Blueberries and Blues

Saturday July 25, 2009

This morning we pick blueberries at a U-pick place near Naomi's house. It is great! We must have snuck up on them. Usually berries use NORAD to track our position and make sure to be green or gone by the time we get there. This time the berries are ripe and plentiful.

Once we've loaded up on blueberry goodness we say our goodbyes and head off to Asheville North Carolina. In Asheville we are staying at the French Broad campground. I'm immediately disappointed. No French lady standing out front waving us in.

Our assigned campsite is right on the edge of the French Broad river, is small, and is already occupied by a single mom who is clearly in a family way. There is no way that we are going to be able kick her out. But, it is our campsite after all. We come to an arrangement. We get to use the site, and we will try to be quiet. While we are there she has quintuplets! They are all fuzzy and brown except for one that is bright yellow. Mama has quite a handful keeping the ducklings from wandering off.

The main event today is the Bele Chere festival downtown. There is something for everyone. Highbrow artsy shopping for Mary-Jeanine. Girly vintage jewlry shopping for Julia. And, a big Nintendo Wii extravaganza that is showing off the almost-but-not-yet-released game. We bowled, played archery, ping pong, and bowling. Isn't it great to be camping!

And, since we are going abroad this trip, we had to start introducing the children to a more cosmopolitan way of thinking. We went to a Greek restaurant for lunch. I had a Greek salad. Mary-Jeanine had the Greek sampler platter. Alex had a Greek Macaroni-and-Cheese, and Julia had a Greek Hamburger and fries. For dessert, we had cake and a chocolate rumball from a French place. Vive la dessert!

Mary-Jeanine had a plan for us to lounge around in a park listening to blues band. I had pictured us on a wide hillside lawn in the shade of majestic old growth pine trees absorbing mellow plaintive tunes. Not to be. The festival was great, but it is in a city after all. We ended up sitting on a sun soaked curb behind obstacles listening to plaintive get me out of the joint blues. And then it started to rain. Oh well.