We spent the week of May 14th on vacation in Virginia and North Carolina. I have been uploading blog posts about our vacation since May 29th. This blog post is about our eighth, and final, day of vacation.
I wish I had slept better the night before. Bob’s snoring awakened me, and the room temperature wasn’t good. I was either too warm or cold. Apparently I slept with an ant too. While half asleep, during the night, I changed my sleeping position. I rested the side of my head on another pillow. I heard a buzzing noise…bee? fly? I turned on the light and lifted my pillow….nothing. I lifted the other pillow…nothing. I pulled back the bed sheet and shook the covers…nothing. I eventually went back to sleep. Later on, I placed my hand underneath the pillow and felt movement. I brushed my hand outward. I got up, looked underneath the pillow and saw a black, plump ant moving quickly to the head of the bed. I flattened that ant, without a moment’s thought.
We departed A Holiday Motel on Sunday, May 21, at 5:15 am, in the rain. We arrived at Cracker Barrel in Asheville, NC at 5:50 am. We had an approximate wait of 10 minutes before the restaurant opened. While we ate, it got lighter outside. The rain, however, continued. We were back on the road around 6:30 am.
Our next stop was 3 hours later at the Rocky Gap Safety Rest Area/Welcome Center, located along Interstate 77 in Virginia. The only thing noteworthy about this rest stop was some old vehicles that we saw in the parking lot.
Interstate 77 in Virginia at the Rocky Gap Safety Rest Area/Welcome Center
The rain turned into drizzle, as we entered West Virginia and soon stopped completely.
We ate lunch at Shoney’s in Summersville, WV. We were back on the road at noon.
The Pennsylvania Welcome Center in Waynesburg is a very nice welcome center. It is full of brochures and maps about places throughout Pennsylvania, as well as coloring and activity books for children. There is also a coal miners memorial at this welcome center.
Coal Miners Memorabilia at Pennsylvania Welcome Center in Waynesburg, PA
Monument Dedicated to all Coal Miners at Pennsylvania Welcome Center in Waynesburg, PA
The coal miners memorial was of interest to me, as both Dad and my brother, Jim, were coal miners.
The rain started up again soon after leaving the Pennsylvania Welcome Center, and followed us home.
We got off Interstate 77 at the Slippery Rock exit, several miles sooner than routed by the GPS. We were getting tired of interstate travel.
We returned home at approximately 5:30 pm. We drove in rain at least 75% of our drive home.
Our vacation in May was planned around the South East Vulcan Riders and Owners Club (SEVROC) motorcycle rally in Maggie Valley, NC. The motorcycle rally was a 4-day event (May 18-21). Our vacation began on Sunday, May 14. We drove from Warren, PA to Front Royal, VA, where we spent the night. On Monday, May 15, we drove from Front Royal, VA to Waynesboro, VA, via Skyline Drive. We drove from Waynesboro, VA to Maggie Valley on Tuesday, May 16. For the next 5 nights we were lodged at A Holiday Motel, which was home base for SEVROC 2017.
SEVROC is an annual event. This year marked its 19th year. Since 2006 the rally has been held in Maggie Valley. Prior to 2006 the rally was held at two other south east locations: at Suches, GA for 2 years and at Lake Lure, NC for 5 years. (Thank you “Skid”, of Skid and Sandy on the Road, for information about rally locations prior to 2006.) From 2006 through 2013 the Applecover Inn in Maggie Valley served as home base for SEVROC, with innkeepers Derrick and Amy Cole catering to the club needs. SEVROC 2014 had a change of venue due to Derrick and Amy not being at the Applecover Inn any longer. Since 2014 A Holiday Motel has served as home base for SEVROC, with owners Gabi and Rob Edwards catering to the club needs. This is our fourth SEVROC rally. Bob and I attended the rally previously in 2008, 2014, and 2015. This was the first year that we didn’t take the motorcycle to the motorcycle rally. Our mode of transportation in the prior years was by motorcycle AND car. I have never been able to ride long distances on the motorcycle, but I have been able to make the drive. I was uncertain if I would be able to drive this year, as the arthritis in my right knee appears to have worsened in the past year or so. Therefore, we opted to travel by car only. Because VROC rallies are more about the PEOPLE than the bikes, it doesn’t really matter how you travel to a rally. What is important is that you come to the rally! Over the years I have come to think of a VROC rally as a family reunion.
A Holiday Motel SEVROC 2017 Rally Headquarters
An enjoyable part of the SEVROC rally is to meet new people and to get reacquainted with friends whom you have met at other rallies. In between rallies we stay in touch with our friends via the VROC web forum and Facebook.
“Boomer” and Mikey greet each other.
“Jax” greets Hang and “Zeke”.
The rocking chairs in front of your room provided a good location, too, for meeting new people and getting reacquainted with old friends.
We enjoyed a campfire each night of the rally.
Campfire at A Holiday Motel
The SEVROC Meet & Greet was held at the Rendezvous Restaurant at the Maggie Valley Inn, located approximately 3 miles north of A Holiday Motel. The Meet & Greet began at 6:00 pm and was over around 7:00 pm. Dinner was served family style. We had tossed salad and rolls, fish, coleslaw, ham, fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, and macaroni and cheese. For dessert we had Oreo chocolate pudding with whipped topping. The food was good; the company was exceptional.
Bob and I sat at this table.
“Willie Wonka”, Carlene, “Pappy” and Cheri sat opposite Bob and me.
“Willie Wonka” and Carlene
“Pappy” and Cheri
I took pictures of those at other tables as well. I heard that our dinner party totaled 51 people.
And just as I was ready to return to my table, “Judge” and Cindy arrive at the Meet & Greet.
In the center, “Judge” and Cindy
After dinner, back at A Holiday Motel, “Southern Draw” and Carolyn’s son, their daughter-in-law and granddaughter entertained us with music.
“Southern Draw” and Carolyn’s son and daughter-in-law Somebody’s Child
SEVROC 2017 wrapped up the evening of Saturday, May 20, with a raffle and 50/50 drawing.
Gathering for Saturday’s Raffle and 50/50 Drawing
Riders of Kawasaki (ROK) sent “Jax”, the organizer of the SEVROC motorcycle rally, a number of prizes to be drawn for. ROK also sent Kawaski-branded merchandise to be handed out to rally attendees.
Thank you, ROK, for the Kawasaki-branded lanyards, water bottles and travel mugs!
The raffle begins, with the first ticket drawn
The raffle resulted in 12 merchandise winners. Bob was one of the twelve winners. He won 6 quarts of oil.
Next up was to draw the ticket for the money. The winner would receive 50% of the proceeds. The balance would go to the local police department K9 unit.
The winning ticket for the 50/50 was drawn by one of the K9 officers.
“Blondy” won the 50/50 drawing.
“Blondy” with “Jax”, Mikey and the local K9 office
The total amount of money collected for the 50/50 drawing was $696.00. Therefore, “Blondy” won $348.00, and the local K9 unit received $348.00. “Blondy” handed over her entire winnings to the local K9 officer. The giving didn’t stop there. Individual rally attendees came forward and contributed more money to the K9 program. When the money was tallied up, we had contributed $1,200.00 to the K9 program!
“Jax”, Mikey, the two K9 officers and one of their two dogs
The next order of business was the presentation of a quilt to “Jax”, in recognition of all the years that he has organized the SEVROC rally.
Presentation of Quilt to “Jax”
The quilt was made of SEVROC shirts from 15 different rallies. The shirts were donated by various members. Mikey’s wife, Linda, was responsible for the quilt’s preparation. She and Mikey had each of us come secretively to their room and autograph the back of the quilt. What a wonderful gift for “Jax”!
After the quilt presentation, the K9 officers showed their dogs. One of the K9 officers showed us what last year’s SEVROC contribution to the K9 program purchased for the K9 unit. The black box and yellow ball in the picture displayed below is used in training K9 drug sniffing dogs.
K9 officer explaining use of black box and yellow ball in training of K9 drug sniffing dogs
What a wonderful time we had with our VROC “family”.
our VROC “family”
I love each and every one of them and look forward to the next time we meet in person!
We spent the week of May 14th on vacation in Virginia and North Carolina. I have been uploading blog posts about our vacation since May 29th. This blog post is about our seventh day of vacation.
We ate breakfast on Saturday, May 20 at Joey’s Pancake House. Bob and I each ordered an omelet, hash brown casserole, and toast. Breakfast was delicious, especially the hash brown casserole. Joey’s is one of our breakfast stops, while in Maggie Valley. According to Joey’s web page the pancake house is closing as of today Tuesday, June 13th.
We returned to A Holiday Motel, after breakfast. We decided to stay close to the hotel, taking it easy in preparation for our long drive home the next day.
We watched ‘Blindspot” on Hulu. We are able to get Hulu via the Amazon Fire TV Stick that we brought with us on vacation.
After watching “Blindspot”, we walked around the hotel grounds, socializing with some of our motorcycling friends. I mistook one of our friends for his brother. Lonnie arrived at A Holiday Motel on Tuesday, the same day as we did. It was uncertain if Lonnie’s brother Carl would attend this year’s SEVROC, as he had just returned home from a cruise. As we were passing by Lonnie’s room, I saw someone at a motorcycle. It looked like someone had just arrived. I quickly took note of whom I thought was Lonnie, standing near the motorcycle. I walked up to whom I thought was Carl, at the motorcycle, and gave him a big hug, saying that I was happy that he made it. Well I hugged Lonnie, not Carl…not that he minded. After hugging Lonnie, the man standing on the opposite side of me, who I thought was Lonnie, said “it’s me. I’m Carl.” It was at that moment I realized I had mistaken Lonnie for Carl. I gave Carl a hug, everyone including me laughing about my blunder.
Carl (on the left) and Lonnie
The annual trek to Seven Silver Seas, commonly referred to as the Purple Store, happened at 11:00 am. I didn’t go this year, not wanting to be tempted to buy something that I don’t need.
While some of the ladies were shopping at the Purple Store, I did some reading. I started reading “The Handmaid’s Tale” before leaving on vacation. I hadn’t picked up the book since. By the way I am STILL reading “The Handmaid’s Tale”. I am enjoying the book; however, I keep finding something to do to take me away from my reading!
In the middle of the afternoon Bob and I walked to Market Square, where we stopped at Rock-N-Robins for ice cream and then did some window shopping.
While window shopping, a promotion for T-shirts caught my eye. We ended up purchasing two Magic T-shirts for each of our granddaughters. Magic T-Shirts have designs that are black and white indoors and burst into color in the sun. They return to black and white without the sun. The design we chose was butterfly wings. We gave the T-Shirts to the girls at their 5th birthday party on May 27th.
We ate dinner at Bogarts Restaurant in Waynesville. It was our first time at this restaurant. Our rib-eye steak sandwiches were very good, as was the sweet potato fries (for me) and onion rings (for Bob). This restaurant (and the ribeye steak sandwiches) were recommended to us by “Skid”, one of our motorcycling friends. Thank you, “Skid”. Dinner was delicious!
The Southeast Vulcan Riders and Owners Club (SEVROC) motorcycle rally wrapped up in the evening with a raffle and 50/50. I will share photographs from the raffle in a later blog post.
We said goodbye to everyone before turning in early for the night. We plan to begin our drive home the next day no later than 7:00 am.
We spent the week of May 14th on vacation in Virginia and North Carolina. I have been uploading blog posts about our vacation since May 29th. This blog post is about our sixth day of vacation.
We awakened at 5:45 am on Friday, May 19. We were showered and dressed for the day by 6:30 am.
We left A Holiday Motel at 6:38 am en route Asheville, NC. I drove. We arrived at IHOP at 7:15 am. Bob ordered coffee, two scrambled eggs and two slices bacon. I ordered two scrambled eggs, two slices of bacon and two pancakes topped with strawberries and whipped cream. The food and service were good.
After breakfast we went to Prestige Subaru, where we had an appointment at 8:15 am for our Subaru Legacy’s 6,000 mile service. We purchased our new car in March this year and have put over 5,000 miles on the car. We knew we would be over 6,000 miles by the time we returned home, so we made a service appointment, while on vacation, for this important first service. Customer service was excellent. From the moment we walked in they were so kind, welcoming, and generous. We were offered breakfast snacks and coffee while we waited in comfortable seating. The service was fast and efficient.
The car service was completed by 8:55 am. We left Prestige Subaru en route Canton, NC. In Canton we hopped onto NC Route 215 south.
Intersection of U.S. Route 276 and NC Route 215. Sign indicates that the next 34 miles will have 9% grades 15 MPH curves and 5000 ft. elevations.
We passed by Lake Logan.
As our drive brought us closer to the Blue Ridge Parkway, we saw two waterfalls. We have seen both of these waterfalls during past visits in this area. However, we have approached them from the opposite direction. It was strange to come up on the waterfalls on the opposite side of the road than expected! In the past I have referred to these waterfalls as Waterfall #1 and Waterfall #2. This year I discovered the name of one of the two waterfalls.
There are two sets of falls here, an upper falls and a lower falls. I have shown the upper falls in the photograph displayed above.
Sunburst Falls is located right next to NC Route 215. The waterfall crosses under a beautiful stone bridge. The water flows through an arch in the bridge and plunges into some smaller falls below the bridge.
Sunburst Falls (Lower Falls)
The second waterfall we passed was also located right next to NC Route 215.
Waterfall #2
Leaving the second waterfall, we continued on NC Route 215 to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We turned right onto the Parkway. We stopped at three overlooks before returning to Maggie Valley.
Our first stop on the Blue Ridge Parkway was at Beartrap Gap Overlook.
Beartrap Gap Overlook Elevation 5,580 ft.
We enjoyed a picnic lunch, while at the Beartrap Gap Overlook.
Richland Balsam Overlook Elevation 6,053 ft. Highest Elevation on the Parkway
Our last stop on the Blue Ridge Parkway was at the Standing Rock Overlook. The standing rock for which the overlook is named is located at the south end of the parking area.
Standing Rock Overlook Elevation 3,915 ft.
We returned to A Holiday Motel, home base for the Southeast Vulcan Riders and Owners (SEVROC) motorcycle rally, at around 1:30 pm. We were tired, so we took a nap.
After our nap, we socialized with our VROC friends until it was time to leave for dinner.
Dinner was a group event, the SEVROC Meet & Greet. Back at A Holiday Motel, after dinner, the son and daughter-in-law of one of our friends, entertained us with music. I will share a separate blog post about the Meet & Greet and our evening entertainment, as well as other specific SEVROC-related events, in the near future.
We spent the week of May 14th on vacation in Virginia and North Carolina. I have been uploading blog posts about our vacation since May 29th. This blog post is about our fifth day of vacation.
I awakened at 6:15 am on Thursday, May 18, and was showered and dressed for the day by 6:50 am.
At 7:30 am we went to breakfast at Pop’s Grits & Eggs, which is located next door to A Holiday Motel. This was our second breakfast at Pop’s in as many days. As we entered the restaurant two of our VROC friends, Lonnie and Rick, saw Bob and me and invited us to join them at their table. Bob and I ordered Western Omelets for breakfast. The food and conversation was great. As we were leaving the restaurant three more VROC friends — Jim, Tim and Paul, came in for breakfast. We chatted briefly, before exiting the restaurant.
Bob and I made plans the previous night to join “Skid” in a group ride.
“Skid”, at A Holiday Motel, preparing for the group ride
We departed A Holiday Motel around 9:30 am en route Townsend TN. The ride that we left on is referred to as “the Townsend Loop”. The Townsend Loop ride originates in Maggie Valley NC and travels via Newfound Gap Road (U.S. Route 441), Old TN-73 and Lamar Alexander Parkway to Townsend. Townsend is a lunch stop. Then the ride continues to (and on) the Tail of the Dragon and back to Maggie Valley. When we attended SEVROC in 2015, Bob and I went on this ride. More than 20 people participated in the ride in 2015. This year our group ride consisted of only five people: “Skid” and Sandy, “Bass Man”, and Bob and I. “Skid” and “Bass Man” rode their motorcycles, with “Skid” in the lead. Sandy rode in the car with Bob and me. I drove; Bob sat in the backseat.
Our first stop was at Newfound Gap, on the North Carolina-Tennessee border.
Newfound Gap is a mountain pass located near the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Situated along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the state line crosses the gap.
Our second stop was at Smokin’ Joe’s Bar-B-Que in Townsend TN. We arrived at the restaurant shortly before noon. The restaurant wasn’t busy. We were seated immediately and lunch orders taken. I remembered how good the hush puppies were from lunch 2 years ago, so we asked for a large order of hush puppies. Bob ordered a salad with some kind of meat BBQ. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich. Our main lunch entrees were OK; the hush puppies were just as good as I remembered them.
After lunch Bob, Sandy and I parted ways with “Skid” and “Bass Man”. The motorcyclists left to ride The Tail of the Dragon, before returning to Maggie Valley. Bob, Sandy and I went to Gatlinburg and then returned to Maggie Valley via U.S. Route 441. If we had spotted somewhere to park in Gatlinburg, we would have stopped and walked around a bit. We didn’t see any parking, so we didn’t stop. As we drove through the city, we did see some damage from the November 2016 wildfires. We saw more fire damage from U.S. Route 441.
Fire Damage from Nov. 2016 Wildfires U.S. Route 441 (TN)
Fire Damage from Nov. 2016 Wildfires This is the same stop as above, but a close-up of the mountain on the right is shown.
Sandy and I at Chimney Tops Overlook U.S. Route 441 (TN)
According to the Nashville Public Radio website article , the November 2016 wildfires started November 23 in the Chimney Tops area and turned deadly five days later. Fourteen people were killed; more than 175 people were injured; and at least 2,400 structures were damaged. Two juveniles were charged with aggravated arson in connection with the wildfires.
We made one additional stop before returning to Maggie Valley. Less than 1/2 mile south of Newfound Gap, we turned off U.S. Route 441 onto Clingmans Dome Road. We followed Clingmans Dome Road to a parking lot.
Clingmans Dome Informational Sign
We were not willing to climb the steep half-mile walk to the observation tower shown on the informational sign. I did take a picture, though, that looked like Bob and Sandy were on their way up the trail to the observation tower. I took this photograph to tease “Skid”, to let him think that Sandy climbed that trail. “Skid” wasn’t fooled.
Bob and Sandy on the trail leading to Clingmans Dome
We didn’t have to climb that steep trail, though, to enjoy scenic vistas.
View from Clingmans Dome parking lot
View from Clingmans Dome parking lot
View from Clingmans Dome parking lot
Bob, Sandy and I made it back to A Holiday Motel (home base for the Southeast Vulcan Riders and Owners (SEVROC) motorcycle rally) shortly after “Skid” and “Bass Man” made it back from their ride on the Tail of the Dragon.
Rather than go out, Bob and I ate leftovers for dinner. Later in the evening we socialized with our VROC friends, before calling it a night. I called it a night much sooner than Bob did!
We spent the week of May 14th on vacation in Virginia and North Carolina. I have been uploading blog posts about our vacation since May 29th. This blog post continues our fourth day of vacation.
When we finished chasing waterfalls, we continued on Route 276 to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We rode south to the highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway, stopping at a few overlooks along the way, before making our way back to Maggie Valley.
The first overlook that we stopped at was Looking Glass Rock (mile marker 417).
Where we stood looking at Looking Glass Rock, the elevation was 4,492 feet. Looking Glass Rock rises from the valley floor to an elevation of 3,969 feet.
Looking Glass Rock
We veered off of the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile marker 420.2, following Black Balsam Road for a short ways. There is parking along this road for Black Balsam Knob Area hiking trails. We didn’t go hiking, but we did enjoy the view from several overlooks. Here is the view from one of the overlooks.
Black Balsam Knob Road overlook Bob pointed out to me that we could see Looking Glass Rock from this vantage point.
Our next stop was at Devils Courthouse (mile marker 422).
Devils Courthouse may have received its name because of the sinister aspect of the rock formation.
Our last stop on the Blue Ridge Parkway was at Richland Balsam Overlook (mile marker 431).
Bob and I at the Richard Balsam Overlook Highest Elevation on the Blue Ridge Parkway
We exited the Blue Ridge Parkway at 4:50 pm and returned to A Holiday Motel, home base for the Southeast Vulcan Riders and Owners (SEVROC) motorcycle rally.
Around 5:30 pm we went to dinner at the Sagebrush Steakhouse in Waynesville. This was the second time in as many days that we ate dinner at the Sagebrush. The first time we were a party of five. This time we were a party of fifteen. The restaurant set a table for us in the back room. As it was the day before, the food was very good. The company was excellent. There was a lot of good-humored conversation going on around the table. The service seemed quicker than the previous day, especially given the larger party. Service was good, until it came time to pay. Similar to the day before, it took a while for the waitress to take care of the bills.
After dinner, we returned to A Holiday Motel. We socialized a bit with our VROC friends and then called it a night. We were in bed shortly before 11:00 pm.
We spent the week of May 14th on vacation in Virginia and North Carolina. I have been uploading blog posts about our vacation since May 29th. This blog post is about our fourth day of vacation.
We awakened shortly before 6:00 am on Wednesday, May 17. By 6:50 am we were showered and dressed for the day. This is our first full day at A Holiday Motel in Maggie Valley, NC.
Our VROC friends, “Skid” and Sandy, stopped by our hotel room around 7:15 am, on their way to breakfast. The four of us ate breakfast at Pop’s Grits & Eggs, located on the hotel grounds. We sat down at the only available table and placed our breakfast orders. Bob ordered a Sausage and Cheese Omelet. I ordered a Western Omelet. Breakfast was good and very filling.
After breakfast, Bob and I went chasing waterfalls. It was 9:00 am, when we began our drive. We saw seven waterfalls. We used the GPS to take us from one waterfall to the next. The first waterfall that we visited was Soco Falls.
Soco Falls is located between the towns of Maggie Valley and Cherokee. From Maggie Valley, head south on Highway 19 to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Cross under the Parkway and continue downhill on Highway 19 towards Cherokee. From the Parkway, it’s 1.5 miles to an unmarked pullout on the left side of the road. This is the fourth year that we have gone in search of waterfalls in this area of North Carolina. Each year we have missed the small parking area for this waterfall. This year was no exception; however, we turned around this time and found Soco Falls. There is no sign at the pullout, but you can hear the waterfalls from the parking area. The trail to Soco Falls begins at the northern part of the parking area, where there is a break in the guard rail. The first part of the trail resembled a goat path and was a little bit steep. Within a few minutes, though, we reached a boardwalk and the viewing platform.
Soco Falls
Soco Falls is a double waterfall. If you look closely at the photograph displayed below, a portion of the second waterfall can be seen on the bottom left side peeking out from behind the foliage.
Soco Falls The taller of the two waterfalls is 120 feet tall.
U.S. Route 64 tightly twists and turns its way along the Cullasaja River Gorge, which is part of the Nantahala National Forest. We stopped at three Cullasaja River Gorge waterfalls:
Cullasaja Falls
Quarry Falls
Dry Falls
Cullasaja Falls is located along a very dangerous stretch of Hwy 64. The 250′ waterfall is visible from the road, but there is only a small pull-off area. Make sure that you pull completely off the road! Tractor trailers use this section of road and they need both lanes to get around these curves.
Cullasaja Falls
Quarry Falls (also known as Upper Cullasaja Falls) is another roadside waterfall. Quarry Falls is a small, but beautiful waterfall.
Quarry Falls is a 20-foot high, multi-tiered waterfall.
The 75-foot high Dry Falls earned its name because you can take a trail to walk behind the falls and not get wet (well, not too wet).
Dry Falls
Around 1:00 pm we ate a picnic lunch at Connestee Falls Park, located about 6 miles from Brevard along U.S. Route 276.
After lunch we took a very short stroll from the right rear of the parking lot to the viewing area for Baston Creek Falls.
The viewing platform sits on top of Connestee Falls. The ledge that is visible in this photograph is a small part of Connestee Falls. From the viewing area you look over at Batson Creek Falls.
Batson Creek Falls
Located a short distance from Brevard along Route 276 are Looking Glass Falls and Sliding Rock, both of which are located in the Pisgah National Forest. Before arriving at Looking Glass Falls we avoided a car collision with a car that wandered onto our side of the road; we hit a squirrel; and we avoided hitting a dog that jumped out onto the road from truck bed in front of us. This all happened within a few minutes!
Looking Glass Falls is 60 feet tall.
Our next stop was at Sliding Rock.
Sliding Rock is a 60′ natural rock slide with a 6-7 foot deep pool at the base.
Both Looking Glass Falls and Sliding Rock are located near the Blue Ridge Parkway. Leaving Sliding Rock, we hopped onto the Blue Ridge Parkway (south) — the subject of my next blog post.
The Beauty Around Us 