Thursday, September 11, 2008

Pinky Falls


There are very few places from my past that I get to revisit. The houses that I grew up in were sold long ago and I live a long way from the northern cities that I associate with "home". But there is a place down here that still makes me sigh with the comfort of returning to the well-loved and known. It is a small city on the top of a tall mountain - Highlands, N.C., where my grandmother and father both used to own homes. It was the fairy land of my childhood. In my dreams, I have a thatched cottage there, where we go with friends and family on weekends, or even for months at a time.

One of my favorite spots in Highlands is a watering hole known to the natives as Pinky Falls. My brother and I played there a lot when we were visiting my father, jumping into its icy water after a blackberry-picking walk down the curving street from my father's log cabin.

It was so sweet to watch Gillen and Jesse playing there a few weeks ago.

Jesse is playing his ongoing game "Fight to the Finish" on his private sand island:
A sign of fall:





7 comments:

kelli said...

It looks like a magical place. No wonder you love it, it's so cool the boys could experience too. :)

Jane said...

Madeline, I always love your playlists. Tupelo honey was on the soundtrack of a movie with Peter Fonda and the actress who played the wife on Home Improvement, anyway the movie so moved me and I loved the song. I waited till the end of the credits to see who sang it (how could I not have guessed?)

Molly said...

a thatched cottage getaway sounds perfect!

Jodi said...

wow...looks very special. How blessed you are to have such a beautiful place hidden away as a childhood memory!

Sandra Dodd said...

The photo of the tree going up and up into haze reminds me of Jack and the Beanstalk art. Trees would have to go a long way here in Albuquerque to get into hazy sky. That's really beautiful.

Donck Family said...

looks like you all had a lot of fun. My friend Dale from school lives in Highland NC. When I read about it, it seems like a perfect place to go to. DD

Madeline Rains said...

Jane, that movie is called "Ulee's (sp?) Gold". Great movie. Thanks for teh note about my playlist. I am so behind in changing the music.

Sandra, that tree is so cool and very much Jack and the Beanstalk! I hadn't seen that before. Fairy tale surroundings there, for sure.