culture shock

We've been in the mountains of western North Carolina for 6 plus months .... in a semi-rustic campground ...... on a mountain .... by a lakeside .... 10 miles to the nearest small town ....  no sounds at night except coyotes once in a while ... and no freeways for at least 20 miles.

Needless to say, by the time we came around the beltway in rush hour traffic, and settled onto our approximately 25' x 65' concrete pad ..... then listened to the roar of freeway traffic all night .....
we are beyond culture shock.

Seriously, we are depressed, with very long faces, and a few tears.... and ready to turn around and go back - we might if not for the impending winter there.  So I guess we'll wait for spring.  Interesting though, that was the first place we've encountered that felt like home; and that we want to go back to, like, semi-permanently at least.

So, since we were already reeling from being in the middle of a big city anyway, we all three went to the Nutcracker Market yesterday. For other friends from away, this is an enormous annual, pre-Christmas shopping extravaganza in one of the convention halls here. 
So, now that we are "immersed" again in urban life..... we'll start getting together with old friends, and setting doctor and dentist appointments.  We will probably leave around the first of February.
And it will most likely be back to the Asheville area... we've kinda decided maybe Alaska is not in our future, at least to drive.  Its just too far, and too hard, and too expensive.

taken from our front window a few days before we left

 

more later, Marilyn