Chocolate

August 18, 2021

KOA Asheville East, Swannanoa, NC

Some plans are carried off without a hitch and some....well, let's say we live a very flexible lifestyle.  Our original plans had us driving over to Murphy to meet up with some new GTS friends (Donna and Ted) who are camping in that area, to enjoy lunch and catch up on the latest happenings.

After the rough weather and flooding, there was a rockslide on I-40 which closed down our route AND we also had a minor/preventive repair that needed to be addressed.  We might have been able to reroute ourselves, but we had tickets for a chocolate factory tour at 2pm in Asheville so we had a time issue to consider.

The repair didn't take long to address.  A quick trip to the store for some stainless screws.  A trip up the ladder.  And our awning is tightly secured to the rig once again and sealed so there won't be any water intrusion.

Dad noticed that the attached screen which was loaded with rain water was adding extra weight to our heavy, wet awning and he could see a bit of daylight between the awning and the rig.  Time to pull it back in tight to prevent any issues developing.  Quick and easy fix!!

Everything that was on the ground now has a layer of silt attached to it and some added debris. 

This is a black mat.

Debris caught on chair legs.

That cleanup will have to wait until the waterline is repaired by the city.  The campground office wasn't able to avoid water intrusion being at ground level.  They have some cleanup to do.  We were lucky to be sitting on wheels which kept us from any water getting inside. We stayed high and dry.

Fortunately, our French Broad Chocolate Factory Tour was not impacted by the storm, nor was the route to get there. 

Of course chccolate isn't healthy for dogs so I wasn't even invited.  I might have enjoyed the detailed presentation on the process from flower

to cacao pods and beans

to the different flavors of chocolate created using roasting, grinding, sifting, melting and a variety of recipes adding sugar and other ingredients to achieve particular flavors.   

This machine covers the chocolate squares with a coating of melted chocolate.

They bag the cacao beans in jute and being creative folks, French Broad Chocolates have even used the jute bags as a curtain valance over the doorway.

But the real showcase is the finished product.

It is a toss up as to whether that experience was the hi-light of the day or the fact that the water was back on when they returned to the campground.   I heard everyone oooh and aaah about the nice L-O-N-G shower that they would be taking tonight.  

Of course the gang wasn't aware that the water was back on when it was dinnertime so they had BBQ at Okie Dokie, a recommendation from friends, Jan and Joyce who had been in the area previously.  The restaurant was short of staff so they were doing takeout orders only but they had a nice covered porch with tables and chairs which worked out just fine.  

I'm so glad to see grass once again and the sunshine today did help dry  things up a tad so I, once again, FINALLY,  got to chase my ball!!  Now that was the hi-light of MY day!!

I'm Chloe