Whispering Pines and Welcoming Porches

A long line of porch rockers welcomes weary travelers, and Jeff and I are two of those weary ones. We spent some nights at The Carolina, a gracious and welcome respite from city hotels and roadside motels. What a difference it was to slip into the slow time stream of 1895, when people sat quietly in porch rockers, read, talked, and dreamed. We needed this break, and we are so grateful to have experienced this southern tradition.

The Carolina in Pinehurst,  North Carolina.

Dear Friends,

Oops, I had written volumes about the trip, the wonderful people we've met, who have welcomed us into their homes, and the glorious towns we've visited, but I just deleted everything with one clumsy click of the fingers. So you're spared a long, rambling posting, but you're still able to see the sweet houses and porches tucked among the whispering pines and oak trees (yippee, they're dropping acorns and my pockets are brimming).

What a joy to meander through the quiet, shaded streets of Pinehurst. We needed the peaceful walks, the sound of the wind whispering through pine needles, the clatter of acorns falling onto tin roofs, the drifts of camellia petals that drifted past us on the warm, autumn breezes. 

Honeysuckle Cottage

We're not the only ones peeking into gardens and porches.

The formal porch of the Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities, which is where my talk and book signing were hosted by The Garden Club of the Sandhills and The Country Bookshop of Southern Pines, North Carolina. The Weymouth House is a treasure you must see.

So now I must finish packing and move on to our next stop. I'll be speaking at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina, and then driving for four hours to South Carolina and the Treasure Coast Bird Festival in Vero Beach, Florida. 

Thank you so much to all our hosts and hostesses along the way. And, to all the independent bookstore owners and staff, the librarians, children, and caring adults who are working to make this book tour a success. Oh, and to the birds, thank you, too.

Love,

Sharon

P.S. Luke weighs FIVE pounds!

P.P. S. Jeff here. To watch the video from Cincinnati TV interview, click here (after a brief commercial). 

Listen to "Gardening Naturally" with John Dromgoole this Saturday, from 9-11 CST, on KLBJ 590 AM from Austin, Texas.