Through the eyes of a 3-year old. . .

Ronan and his parents came out to the motorhome yesterday afternoon. Ronan wanted to go inside, but didn't want to go alone. I asked him why he wanted to go in and he said to see if Neal was in there. Neal is our recently departed Scottie and Ronan always loved him. He knows Neal has died and I reminded him of that. He persisted and said, "I want to see if Neal is in there." I opened the door and in went Ronan with me behind. He took one look inside and turned to me and said, "You're right. . . Neal's not here." He then asked me where Neal's cage, hut, dishes, etc., were. Talk about a memory! Then he showed me how Neal had difficulty getting around. Neal, you remember, had mobility problems. Ronan demonstrated how Neal walked, etc. It was cute and sweet that memories of Neal live on in those who love him.

We all squeezed into the Sport Trac and drove to Crabtree Falls. I didn't remember it being such a long drive, but we finally arrived and we weren't disappointed. The area has had a lot of very recent rain and the water was really cascading over the rocks. The bridge up to the falls is picturesque as well with water falling over the stream bed on its way down the mountain.

We also drove on to another falls which are much smaller, but very pretty. The water cascades down over a giant rock for a different look. The rocks here are huge, obviously broken off centuries ago probably from some prehistoric landslide. Here also are the remnants of a narrow guage railroad used in the early 1900's for logging. At one time most of the forests here were decimated from logging and forest fires. Most of the trees seen here are from second growth. This is on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We haven't traveled much of the Blue Ridge and this was an interesting stop.

We stopped in Nellysford on the way back for some BBQ. It was good as usual. By the time we got back to the motorhome it was dark and Ronan said he was ready to go home. He did well on the long drive to the falls and back, but he was ready to see Whiskey, their poodle, and I suspect his bed. He was tired.

Till next time. . .

Dale