a.t.,y.m.c.a., f.p.,f.m., e.r., b.h., m., & etc.

Where to begin...ummm, how about with Jason and his dad hiking part of the Appalachian Trail last Thursday and Friday. The plan was for them to hike Thursday, Friday and be picked up at a predetermined location on Saturday. After dropping them off at the trail head and snapping a few pictures so that we would have a recent photo in case they went missing (good thinking on my part I KNOW) Pat, the kids and I headed back to their house before some swimming at the local YMCA. Almost as soon as the kids were drenched in the pool the lifeguard blow the whistle to signal that the pool was closing due to lightning. Here's the kicker, the pool was indoors! I have never had an indoor pool close due to the weather outside but it did so we ventured home. That evening it was off to the Fiddlin' Pig for the required bbq and bluegrass. This place is a must to eat at on each of our visits to Asheville. The next morning we headed off to the Farmers Market to see the local wares. Oh my...it was huge and you could find practically anything you wanted. Swee wanted honey sticks with the money I gave him to spend and Priss wanted a necklace she saw but she was a little short on cash so she settled for a gumball. We ended up finding out that Swee loves watermelon, in fact, each stand we walked past that had a watermelon cut open with a knife sticking out of it so you could sample it...he was sampling! After dragging the kids to all the vendors we ended up with a gallon of strawberries, a gallon of peaches, green peppers, squash, 2 cantaloupes, a watermelon, and 5 lb of onions. Just as we were preparing to get the fruits and veggies washed and put away the home phone rang. Jason's mom answered it and her side of the conversation went something like this..."you need picked up in about 30-45 minutes, at the Home Depot, I thought you were going to be picked up tomorrow? Why are you done early? We will hear the story in a little bit. Okay. " She gets off the phone and says to me the guys need picked up in about 30 minutes at the Home Depot by 40. She gives me directions and I head out as she is saying "I guess they hiked pretty fast and got in done in a day and a half. Did I fail to mention that they were planning on hiking a total of 23 miles? Well, that was the plan. When I finally got to them Jason comes walking over to the car carrying both backpacks and has a huge smirk on his face. He then quickly whispers..."Dad couldn't make it." As they get into the car an older gentleman comes to my side of the car and says that they packed way too much JUNK! During the ride back the entire story is revealed. They did okay the first afternoon but Jason's dad had to stop after about 30-40 yards to catch his breath. We later found out that due to his heart medicine (which ensures that his heart rate doesn't sky rocket) he struggled to catch his breath and to have adequate oxygen in his blood. They were full of laughs as they described pulling out the griddle they took to make their pancakes while the other hikers feasted on protein bars, oatmeal or some other dehydrated food.
That evening continued on with the fun. After dinner Priss began complaining that her ear hurt and so we went to lay down. The day before she had shown me a bite on her right forearm that she said itched. Nothing more was said following the initial talk of the bite, well, after she laid down for a while I went in to check on her and thought that her face looked swollen on the right side. After conferring with Jason and his mother we decided to have to seen by a physician. All the immediate med centers were closed by this time so we headed out to the ER in Asheville. After about 4 hours there Priss left with a bandage on her forearm, a 50 gauge needle hole, two rounds of numbing gel being applied, and no knowledge as to what bit her. The ER physician who must have missed all the required bedside manners classes informed us he thought it looked like MRSA so he would need to try to extract some pus from the said bite area. NO PUS was found just orders to return in 2 days. This about set Jason over the edge...he responded do we schedule an appointment with you or just try our lucky with the doctor on call! The bite got better but not due to what the doctor did just simply from time passing.
Since we had went to the Fiddlin' Pig without Jason and Ed we returned there Saturday night for some more bbq, cloggers and square dancing. Sunday after church we went hiking and soon found out that Priss's definition of hiking is locating the trail marker for the A.T. We actually hiked part of the Appalachian Trail with all three kids (Max Patch). They had a blast and want to return next yeat when they can hike more of it.
While in Asheville...
Jason's mom managed to burn her hard severely on the iron as she was filling it with water while we were there visiting. Swee took a few too many tumbles down the driveway that he made into a race track for his big wheel that grandma bought. He now is sporting the largest band aids made on is elbow from some GOOD road rash. Lil Man managed to pull a statue over onto his head and I had my first migraine in about 18 months. So no one was left out of the bruised and battered group in Asheville. :)

What a trip and Jason and Ed are planning a return trip to hike the A.T. trail next year with less JUNK!