An International hike

On Saturday, September 10th, the Interna- tionals (see add'l entry of today) and I went on a hike to Abrams Fall in Cades Cove of the Smoky Mtn. National Park. I brought a cooler of bottled water and everyone packed their own lunch. The 2.5 mile hike up and down the rolling hills to get the falls was easy for everyone. Well, I may have huffed and puffed just a little. :) We arrived at the falls right around noon and everyone decided the best place to eat would be at the top of the falls (about 30-40 feet) so we climbed up the side (ignoring the warning sign) and spread out our lunch. Five people would hardly be able to eat all the food that everyone brought. There was homemade sushi, cold cheesy potatoes, turkey sandwiches, bologna and cheese sandwiches, chips, salad, carrots, peaches, bananas, crackers, etc. We had a wonderful time talking and eating. After lunch we waded around in the water. Ruihe managed to catch several "creek creatures" and was very proud of himself. I collected 5 small, smooth river stones and put them in my pocket; my way of remembering the day with my four friends. On the hike back to the car, we continued working on pronounciation of everyone’s name. As we passed folks on their way to the fall, everyone said "hi" or "hello" or "hey" as hikers always do. One time, however, we decided that the next hikers we saw would be met with a smile and "nee-how" which is hello in Mandarin. Those poor folks. :)
Later, I took them to see the Old Mill where they still demonstrate corn and wheat being milled into meal and flour. They found that very interesting and Nana said that there are still working mills in Georgia. Liyin, who is the only one who has a driver’s license (not International, Taiwanese), and Ruihe, who said he also knew how to drive, wanted to practice their driving skills so I let them. Ruihe only drove the few miles out of Cades Cove on the one way road. He said he had not drive in four years so this was nice and easy for him. Liyin turned out to be a much more accomplished driver and ended up driving my car from Cades Cove all the way back to Knoxville. It was a wonderful day and we were all pleasantly tired by the time we returned home. Photos coming soon!
A nice quote: Sometimes when we want to achieve something very dearly, we need to close all the doors behind us and then proceed towards that thing.