Sunday and time to return to Greensboro from my mountain retreat. It rained all morning and I had a long breakfast with Jeanette and David at the lodge. We have a connection in our interest in nature, although their’s goes much deeper and is turned into practice where mine remains quite superficial by comparison.

Drove down the mountain and up the valley to Hot Spring where I stopped for coffee and a muffin. The sky was heavy with rain and the motorcyclists were all dressed in their hi-viz rain gear. Not a day to be hiking judging by the wet and solemn looking wanderers convening on the town.

Stopped for lunch in the small historic town of Marshall in Madison County. At the Star Diner I could get a delicious salad and a glass of Iced Water, but a beer or a glass of wine was out of the question as the local county law did not allow it to be served on Sundays. Walked along the main street which runs parallel with the French Broad River and took in the local Sunday atmosphere before getting back on the Interstate 40 back to Greensboro.