Fall is an absolutely gorgeous time in Mt. Airy, so if you’re anywhere near the NC mountains, you should totally check it out. Here are three of our favorite spots that we visited this weekend:

1. The Downtown Cinema on Saturday mornings – If you’re a musician, or anyone who enjoys music, you’ve gotta go check out the amazing bluegrass and old time music here. For early risers, there’s a jam session from 9-10:30am, and then from 11am-1:30ish, they do a live radio broadcast with some excellent mountain musicians. Must hear, must hear, must hear!!

2. The 308 Bistro – Located in the Old North State Winery in downtown Mt. Airy, the 308 Bistro offers excellent food at musician-friendly prices. The restaurant is run by Twyla from the Maxwell House Bed and Breakfast, another of our favorite Mount Airy spots!

3. Utt’s Campground – Utt’s is actually located just up the mountain from Mt. Airy, in Fancy Gap, VA. It’s beautiful, quiet, and only $16 per night for tent camping! We especially enjoyed the walking trail, and getting the chance to meet the various cats and puppies that share the mountain with the campers.

So, that’s all for now. We’re back in Raleigh, doing various Summerglen things; but even though we’re home, the benefits of running away to the mountains still linger. This week has been calm and relaxing, and it’s been easy to think of ideas and work on projects. We’ll have to go back more often…and when we do, we’ll definitely be back to share more cool finds with you!

Fluency is a big part of music and cooking. In music, if you can’t read or improvise fluently, you’ll end up with a jerky performance and an empty dance floor. In cooking, if you stare at the recipe too long, your onions burn! And in both subjects, the more you understand about what you’re working with (rhythms, notes, onions, and potatoes), the more fluent you can be.

Enjoy, and happy cooking!

The Sierra Club Sock-A-Thon is a project begun by our sockmaking friend Diogenes Ruiz. Diogenes’ company, Devmir, manufactures earth-friendly socks made of organic cotton and bamboo, soy, and recycled synthetic fibers. On November 1st, Diogenes is holding a Sock-A-Thon to benefit both the Sierra Club and the homeless, and you’re invited to join in!

Here’s how it works. For every pair of socks sold on November 1st from the Sierra Club Socks website, 10% of the purchase price will be donated to the Sierra Club and another pair of socks will be donated to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Our goal is to raise a million dollars for the Sierra Club and to donate a million pairs of socks to the homeless.

I challenge you, readers, to get the word out about this great cause! Drop by http://www.sierraclubsocks.com to learn more, and to register for the Sock-A-Thon. You can make a difference in the world with just a few mouse clicks!

As you browse the sock site, take a listen to the official theme song of the Sock-A-Thon, Change Your Socks, Change The World. We just finished it late last night!

Even when you do something you enjoy for a living, you can get burned out if you don’t take breaks. So, this past weekend we took a break…and drove to the Outer Banks!

It was a 4-1/2 hour drive each way, but we made the trip last even longer by stopping to check out this or that town along the way. Our favorite stop had to be Plymouth, NC. They have a nifty river lighthouse and a nice downtown area right on the waterfront. Most notably, the people in Plymouth say hello to you when they see you on the street, whether you’re their friend or a couple of strangers like we were! Many of the people there were also traveling by bike or on foot, and we totally dug their earth-friendliness!

Then, it was on to Hatteras. The Outer Banks is a chain of barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina; it’s such a unique place, because it’s not quite land and not quite sea. And it’s not quite like other beaches you’ll see around here, either–no high rises, and sometimes, no buildings at all. And the place has tons of history; lighthouses, shipwrecks, Civil War battles…we can’t wait to go back!

The whole time we were there (except for the day we left, of course), it was raining heavily, so we didn’t get to do very much outside. That’s OK; it just inspired us to come back next summer. For a week. Or more! But what we did get to do was relax and enjoy a change of scenery and the chance to hang out with different people (we stayed with several of my relatives whom we don’t see much). The trip cleansed our palate, pulled us out of our routine, and made us think about different things than we normally do. Even though it was dreary outside, we still got to recharge; and that’s a valuable vacation.

Now I’m back in Raleigh, dreaming about our future travels. We truly have a great state to explore…and I can’t wait for the next trip!

Andrew and I (and quite possibly Velvet the cat) really dig Barack Obama, so we’re very excited to have him in North Carolina! Here’s an entertaining rundown of Obama’s visit with the UNC Basketball Team.

I wonder if Mr. Obama would like to try his hand at trombone or percussion…
Maybe on his next visit, we’ll get him over here for a drum circle! Go Obama!