfaced road. As long as we were on a flat we managed but we didn’t quite have enough momentum or the right tires or transmission to make the steep grade and tight switchbacks in this mountain town. So we rolled backward down the hill and parked our ill-equipped suburban transport in the parking lot of the church for the next few days until the roads cleared.

As it would turn out, this gave us the opportunity to get to know Jim and Judy a little bit better after our introduction on Saturday night.

Guayabidos is a Mexican restaurant just off Hwy 19. We met up with our friends there for dinner and conversation. And I met a new friend, Kerby. Kerby works at the Natahala Outdoor Center teaching folks how to paddle mountain rapids. I’m told he’s also a skilled guitarist. Most skilled guitarists won’t tell you they’re skilled. This is Kerby’s case. I actually heard this from other people.

Hopefully I’ll get to hear him play someday.

On A Lighter Note

Kelley had been at the hotel from 6 AM today and I had the ‘opening shift’. Rosie was sound asleep but her O2 sat was dropping so the nurse decided to try to reposition her which, of course, woke her.

I thought maybe if I tried to feed her she’d calm down (which is just a joke, cuz I don’t have the right equipment and our baby ain’t no fool).

The nurse brought me a bottle that we’d stored for such a time as this but it had a cap on it.

My father-in-law, Mark is sitting beside me.

So, in true Meet the Parents fashion, I said to the nurse, ‘I don’t think I have any nipples.’ To which she responded, ’That’s okay, I’ve got two in my pocket.’

Oh my!