Ain't No Hodgepodge High Enough

So we made it to the mountains of West Virginia and back in one piece.
It was a very lovely drive for the most part and if you are in to hairpin turns,
you would have most definitely been in your element!

Before we even made it into that part of the trip, we came upon this gorgeous waterfall,
right before we crossed over the Virginia/West Virginia line.

Falling Springs Falls, Falling Springs, Virginia

There was an overlook right off the road and as you can see, the view was breathtaking.
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Some of you may have seen a few postings on Facebook or Instagram of our train ride.
While I'm getting that post together, here's a little preview.
Below is just one of the beautiful views taken from the train as we approached the summit.

And here is a panoramic shot of the observation platform overlooking the breathtaking vista.
The train tracks end here at the very top of Bald Knob.



John Denver wasn't kidding when he sang about it being almost heaven.
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It was a fun trip, one we would certainly like to make again...preferably during the fall season.
Reservations would need to made well in advance so it won't be happening this year.
Anyway, it was a great little getaway!
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So we're here for the Hodgepodge and let's get on with it...

...where Joyce asks the questions on her blog and we answer them on ours.

1. What happens to the mail at your house?

I'd say that 80% of it goes into file #13...that's what my mom used to call the trash can. It's either junk or bills most of the time, which always seem to wind up on a pile on the dining room table until I get it sorted out...and we do get a lot of junk mail.

2. Something you always splurge on? Any guilt associated with the splurge?

Although I don't get them on a regular basis (Lord only knows I should), pedicures are something I have just recently started getting. Hey, I was 60 years old before I ever had my first one so no guilt trip here! I probably wouldn't have even gotten that first one if my daughter-in-love hadn't kidnapped me and held me captive in the salon chair. Like many things, we don't know what we've been missing until the day we experience it, right? It was the guilt for spending all that $$ on something as frivolous as a pedi that kept me away from getting that first one but no more. And you want to know something else....shhhh, don't tell anyone...I've never had a manicure... yet....only the homemade kind....shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

3. There are many, but what are two important questions you think every bride and groom should ask/answer before they plan their walk down the aisle?

If I was going to do it all over again, knowing what I know now, the first and most important question (in my opinion) would be about what kind of relationship your prospective spouse had with the Lord. Every other thing can be worked out if God is center-stage. We finally got there but not without much pain and suffering. It's also of the utmost importance to know where each other stand on the issue of having children...if, when and how many.

4. What's the best advice your father ever gave you?

It didn't take long at all to come up with this answer. I remember well, sitting around the supper table when I was probably 18...it seemed that an acquaintance of my dad's had seen me leaving a local bar/night club one evening and told him so. Instead of raking me over the coals, he quite casually and very lovingly mentioned that he knew what I had been up to. He then followed it by a sentence that went something like this, "Honey...those aren't the kinds of places that any young lady should be going." That was it. Did I always take his advice? Well....maybe not right away but I never could forget his sound advice and the loving tone to his otherwise gruff voice and sharp edges. I'm thankful that I got that out of my system. Just tryin' to keep it real, folks.

5. Your favorite movie where a father features heavily in the storyline?

I'm sure there are other answers I could give but the one that stands out to me, actually, there two because they are recent movies that I've seen. One would be Mack, the father in "The Shack" and more recently the father of Bart Millard, the lead singer of Mercy Me (played wonderfully by Dennis Quaid) in "I Can Only Imagine". Both men...completely transformed by the power of God's love.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Until next time, hodgepodgers...