Stargazer arrived safely in Leicester, NC (outside of Asheville) at the home of Tori and Chris Masaki. We will be staying with Tori and Chris for the next week and we look forward to catching up and having lots of fun. They are great friends we met in Jackson and served as our COVID pod buddies. Earlier this year they purchased a house in Leicester and have done an incredible job making it their home. The view from their living room and porch is the great Smoky Mountains – WOW!

Otto and I have been getting some walks in. Lots of cows, deer and other wild animals, so Otto has been marking his territory. On Tuesday we plan on going on a mountain hike. It is amazing how Otto has adapted to all the different places he has been. He loves being with Auntie Tori and Uncle Chris.

Tori and Chris have taken us out and about and we have found some great artwork that will be perfect for our Jackson home. The ceramic bear was quite a find. The ceramist also makes ceramic instruments. He played his ceramic banjo for us and it sounded great. We also have tried out some local cuisine, but Tori and Chris are quite the cooks and we are well fed.

A shout out to the LERN Team that held a very successful LERN Annual Virtual Conference this past week. From a distance I kept an eye on Brendan, Roy and Gale, and they along with other staff provided ‘A1, Second to None’ “Information That Works!” and customer service. I am very proud indeed.

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