The Trip to Alpine, Helen.

Day 2 Saturday...November 3rd.

Woke up at 8:21, the kids had already awakened as early as 5:30. Why? I don't know what they were expecting but we had promised not to stir until 11 especially since we had already purchased breakfast the day before, and had drunken our heads to stupor.

My eyes were hurting red, my nose running and itchy from the allergies. Suddenly I was craving goat meat pepper soup; a rare delicacy people in the village--rurals---are normally greeted with once they nurture a head cold. It is filled with tender pieces of a goats rare, doused in peppery muthwatering liquid and some essential spices to excite the senses. However, this excuse of the woods was not my homely village in Africa, it was an imitative replica in the Western world where you ate eggs and biscuits with a chilled glass of orange juice. In its stead, my sister ran to the coffee machine once she awoke.

Took the kids to Garbage Patch Factory in Cleveland, a few miles from Helen, and a very dry county I might add, that means they shy away from the sale of alcohol. Do people still live like that? Took some cute pictures at the Garbage Patch Hospital, my nieces got 2 very expensive dolls. Must be nice to be a child, all you have to do is whine and bam! there it is.

Ate lunch at Unicoi State Park, we found a nice spot facing Unicoi Lake. Bees, bees, bees were the special guests of the day. They kept buzzing into our bland Turkey and Ham sandwiches like it was the most appetizing dish they'd been offered all day. We killed several of them and made them scape goats to scare off the other prey until we finally settled into our food, facing the dark murky, lifeless lake.

Climbed Anna Ruby Falls to see the huge waterfall. The walk was exhausting, invigorating and liberating. Hiking trails can make you come closer with your limits. Man is not invincible, after all though he may claim so. The embedded rocks took my breath away half the time so I took short breaks taking pictures of them.

Got home later, after a trip to the grocers for our evening dose of alcohol. YES!!!

While they tuned the grill for our dinner, I flipped channels, I had been missing my daily dose of MTV. Caught a Britney Spears dedication prgramma, and me, being the dreamland loser, sat still and watched Miss Spears act all surprised at the guests they pulled out of their hat in a sorta This is your life dedication. I wonder if they can ever do this kind of stuff for old legendary bands like RHCP, Madonna, Lauryn Hill why for the teen sensations eg, Spears, Nsync, BSB. It's sad the levels MTV stoops to sometimes.

Still haven't heard from Ogo, and Kevin who I spoke to on Thursday night before I left, promising that he'd call, one of the few reasons I took my cell phone with me. It never rang nevertheless. In the woods, you don't hear phones chirping, music blaring except for yours, or loud altercations between people. People leave all that chaos to the city. I miss that sometimes, the quiet eats into you eventually.

Got asked if I was enjoying my fun during my MTV stint, it seemed like I was having some kind of family moment withdrawal. I said I was, and forced a smile at the interrogator, trying my best to look enthused. Was I? I asked myself. Probably. The quiet just eats at me, and I look at the phone and hope that it will ring, just once. It doesn't.

Ate dinner quickly, came inside and watched Bridget Jones' Diary and the rest of that piss poor J. Lo movie. It was a good day.