You know you have good friends when you tell them you’re a couple of hours away from where they’re heading for the weekend and they detour to come visit you instead. They’re even better friends when they know they will have to sleep on an air mattress on your floor, take cold showers in the shower house at the campground, coexist together in tight quarters with you, have no space to put their personal items, and endure the chill of the November outdoors, and still agree to come visit you. Meet our great and wonderful friends, Perry & Dee Dee.
It was another episode in our series, We Couldn’t Have Planned It Better If We Tried. As we were driving in North Carolina en route to Great Smoky Mountain National Park and our campsite there, we texted Perry & Dee Dee and asked them where their property was.
We knew they had some land around these parts and were planning to build on it soon, and we sensed that we were nearby.
It turns out their little slice of heaven on the Nantahala River is within an hour of where we were, and when we told them how close our campsite was to their property, they turned their car in our direction and joined us the next day before noon.
Their stay with us, while unplanned, was absolutely fantastic! Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday were filled with lots of spontaneous fun. We enjoyed happy hour around the campfire both evenings and shared two delicious dinners, if I say so myself. They showed us their property and the nearby surrounding area – we can’t wait to come back to visit once their house is built! In general, we just laughed and joked and ribbed and reminisced as old friends do.
Fred and Perry’s friendship dates back to 1979 – 35 years ago! – when they were stationed on the USS Albany together in Gaeta, Italy, while serving in the U.S. Navy. On this Veteran’s Day, then, it seems appropriate to thank them both for their service to our country. And to Perry & Dee Dee, thanks for a fabulous weekend! We look forward to seeing you again next month in sunny Florida!!
