The Traveling Steve's

 I’m way behind in my blogging, but on this day of thanks, would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!   I’m staying with my brother Andy this week at his house in Roanoke, and am visiting with my parents each day at the Elk’s House (now known as English Meadows) assisted living.I will go back and add photos to this and the couple previous posts soon.  The World Press editor has changed, and I’m still figuring it out. I’m sure there’s an easier way to do this, but I can’t figure out how to insert photos where I want them like I used too, so the photos may be all over the place for now.

 The Elk’s Home is a nice 45 minute drive with the first 20 minutes or so via the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Elk’s Home is already all decked out for Christmas, as the maintenance staff work a couple months ahead of time putting up all the lights and outdoor displays, not to mention some 65 indoor trees and displays which the residents and family members, community groups etc, help to decorate.

My brother Andy and I spend several hours decorating the International Tree we themed and it turned out very well if I do say so ourselves.  As it was 12 feet tall, we needed a big ladder to reach the top.I had made some photo ornaments of the family which we placed on the tree along  with the  other ornaments, flag, and garland.  My brother Andy also had ornaments from over 70 countries around the world that he had collected or been gifted over the years, which made for a unique look and tree.

We topped off the tree with assorted international flags of different countries around the world.

Here are a couple photos of the final decorated tree, the first of me (UNO), and the second of Andy and our Mom.

 On Thanksgiving Day, my brother Andy and I went to pick up my parents for our Thanksgiving meal.  We went to the Peaks of Otter which is always a nice mountaintop retreat only 15 minutes from their new home.

 While we didn’t stay at the rustic lodge, we did have lunch in the dining room, which overlooked the lake.  It was quite busy today and they were expecting some 1,200 people for the delicious and bountiful buffet.

 We had a wonderful feast, with shrimp, cheeses, berries, and salad before moving on to our main course.  The buffet was filled with all the typical Thanksgiving fare including turkey and dressing, mashed and sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans casserole, macaroni and cheese, as well as pork, salmon, and prime rib at the carving station.

We had a nice and leisurely meal overlooking the lake; later saving just enough room for the dessert extravaganza.

 Flash forward now to Saturday and I’m in the Roanoke Airport heading back to Orlando.  Today is the only day we’ve had icky weather; early morning freezing rain and now at noon still a damp cool.  My flight leaves at 12:45pm, so I thought I’d finish this post.  

I really had a wonderful week in Roanoke visiting my parents and brother.  I saw them each day, and a couple of times even brought Andy’s dog Barnabas with me.

He’s a miniature poodle and just turned two, and is the most loving dog you could meet.  He also requires total attention, and doesn’t like to be left alone!  He was a real hit with my parents and other residents at Elk’s home too!

Last night Andy and I had dinner at Billy’s Restaurant in downtown Roanoke.  We both had the prime rib special and as we had taken Uber, we had a bottle of Cakebread Cabernet and a half bottle of the 2012 Margaux.

It was so enjoyable being back in Roanoke, and now I’ll be back in Orlando, hopefully around 6pm and still have tomorrow (Sunday) to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Steve (DOS) who has been with his Father this week is now at my house, and spent a lot of time yesterday completing the front yard with the inflatables, Christmas tree etc.  He texted me a couple photos last night and it looks great!

Last weekend we had put up the bush lights all over the front of the house.  We had switched to LED a couple years ago, and it takes so little electricity as well as you can plug the 30 something strands into one outlet.  The color is also very bright and vivid.

So time to head out.  Happy Thanksgiving week to everyone!