Thursday, August 9, 2012

Wondering about wandering the Appalachians

Way back along time ago when my wife and I were first married and I was still driving my 1957 Chevy Convertible, we drove down to Virginia to visit with my Uncle, Aunt, and cousins.  When we started back to Pennsylvania, I got a wild hair and decided it would be fun to take both the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Skyline Drive their full lengths.  That turned out to be a very, very long day, although a most beautiful one.  The road was two lanes and wound around a lot of turns and the the speed limits were set very low.  I think the fastest one was 35 mph.  Of course we had to pull off at a lot of scenic outlooks.

My wife is afraid of heights.  That is hard to imagine since her Dad owned airplanes and they flew places a lot and she was never bothered by being up in the air.  But, she said, she had a plane wrapped around her.  Anyway, I got her too close to the edge of a cliff to show her a beautiful scene and she just froze.  I learned my lesson, now she stays back quite a ways and I go stand on the edge and take pictures to show her later (grin).

I was never afraid of heights until I got old.  Back in my youth, I would walk pipelines over ravines, or walk out on tree limbs, etc.  Now, when I get close to the edge of something or even get up on the roof of the motor-home, I get this funny, queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.  Guess heights just make me hungry, right?  OK, you all have high time today and don't hit bottom, you hear? 

12 comments:

  1. Funny how as you get older , height gets scarier. When I was a kid, a water tower was something put there for me to climb. Out in Oregon climbing 100 ft trees, I usually ran out of tree before I ran out of nerve. I got to climb a 600 foot tower way back when, enjoyed every step. Now the roof is way up there, especially along the side looking over.

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  2. I tried the Blue Ridge Parkway a few years ago in the spring. Kept having to backtrack as there were a lot of landslides. What I saw of it was darn pretty though.

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  3. Like you, being up high makes me a tad nervous! I keep thinking of what would happen if I fell, especially since I'm on blood thinner!

    Have a great day!

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    1. We had a 57 chevy 4dr HT, when we married. And heights were nothing way back when.

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  4. Bob, yep, I too climbed anything that went up in the air. Just thinking about some of the stuff I did back then gives me shivers today.

    Sixbears, Yes it is beautiful, both the blue ridge park way and the skyline drive.

    HJ, I understand that for sure. Blood thinner and shaving don't go together, do you have a beard. If not, maybe you should. (grin)

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  5. Trouble, it was a very popular car back then and still is. I sure wish I still had mine.

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  6. This Saturday night we're headed to a remote overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway to watch the meteor showers, trouble is, there's a lot of rattlesnakes there. Do they go to bed early?

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  7. Jimkabob, yes they go to bed when the sun rises. Avtually, they do come out most any time that they get hungry or want to mate.

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  8. Heights never bothered me either when I was young. Did not learn that had changed until we were invited to a bank symposium (sp?) in downtown Houston on the 50th some floor of a skyscraper and I froze when I got to the window and looked down.

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  9. Jimkabob, Yep, how do you think they get little rattle snakes? If isn't from shedding their skins. I bet they have to be very careful not to upset their mates, what do you think?

    MsB, it sort of sneaks up on you and then one day you can't stand heights.

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