“Growth and comfort do not coexist.” — Ginni Rometty
The sun sets in Phoenix, Arizona
Life is nothing but transitions, some planned and some spontaneous. COVID-19, looming political chaos, and unexpected medical issues made the 1,200-mile journey to Canmore every summer less accessible and, unfortunately, challenging to manage. We had always dreamed of settling in one perfect location; now was our opportunity.
So, we decided to sell our place in Canada and Phoenix and relocate. As the engineer, Dave always used Excel spreadsheets and vast research to choose an area that was temperate year-round, mountainous yet not susceptible to fire, with plenty of hiking trails and activities. The need to be closer to our roots came into play, as most of our family resided in the Southeast. Western North Carolina checked all of the boxes.
Change doesn’t happen overnight, but in our case, it was close. If there were awards for perseverance, Dave would win, hands down. He efficiently handled home consolidation and relocation preparation while I was out of pocket, periodically getting pumped full of antibodies.
On the road again.
Looking back, I’m amazed at how quickly we made it happen. Unfortunately, we couldn’t escape one last summer inferno in Phoenix. My treatments and a slow housing market (who wants to look for a home when it’s 115° outside?) kept us homebound until early August. We bolted two days before closing. After a three-day, two-car cross-country tour, we arrived at The Black Barnhouse, a cozy Airbnb in Fairview, NC, which became our temporary home for six weeks.
View from the Black Barnhouse.
With the guidance of Joseph Brieter of Allan Tate, four full days of searching led us to a home on rolling hills surrounded by apple orchards and a vineyard just outside Hendersonville. The view was expansive—a perfect transition from the desert—wide and open. My brother Bob fondly calls it Fruitlandia. Welcome home.
Apple pie, apple cake, applesauce, apple crisp—apple nirvana.
Lots of room to run in this backyard..
Lucia is one Lucky Dog.
The sun rises in Hendersonville, NC.
By the way, there is no such thing as the perfect place to live. No one could have predicted what would happen within the next ten days...