{"id":2225,"date":"2015-06-03T14:54:43","date_gmt":"2015-06-03T13:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/?p=2225"},"modified":"2015-06-03T14:54:43","modified_gmt":"2015-06-03T13:54:43","slug":"otters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/2015\/06\/03\/otters\/","title":{"rendered":"Otters"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, long update ahead!<\/p>\n

On Sunday got together for breakfast with family – large amount of food at Cracker Barrel (this is a tradition with Joe, must have at least one Cracker Barrel breakfast in Kentucky). Then we got on the road. I64 to Blue Ridge Parkway. Got to Peaks of Otter Lodge<\/a> with no problems – really lovely area and nice lodge. Met up with friend and had a lovely dinner. The restaurant at the lodge is very good. And then lots of sitting looking at the lake chatting over a drink. Cause every room has a view over the lake from a back porch.<\/p>\n

So to Monday. Our friend was up early and saying he saw an otter crunching a fish. I missed the otter. And the turtle. But saw a turtle floating in the lake. So into breakfast. Which was very nice (did I recommend the restaurant at the lodge yet?) But friend had the Sharp Peak breakfast. So that meant we had to go up to Sharp Peak. So after a bit of doing bits and pieces that is what we did. Well, Joe and friend went to the peak (friend would probably like me to mention that he did that with a 15 month old child on his back, thank you very much, while I wussed out about half way and just watched the birds and butterflies).\u00a0 There is a black bear in the area with two cubs, but obviously there were enough people around talking that the bear decided the area was best vacated. So no bear spotting, though I did hear something moving in the underbrush. Probably a bird. Oh and we did a fawn on the way up!<\/p>\n

As I was sitting on a rock watching things, I noticed a huge storm moving our way and could hear the thunder rumbling. One group passed me and stopped to say that Joe and co had just reached the top as they were heading down, so I knew where they were. Then another stopped and said they were hanging out in the hut in the top. I had a look at the storm, listening to the thunder, and decided I’d rather be off the mountain than wait! So headed down. Got most of the way when the rain started and it really opened up when I could see the shelter at the bottom – stupid rain! But I didn’t get too wet. However, Joe and friend did! They got caught about .1 mile from the bottom (they were next to the sign when the downpour started, handy). So they were about 15 minutes behind me.<\/p>\n

Joe is working on the photos for flickr!<\/p>\n

So sat in the shelter and watched the downpour and when it eased up we headed for the country store and ranger station. The power had been knocked out so the store couldn’t sell anything (and a note that they do not have beer or wine! Or booze). So back to the room round the lake (so we did manage a full circuit of the lake) to dry off and warm up a bit. Friend picked up a bottle of pinot and we sat and watch the lake and the storms moving through – Sharp Peak was shrouded in cloud. But that all blew over and we had a lovely evening.<\/p>\n

Back to the restaurant for dinner – three fried chicken. That’s a wait of about 20 minutes while they cook the chicken. But we were stymied because without power they couldn’t fry anything. So we dithered – friend was in the rec room playing with child, so Joe was going back and forth. Steak. Yeah, we could do steak. So back up and as Joe got to me the power came back up. So it was fried chicken after all! And boy was it worth it. Lovey light coating and crunchy and very very good. And way too much for someone who only went about half way up the mountain. Have I recommended the restaurant? Because it is excellent.<\/p>\n

We all ended up early in bed which meant on Tuesday morning I was wide awake at 5am. So I dragged on some clothes and my boots and headed outside. Still dark, very dark as there was lots of cloud cover. I listened to everything waking up and then saw the sky go all pink, but that was in the west between the two peaks. So I knew it wasn’t the sun. Stood and watched as a full moon (or near as) appeared through the clouds between the peaks, it was lovely with the mist coming up off the lake. Behind me the sun started to come up over the lodge and the birds became more active. As it got lighter the frogs started jumping in to the lake, so you’d get the deep croak of a bullfrog then plop. And then, as I was getting cold and ready to go back in, I saw a wake. Kept watching and sure enough a little head peeked up, then the otter dove into the reeds. Eventually reappeared a bit further off with a fish. So I got to see the otter after all!<\/p>\n

After breakfast we all packed up and headed off – friend back to DC and us down the parkway. We drove and looked at fog off overlooks – it was a wet day. Saw several deer, cardinals, large raptors, lots of little brown birds, and some big ones! But not enough to id anything (besides someone forgot the bird book!) We drove south as far as Mabry Mill <\/a>before turning off and headed back toward Kentucky. We took 58 W just about the entire way and a warning – once you get along that highway, about the time you’re thinking of maybe finding a place for dinner and a stop, there is nothing. Not a thing. Well, there was a park and ride, but we never did figure out where you’d ride to. Because there was nothing until Kentucky (and seriously, you go over the border and there are tons of places!) and by that time we were close enough to our destination that, aside from a brief “hmmm, should we stay in London?”, we just headed on here. So here we are.<\/p>\n

Not much more to update after this. The rest is family visit and shopping!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So, long update ahead! On Sunday got together for breakfast with family – large amount of food at Cracker Barrel (this is a tradition with Joe, must have at least one Cracker Barrel breakfast in Kentucky). Then we got on the road. I64 to Blue Ridge Parkway. Got to Peaks of Otter Lodge with no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s4T97-otters","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4029,"url":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/2017\/07\/12\/snow-hiking\/","url_meta":{"origin":2225,"position":0},"title":"Snow Hiking","date":"Wednesday, 12 July 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Had a huge breakfast at the lodge then headed off for Mount Revelstoke\u00a0and the Meadows in the Sky parkway. We got caught just out of the lodge by roadworks and had to sit for about half hour while charges were detonated. Not sure if they\u2019re widening the road or simply\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29,"url":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/2006\/10\/10\/down-to-kentucky\/","url_meta":{"origin":2225,"position":1},"title":"Down to Kentucky","date":"Tuesday, 10 October 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Right, update. The flight out of Philly was pretty awful. The air conditioner on the plane wasn't working so we sat on the plane for a while, then got off for a while, then back on for a while. In the end we finally took off over 3 hours late.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":307,"url":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/2009\/12\/22\/decks-at-halls-without-the-holly\/","url_meta":{"origin":2225,"position":2},"title":"Decks at Halls without the Holly","date":"Tuesday, 22 December 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"We all meet up at Cracker Barrel for breakfast, then split up we had a drive round taking a few picture of the old bridge and the winery we had eaten at the night before, trying to get the same angle as the original picture we had. Then back to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":157,"url":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/2008\/06\/17\/jamaica\/","url_meta":{"origin":2225,"position":3},"title":"Jamaica","date":"Tuesday, 17 June 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Just woke up in Jamaica. Of course, there was a bird that was insistant it was morning at 4.30 when it was still dark and I still wanted to sleep and of course it shut up when the sun came out. Stupid bird. The flight was probably the worst flight\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3945,"url":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/2017\/01\/01\/2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":2225,"position":4},"title":"2017","date":"Sunday, 1 January 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"So after arriving in Bergen we had a very nice dinner at\u00a0Bryggeloftet & Stuene in Bryggen - very good food. We were sat in the window so had a good view out to watch the harbour and had a lovely meal. The last day of 2016 we walked about in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4270,"url":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/2025\/12\/02\/day-two\/","url_meta":{"origin":2225,"position":5},"title":"Day Two","date":"Tuesday, 2 December 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Today was damp - started foggy and spitting with rain so the guide switched our morning and afternoon plans as it was too wet to do the walk. Went a different route into the park, heading for the visitors' centre. This route had much more water, so many more water\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2225"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2225"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2325,"href":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2225\/revisions\/2325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purple-penguin.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}