Mom came down to visit after spending time with my brother, sister-in-law, and baby nephew in Kentucky.
Because my Virginia plans fell through this weekend, we were able to drive up to North Carolina and visit with Grandma Dottie! On the way, though, despite the drizzling rain and fog on the mountain highways, we stopped for a couple of drive-by letterboxes in Flat Rock.
Days Gone By was planted by Tiggermama, and her clue said very specifically to bring a camera. I did, and I was not disappointed!
(Please keep in mind that I will never quit my day job to be a photographer.)
St. John in the Wilderness is a beautiful church with a simple, elegant terraced cemetery surrounding. Every plot was draped in ivy and moss, with the old gravemarkers darkened by rain. The gray, misty weather gave a silent serenity to the entire small graveyard.
The entrance; driveway to the left.
The letterbox clues were fairly straight-forward, but I spent more time tourist-ing than following clues...I turned around a lot and retraced my steps quite a bit.
The paths were so well-kept, even in spite of the autumn leaves.
I've always been intrigued by unique gravestones.
Following the clue, the path turned right, and I followed, finally getting a look at the church itself.
The terraced plots were so simple and lovely.
I paused for a picture of a leaf on one of the paving stones.
If I were given to haiku, perhaps I would write one about this leaf.
At last, I found the key grave of note in the cemetery: Christopher Memminger and his family. Memminger was the first Secretary of the Treasury of the Confederate States of America. This plot acted as the beginning of the true letterbox hunt.
Someone has kept the Confederate flag flying in memoriam.
Of course, I got distracted by the Narnia-esque lamppost I found:
Mr. Tumnus, where are you when I need you?
I headed towards the back of the graveyard, and came upon the stone-cut roses mentioned in the clue:
Trying to capture the intricacy of the carving.
My close-ups need work...
I had a hard time tracking down the last part of the clue, because I am unfamiliar with stonemasonry and other carving techniques. I was sure I had to look for a particular type of cross...not the name on the cross.
Coming upon my final marker in the clue.
I was so fortunate the rain hadn't washed out the name.
Close-up of the detail on the center of the cross.
I successfully obtained the letterbox at this point (no spoilers!), and headed back towards the car, where Mom was waiting, safe and dry. I took the driveway back, and paused to click a few more pictures on the way.
Twin mossy crosses.
The unique cross from the other side, heading back toward the beginning.
There are more letterbox escapades, but not as many pictures with such a serene quality. I'll do a separate post later this week, to keep up my "blog every day in December" goal!
Thanks for reading!
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