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Day 1 9/17/26:
We left home at 6:30 and arrived at Big Lynn Lodge around 8:30. I left my chair and said hi to everyone. I asked if anyone needed anything while we were out and about, but no one needed anything.
We headed to Burnsville and stopped at First Citizen’s Bank to visit my former student. He graduated from my class in 2000! He looked fabulous, and I was so proud of him! I can’t believe I forgot to take a selfie with him!
Then we went to Hammonds Antiques and YummiYarns store. Don bought a few things at the antique store, and I bought some yarn at the yarn store.
We stopped at the Ingles Cafe for lunch, and it was a very good lunch.
After lunch, we stopped at an antique store in Spruce Pine but didn’t find anything. Then we drove north on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but it was closed 6 miles later. On the way back, we stopped at the Apple Orchard and went into the general store. Then we drove south on the Parkway, but it was closed right after Little Switzerland. By then, we went back to Big Lynn Lodge to see if our room (#135, on the end by the parking lot) was ready, but it wasn’t yet. It wasn’t long before our room was ready, and Don sat on the porch while I went back and knit with the group. At 6 pm, we had dinner (roast beef, squash, broccoli, and peach cobbler with ice cream for dessert). At 8 pm, we had our general meeting.
Day 2 9/18/25:
After breakfast (at 7:30), we headed up the Blue Ridge Parkway. We ended up at Moses Cone Park and did 3 hikes there. We did the Figure 8, Bass Lake, and Trout Lake. The weather was clear and cool, but I was still in shorts. It was a beautiful day. We saw water lilies blooming on the lake. We also saw wood asters, goldenrod, snake root, lungwort, and mushrooms. After hiking, we drove south on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and after the Linville Viaduct, we headed to Newland for lunch. We at lunch at Ingles, but after we headed back to the lodge, we passed a McDonald's. If we do this again, McDonald's will be a better choice.
When we got back to the lodge, we sat out on the porch in rocking chairs and read. At 4, I knit on the patio with my friends until dinner time. Dinner was very good (turkey, mac and cheese, carrots, and apple pie with ice cream). Then I knit on the patio until the general meeting at 8. I won a door prize! Cheryl and I swapped door prizes since we liked each other’s prize better.
Day 3 9/19/26:
It was a cloudy day with rain expected, so we didn’t go hiking. I spent the whole day knitting with my friends on the patio. The guild had a picnic lunch catered by a company from Marion, and the sandwiches and vegetables were great! Don went back to the room and watched football games on the TV and 2 laptops. I worked on my sock all day and almost finished it by the time we had our general meeting. They announced the clothesline winner and the raffle winner at the end of the meeting.
I’m glad I came to the retreat. It was great to see friends that I only see once a year. I made new friends too.
Original photos by Pat Hensley
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