The first night John’s sister Barbara and Thom came, we sat on the porch catching up on news. Now that they are retired, they walk in the morning like we do. I have a picture to prove they went to the creek with us.

At the top of the big hill, we found Logan eagerly waiting for the bus. It was the second day of school, but the first day for him to be on the bus this season. He ran, and Bob rushed to catch up and speak to the driver.

That afternoon John noticed Logan standing at the edge of his property while we sat on the porch across the street. His whole body leaned forward, willing John to invite him over. John called him, and he ran to get permission. Barbara, a born teacher, went inside to get a book for Logan to look at. She expected him to look at the pictures of the US presidents, but he began reading aloud, “George Washington….”

She brought out another book with pictures to look for, and Logan was instantly glued to it. She promised to leave it at our house for him to look at, which she did. I think she felt sorry for me after hearing that I forced myself to play checkers one day to entertain him.

Barbara and Thom were interested in feeding the horses for a photo op. One of their granddaughters rides regularly and would enjoy seeing them with the animals. I went in the house for an apple and found son John $ with a cut apple in his hand, ready to bring it out.

On the way back to the house, Barbara spied a black snake in bushes beside the house. I was amused that three of us were eager to catch it, but only with our cameras.

Our activity for the day was going to Cherokee to see demonstrations of Indian village life in the 1800’s. On an overlook there was a sign with writing in English and Cherokee. $ knows a lot about the Cherokee nation, and he said they are the only American Indians with a written language.

We saw demonstrations of weaving, beading, making bows and arrows, making blowguns from bamboo, and hollowing out a log for a canoe. There were traps for animals, houses of various styles, and the lodge where everyone in the community would attend meetings. We all enjoyed talking to a young man with an accent. He came from Scotland to the US to study, and met and married his wife. Unlike the US government, which requires proof of blood relationship, the Cherokee clan accepts him as a full member. We enjoyed the group doing traditional dances. They laughed, teased each other, and paid special attention to the girl in the group whose birthday was that day.

For dinner, we went to a place called Butts on the Creek. We all liked the BBQ. Barbara had to try something none of us had ever had – fried corn on the cob. There was a light batter on it that was crispy and good.

Our sibling reunion was lots of fun. Barbara and Thom were on their way to visit her and John’s sister Chris and Steve in SC. John had the idea of our meeting for lunch in Columbia, SC. It worked nicely, with all of us driving part of the way. We were on the late side of the lunch hour, so the staff did not mind that we sat and talked in the empty restaurant. All too soon it was time to leave. We headed toward an empty house, and the other four continued the party in Summerville.