Can’t you see the sunshine,

Can’t you just feel the moonshine?

You must forgive me,

If I’ve up and gone to Carolina in my mind.

James Taylor sings right to me…I don’t know if many people knew that…but he does 🙂  And the sentiment of the song fits perfectly with my experience of North Carolina.

I worked in the Western corner

Brevard, NC is a small town located in Transylvania County, in the western part of the state.  The music center I worked for was a semi outdoor venue which produced 4 operas, countless orchestral recitals, and touring performances like Peter, Paul and Mary, Burt Bacharach, Lucinda Williams, etc.  During my time there, I did everything from clean the dressing rooms, to build and paint scenery, to assistant stage manage guest artist performances, to run lighting equipment for the other shows in between.  Our schedule was tight, considering how much we had to do in 8 weeks.  On a normal day, I would get up around 7am and walk to work, to the tune of someone practicing a cello, or upright bass, while dew drops were still on every blade of grass.  Not a bad way to begin a day of work.  Then, after hours of moving set pieces, or orchestra pieces, putting on a show, or just assisting with a full rehearsal of some sort, I would return to my cabin, while being serenaded by a pianist or violinist.  My days were so long, that time seemed to stand still.  Sometimes it seemed like a never-ending summer, but in a good way…no one wanted the enchantment to end. 

I joke that I used to live in a shack in the woods behind a dumpster, but that really is true.  Staff housing was located all over the wooded “campus” and mine was right behind a dumpster next to a babbling brook.  The boys cabin was on the other side of the dumpster and dirt trail, and in between was the area called “roadside.”  That is where we made our nightly camp fires, which lasted for hours.  The crew for the music center comes from all over the US, so we would talk to our compadres about life in different parts of the country, listen to someone play the guitar/sing, roast marshmallows, play lots of Bob Marley,  and stargaze into the wee hours of the morning.

The music center had a large pond on one side, and any moment of free time (during a work day) would be spent down there.  There was no better way to get cooled off than a dip!  Plus, it was one of the only areas of the compound that you could just listen to nature, and nothing else…incase you were tired of listening to beautiful classical music every now and again. 

Days off were a different story.  Everyone had an adventurous spirit, and that spirit was put to good use.  No one went into “town” unless it was necessary, most of the time.  It was the cutest town ever, but the crew seemed to be made up of adventure seekers, so exploring nature always came first. 

Transylvania county is the land of waterfalls, and Brevard is in the middle of a rain forest.  Water was everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE.  Ponds, streams, rain, waterfalls, rivers…we were surrounded.  I made it my mission to seek out as many waterfalls as I could manage, and in 3 years, I made it to 13!  Considering that there were hundreds to hunt for, this may not sound like a lot, but although some were on the side of the road, others required hours of hiking.  And with one day off a week (maybe), time was limited.  Here is a list, incase anyone wants to do some sightseeing down there: Hickory Nut Falls, Hooker Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Cullasaja Falls, Connestee Falls, Toxaway Falls, Whitewater Falls, Slick Rock Falls, Dry Falls, Looking Glass Falls, Sliding Rock Falls, Skinny Dip Falls and Triple Falls.  And, they were all amazing….

Triple Falls

Cullasaja Falls

Blue Ridge Mountains

Grandfather Mountain

Carolina is in my mind quite often…. 🙂