As a late birthday gift for Lise and an early one for me, son John $ arranged for us to have a night in a cabin by the river. What a treat! John drove us to Madison County and treated us to lunch.

After John left for choir rehearsal, the rest of us had a light supper. $’s friend Rose had her dog Sadie there. Lise loved playing with Sadie, as did $. When we sat in the living room, the old family stories began to come out. There was lots of laughter as we teased each other.

Brother and sister shared the dog, much to the dog’s delight. Both are very good with dogs.

The next morning I took a photo of the French Broad River from the porch of the cabin. It was very soothing to watch the flow of the water and hear it through the night.

$ was taking us up the mountain behind his place when he suddenly stopped and said, “There’s a bear!”

I got my best shot out of the window. Lise jumped out and took a video of the bear climbing down the tree. I meant to ask her for a copy of it before she left. We were all excited at that close viewing.

$ knows the owner of the house on top of the mountain. He took us on the porch to see the marvelous view. The people are not there often, but when they are, they have it all! You can’t beat mountains and a river. I take that back. You might prefer a desert or a view of skyscrapers, but I’d vote for peaks and falling water every time.

I was surprised at the sound of the river that high up. $ said in the summer, he can understand conversations of rafters on the river. They talk louder than normal, and the sound rises up.

Staying in the cabin was a marvelous way to end our two-week Thanksgiving celebration.