Forget about the number, it was a terrific 3-day birthday celebration, thanks to advance planning by daughter Andrea. Although it was meant to be all about "Leaf Peeping" in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Mother Nature intervened and the usual October blaze of color in those parts was mostly still very green. But the views were still gorgeous.
We headed for Ashville early Wednesday morning with a full schedule of events and dinner reservations, the best of which was at the elegant Grove Park Inn where I celebrated with a great martini and my beloved raw oysters. The last time I was in Ashville was also for my birthday about 30 years ago when the ex and I went every year to see the leaves change with our friends, Mimi and Ed Gadinsky. Lunch on Thursday at Pisgah View Ranch, the place where we always stayed, was a nostalgic memory of days gone by, including visits there when Andrea was a youngster and a teen-ager, spending the summers at Camp Pinewood and Camp Blue Star in the area.
Thanks to Facebook, the Internet, and my iPhone, I was touched by the many "Happy birthday" messages from friends as far away as Alice in Colorado, Faith in Philadelphia, and Dolores in New Jersey, not to mention my much missed friends in Miami. Looking forward to seeing them next month when I journey back that way around Thanksgiving.
We arrived back in Charlotte on Friday afternoon to find the best gift of all. . .a hand made birthday card from my delicious six year old great-grandson, Grayson. I think he had a little help from his Mommy, Amy, but I'm having it framed as one more memory of a wonderful birthday.
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| The best daughter in the world. |
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| My birthday martini. . .yum! |
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| My beautiful flowers from Paul |
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| My birthday card from Grayson |
