Mouth of Wilson

There must be a story as to how Mouth of Wilson got its name.  I'm picturing Woodrow Wilson in search of a dentist?  Is there a creek named Wilson which flows down into a delta at the Virginia/NC/Tennessee border?  At any rate,  I spent the weekend there with 3 of my 5 sisters.  It is our 2nd group visit at the mountain log cabin which belongs to the youngest sister.  (55) She flew in from England (!) where her husband is stationed in the AF.  Her name is Jack...and Jill flew in from Massachusetts (near our home town,) and Joy came from Lynchburg.  I'm Joggerella,  but I noticed they are calling me Joannie now:  pronounced Jo Ann EE.  It was a 6 hour drive for me...I had a Mazda rental car,  my old van can't take the Blue Ridge Mountains and Lover's Leap!

I should have pictures!  Drat!  I hate being a photo-luddite!  The highlight of the trip is a mountain bike ride on the Virginia Creeper Trail.  You drive an hour from Jacky's to the town of Damascus, Va...right smack dab next to Tennessee.  There you rent bikes and helmets and take a shuttle bus almost back from whence you came!  Then they let you go and you hop on your bike and ride for a few hours down the mountain on a trail where the Virginia Creeper Train used to chug-a-long.  17 miles.  It was too cold this time and threatening rain,  so I decided not to bike.  When we went in Oct. '06 (our mother's 89th birthday, it was~) the temperature was mid-40's and a beautiful sunny day.  The colors had peaked,  but there was still lots of pretty fall scenery.  I froze the whole ride.  I also go on an exercise bike alot,  so I just couldn't dilly-dally down the mountain like the sisters did.  I finished an hour before them and basked in the sunshine at the bottom.  They were annoyed and told me I won.  I promised that this time I would behave...but it was near freezing at the mountain top (!) and all three told me later I made the right decision.

So I spent 3 hours walking the town, eating at the Dairy King,  and poking my nose in the one antique shop.  It was so typical of Virginia country shops...and pricier than I am.  I could have looked in 10 minutes but I stretched it out to 15.  Damascus will probably prosper as a result of the Bike trail,  it is also on the Appalachian trail...but it ain't there yet!  The people were all sweet and probably a bit hill-billie,  but definitely not jaded yet by "tourists."  

Back at Jacky's we ate extremely well...and I had fun hiking her mountainside,  alone and with my sister Jill.  Some of the highlights were realizing it was a big black angus bull on the other side of the fence...(a fence which didn't look that substantial,)  with his look-alike offspring prancing around...so fresh!  We later saw many deer on the next hillside...both the deer and the cattle stopped whatever they were doing to stare at us as we chattered along.  Then we saw two big white geese which were really anticipating our arrival.  Jill refused to go any further as in our hometown I think Geese are considered very good watch dogs.  Our maiden name is "Wackerbarth," and these geese sounded as if they were saying...."wawawawawa...lets get these wackerbarth girls....wawawawaw!"  We also saw a baby red fox.

We were talking a bit about rabid foxes and the explosion of coyotes in Virginia and it turned out it we should have been worried!  The next day a neighbor shot into a group of four of them which were whirling around a tree right in his yard!  It turned out his cat was up the tree!  He managed to kill one,  he wasn't sure until then if they were fox or coyote,  but coyote they were!  Remind me not to be too nonchalant when I go there next time.

We ended the visit with a wonderful Easter Brunch at a Victorian Bed and Breakfast in Independence.  It was my third visit and it didn't disappoint!  I wish I was there now!  The people are so nice and so is the food.  Delicious...not like this mother makes!  A perfect ending to a wonderful Easter weekend!