[Magdalen] Success!

[ROGER STOKES]

My two previous trips this side of the pond have been in September - too early to see any significant fall foliage, even in Southern Canada last year.  This year I have come several weeks later because of my retirement, and that has made the difference.  More of that later.

Yesterday I was due to preside and preach at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Summerville, SC.  Ginga had arranged this and on Saturday she and I went to a very enjoyable meal at the home of some friends of hers from church, to which others had come as well.  The evening was catered by the ladies (and one of the men) present and started with hors 'doeuvres which some of us took on that great Southern feature - the porch. Food was essentially Southern and delightful, as was the company.

Because Good Shepherd meets in a borrowed Methodist church building coffee hour and Christian Education are held in the local library before the Eucharist.  During that time I spoke and answered questions about the Church of England before we adjourned to the church for our service.  The Good Shepherd people are clearly used to setting out the accoutrements necessary for a well-ordered Episcopal service, which is more or less what we had.  It was a tad disconcerting when we lining up on the porch to process in to see another priest arriving with her family but I was able to rely on the service booklet I had prepared to get things in the right order and a word or two from the server helped things to flow smoothly.

Since Ginga had domestic commitments after the service I went for lunch with a bunch of others, most of whom had been at dinner the evening before.  As it was an Irish pub a number of us opted for Irish Eggs Benedict from the brunch menu.  This is like strandard eggs benedict but with corned beef hash replacing the ham.  It was well balanced and tasty.  Having been returned to my car it was time to hit the road again to head up to Charlotte.  

My journey was basically uneventful though there was a slight delay getting past where somebody's car was facing the wrong way in the safety fence at the bottom of the median ditch. Approaching Charlotte there was a convoy of coaches coming the other way with police ensuring they had a smooth passage by blocking traffic and as I turned into the street where the hotel is I saw a motorbike on its side under a taxi.  This was my first experience of driving to a particular place in the middle of a US city and I was glad to be able to switch off the engine and get my cases out of the car.  Of course as the parking was underground there was no satellite reception and the GPS could not function until I had driven a bit this morning, fortunately in about the right direction.

I was determined to drive a bit of the Blue Ridge Parkway, but the question was which bit.  I decided that getting on at the Southern end near Asheville was just too far West so I decided to take the I-40 just as far as Hickory before heading up into the mountains via US 321.  The first few miles were less than exciting but then I started seeing some more trees and their colour as I ignored the GPS instructions until, eventually, it agreed I should turn on to the Parkway.  Incidentally the bit I was on has a 45, not 35, mph limit but less than that is often advisable unless you want to become too closely associated with the trees.  After a reasonable number of miles, and stops at some overlooks, I decided it was time to head back down to faster roads and to refuel the car and me.  I know I might have been able to drive further on the Parkway if I had used a more northerly section closer to I-77 but I am happy with what I did and the trees put on a
 wonderful show.  The only downside was noting a number of trees that were clearly dead.

Having returned to I-77, and then I-81, I met up with Esther for a drink and a chat at Raonoke before continuing my journey to Lynchburg - including a brief stop in Bedford.  It's a lot smaller than "my" Bedford and the traffic flows more freely.  Unfortunately Grace is feeling a bit under the weather so decided not to join me for what would have been a more enjoyable meal than I had on my own at a local buffet.  The choice of eating places round here is limited.

Roger