Old buildings from the late 1700s, a tasty lunch, delicious baked goods and some lovely pottery, all enjoyed in good company. That's nice.
I had been meaning to explore Weaverville (along with a few other nearby towns I hope to explore soon) for quite a while and we finally made it out there during a recent visit from my good friend, Kelly.
Our first stop was the Vance Birthplace Historic Site, the pioneer farmstead home of a North Carolina governor and Confederate officer, Zebulon Vance. Many of the furnishings are original to the home and time period, and a fair amount of the main structure is original as well. We took a short tour and then wandered around a bit, mostly staring open-mouthed at the huge kitchen and it's enormous original fireplace and chimney.
There are times (quite often, really) that I find myself wishing I lived back then. Of course it's easy to look back and romanticize it all and think they were "simpler times", but of course that's all relative. Simpler in ways, sure. Much more challenging and complicated in others though, no doubt. But standing in that kitchen, I didn't think I'd mind it all that much. (you know, especially if I could pick and choose say a half dozen or so modern conveniences to take back in time with me....) Being in places like that I often feel connected through time to the strangers that lived and worked in them so many years ago. I was especially struck by that feeling as I looked into the water at the spring house and saw my reflection. I wondered how many people, how many women, had done the same thing over the years, the centuries.... wondered what they saw. What they felt. Endured.
Some photos from the site:
 |
| just a tiny corner of the original fireplace, complete with 2 warming ovens and a 2 1/2 story chimney |
 |
| a queen box, used in beekeeping |
 |
| window at the main house |
 |
| steps up to servant's quarters |
 |
| window at the spring house |
 |
| playing peek-a-boo |
Our next stop was the Well-Bred Bakery and Cafe. Holy cow. This place was fabulous! Had my belly not been full of pizza and soup and garlic knots I'd have tried some of their quiche or homemade salads or sandwiches. Another day. I did not let my full belly deter me from bringing some deliciousness home for later, however, and Kelly and I placed quite the order for baked goods to-go. Together we left the bakery with a piece of key lime pie (yum), a slice of blackberry almond cake (not great, actually), huge ginger molasses (wow!) and oatmeal cookies, a mini tea cake, mini mountain eclair, a piece of shortbread and an apple phyllo pastry (how can you go wrong with that?). I know, it sounds like a truly absurd amount of baked goods. But remember, there were 3 of us adults, plus Claire. It took us a few days to eat it all though, and I made a mental note about only purchasing as many baked goods as I could eat in a day or so, since freshness goes a long way in the world of cake and such.
But you know, sometimes it's damn fun to order with abandon at the bakery.
That, and I just love good bakeries. What's not to love, really?
By the way, (since we're talking about baked goods) this week we celebrated my father's 62nd birthday and while Mike was in charge of dinner, (bacon butter scallops (fresh from the Outer Banks) and spinach over garlic and oil fettucine. Wow.) I took care of dessert. My pop's request? Something with "lots of whipped cream". Hmm. A pie maybe. Yep, a pie. One that goes well with seafood...... and so I tried my hand at key lime pie and was most pleasantly surprised by how easy it is. Homemade graham cracker crust (graham crackers, pinch of salt, maple syrup and butter), key lime juice, a few egg yolks, some sweetened condensed milk (ahem) and homemade whipped cream (lots) and ta-da! Key lime pie. I failed to realize in time that the 3 leftover egg whites would have made the perfect meringue layer between the custard and whipped cream, but that's alright. There's always next time. Which will be pretty soon I think, because I can't let the rest of the key lime juice just sit there. And I'm sure something like lime juice would spoil very, very quickly if not eaten within a week or so, right? Right.
And so now back to the mention of wanting to go back in time to live in another era if only I could have a few modern conveniences with me. I feel like the choosing would be pretty tricky. There's taking into account that many of our modern conveniences are powered via means that wouldn't have been in place back then, making them useless if somehow transported along with me back in time 2 or 3 centuries..... Hmmm. The more I think about it, the more my head spins.
And so now I'm wondering.... what would I bring?
What would you bring?
running water is always the big one for me. gotta have a bath at the end of the day.
ReplyDeletei'm like you though and have always thought that perhaps i arrived on earth at the wrong century. who knows. no path is ever simple. or it's only as simple as we allow it to be. or what looks simple is very complex. you get it.
"what looks simple is very complex"
ReplyDeleteABSOLUTELY, Nichole. That is true in so many different areas in our lives, isn't it? Observing others and thinking that they've really 'got it made'... whether in relationships, parenting, health, careers.... it's all relative and it's so easy for us to believe what we want (and don't want) to about so many things.
Running (hot) water certainly is a nice thing~ especially in cold winter months! I'm thinking I'd bring along a good bicycle (with giant baskets, of course), maybe a solar powered light or two, some good writing implements, maybe some really cozy bedding... (those corn husk mattresses and husk filled comforters didn't really do anything for me)
And who knows what else!