My Blog, My Rules, Right?

OK, so last we talked, it was 3 weeks ago, and we were in Winston Salem, NC, right?  Soooo, what's wrong with that, and what happened the next 3 weeks, right?  Yeah, well, it's my blog, and my party, and my phone isn't quite as responsive as I think it should be....and best I can gather, it might be because I have so many pictures on it by now.  So, here's what we're gonna do.  I'm going to work backwards, best I can, and start with this past week.  And, next time I have time, I'll go back another week, and we'll see what happens after that.  Might be I just dump all the photos to my computer, where they'll never again see the light of day or get a post of their own.  I'm sure that's where most of your photos go too, right?  Not you, Barbara, I know where yours go, and they're all neatly sorted and identified, and posted about too.  I'll be that way in my next life.  Maybe.  Possibly.  But, truthfully, probably not.  

Today is Sunday, and Nancy, you'll be happy to see we have finally (!) installed our turtle decal.  Yup, he's been in my drawer ever since we were with y'all in Myrtle Beach!  That has been quite a while, hasn't it.  Well, he's on there now, and he looks great.  He's covering up the EXIT label on the inside of the bedroom window.  Looks a whole lot better than a shadow of a sticker, methinks.

We are currently in Athens, AL,  parked in a chicken farmer's field, with over-the-air TV, free WiFi, and a full hookup, in an extremely loooooong site.  With roosters.  Lots of roosters.  There are no public washrooms or showers, no playground, no putt putt, no nuthin (except roosters, lots of roosters!), but it's relatively convenient to the interstate and to family in the area, so here we are.  Oh, and you stay 6 nights, and get the 7th free.  Nice flamingle flag, thank you Gail!

The sunset has been pretty, I must admit.

On the way in, we spotted this cloud formation ahead of us....pretty darned spooky, if you ask me!  I had my Weatherbug app open and was continually checking for wind direction, speed and tornadoes.  Thankfully, that none of that was a real issue...just a very brief, but hard shower, good to wash some of the dust off.

Here's the Saturn V rocket, at the Space Center on the outskirts of Huntsville.  I know they had a big, history-making dance here, just before the National Square Dance Convention, but try as we might, we just couldn't fit it in.  

 On the way from Atlanta, we had to cross over the Tennessee River a few times (3, total, I think), and it appeared to be pretty flooded.  If you check out that last photo, you can see the water right up to the people's homes.  We keep checking on Tom Saywer's RV Park, in West Memphis, AR, right on the banks of the Mississippi River.  That's where we plan to stay after we get our coach repairs in Indiana....welll....maybe not.

This chart shows the current, previous and predicted flood stages of the Mississippi River:

Pay particular attention to the current stage of 35 feet, and the indicated FLOOD stage at 34 feet.  Accordingly, we have altered our travel plans, and as a result, we will finally get to Lake Ponchartrain and New Orleans.  But, I digress.  That's future plans, and I'm supposed to be working backwards to fill you in on what WAS...  

In typical DickLuck fashion, we set out from our campground at the Marietta, GA, fairgrounds, planning to come I20 West to Birmingham, AL, and on up I65 to Athens, AL.  Well, we weren't far along when Sally (the SmartA$$Lady of the Dash) indicated there was a 52 minute delay added to our route.  OK, well,  it is what it is, right?  Then, not too much longer, she announced I20 is closed!  What the heck?!  CLOSED?  Next thing we knew, she was announcing that we were being rerouted.  Off towards Rome we go, up Highway 27, a little podunk two lane road.  Up to where we were just last week!  Oh, wait, but you don't know about that yet either, do ya.  So, maybe working backwards wasn't such a hot idea after all.  Trust me, we were near Rome last week, and just let it go for now.  We headed back that way again.  Along the way, just after passing over the Tennessee River, we passed by the little village of Fort Payne, and we came across this quaint and picturesque train station, still in use today.  We know that to be true, because we raced a train out of town...he being the winner in that race!

So, what were we doing in Marietta anyway?  (I know, it's confusing working backwards...please bear with me...)  Well, we were square dancing at the 68th National Square Dance Convention.  It was our very first experience at event of that size and scope.  There were dancers from all over the world, and we danced with a lot of interesting people and some very dear friends, both new and long-time.  (sing along with me, Gail....Make new friends, but keep the oooo-ld....)

The opening tip was probably the most people I've ever seen dancing in one room before!

The Ghost Riders Square Dance Band graced one of our halls every night, and they were awesome!  I've been told they've become an integral part of the Convention, returning year after year, and already booked for next year, in Spokane, WA (noooo, we will NOT be attending that one!).

At the end of one evening, they were just jamming together up on stage and I was able to record most of their signature song:

If you are reading this in email, and you can't see the video, just click right here.

At some point during the week, we found ourselves with dancers from China, Australia, Germany, Canada, and all throughout the USA.  It was quite the experience, for sure.  We had been invited to the Last Square Standing challenge by new friends we had met at the Virginia State Convention, just a few weeks ago.  What an honor, and we surely didn't want to let them down.  We had participated in similar challenges in Florida, so we had an idea of what to expect, but we didn't know who the competition would be, nor how experienced they were.  Well, it turns out, the winning square contained 3 callers and their wives, and they were ALL Challenge 3 & 4 dancers (that's pretty darned high up on the skill chart, for those of you who aren't dancers).  I never got a really accurate count at the beginning, but it seemed that there were approximately 12-15 squares on the floor at the start of the challenge.  We lasted pretty well, and didn't get knocked out of the competition until there were 6 squares standing.  Ben & Ashby (our fearless leaders) tell me that 6th in the nation isn't that bad.  Let me just say this...that was FAST!  So fast, there was no time for video!!  Ted Lizzotte was the caller for the elimination round, and he went just as fast as he possibly could!  He really had to work hard to knock us out, but, eventually, he was faster than us, and we got lost and couldn't recover in time.  Oh well, we gave it our best shot!

Horsin' around with the River City Riders. We didn't get to watch their demo, but now that I've seen a couple of their YouTube videos, I wish that we had made more of an effort to attend their show.  

Again, you can click right here, if you are reading in email and don't see the video.

So, that about wraps up the 68th National Square Dance Convention for us.  Stay tuned for the next post, where we'll visit Zoo Atlanta and see some other cool stuff!

Oh Deer!

So, yesterday, we hung around town with Staples and Tim, and today, they've got things to do, so we have a bit of time to spend catching up on our own cleaning.  And sewing!  Next week, we are meeting up with our own square dance camping club, along with several others from around the country, and I had promised Dolly a roll of embroidered TP and I haven't made it yet, so I need to get on it!

I posted a picture of this in a Facebook group for embroidery, and to be honest, some people were flummoxed by it.  Most thought it humorous, but others just didn't see the point.  Well, in my book, that IS the point - that there IS no point to it!  Typically, I give them out as jokes or gag gifts.  We do a Dirty Santa gift exchange at Christmas, and I put lottery tickets down in the tube.  That went over pretty well, once the recipient noticed.  Gotta be honest, though, up till then, the disappointment was obvious.

We were getting ready to go out and meet some long-time friends for dinner, when this happened....This young lady just wandered right into the site directly across from us.  She was just moseying along and didn't pay us any attention.  Dick told me there was another one, with a baby, down by the shower house.  They're much bigger here (NC) than back in Florida, but still not nearly as big as the ones we saw up in Virginia.   BUT, we did pull 3 ticks off Bailey while we were here, so there's that side of 'em too.  She's on Trifexis, but that doesn't do a thing about ticks.

We did manage to carve some time out and go into Clemmons, to see what's changed, and take a ride by our old house.  It was amazing!  The house looks just the same, except for the shrubs have grown up so much!  My peony is still there, just bigger, my wisteria is doing well, all our groundcover is still there, and more, even my tulip-shaped garden path lights are still lining the entry sidewalk.  The trim on the house is still painted the same colors and looks great (Dick had used 20 year marine paint, so it was no surprise to see it holding up so well), and my specially-made handpainted mailbox is still there.  A bit faded, but all the flowers are still colorful and visible.  It was like we'd never even left! But, I guess none of it's really *mine* anymore, is it.

We ventured downtown, and lookee what we found!  A K-Mart still open and doing a heck of a business, no less.  And THEY'RE HIRING!  We really couldn't believe our eyes, but pictures don't lie! 

After a wonderful Chinese buffet dinner, including Hibachi and sushi, and way more food than any two people needed to eat at one sitting, Tim & Staples brought a Chinese Lantern back to the camper to release into the night sky.  Apparently, the children in his Catholic confirmation class had written prayers on slips of paper that he taped to the lantern. 

Look how many prayers are attached and how long those streamers are.  Think that will make it too heavy to rise up?  

Tim appears to be giving that some thought.  Perhaps...nah, it'll be fine.  Let's go on out and send it up!

If we hold it up long enough, the air inside will heat up and the lantern will rise.  Just not sure how long "long enough" might be.....

Well, remember those long streamers?  Let's just see....Here's a video of the first try (yeah, that should tell you something...)  If you're reading this in email, and you can't see the video, click HERE.

Obviously, it just wouldn't rise as expected, so we removed a few of the prayer slips.  Still didn't go up, so we removed a few more.  Now they were more evenly spaced, plus the streamers were now a lot shorter, and what do ya know?  The air inside the lantern heated up and up she went!  Here's the video to prove it...

And that little speck way up high, right in the center, is our lantern.  Floating higher and higher, and heading over to the grocery store parking lot.  We decided we had better send a few more prayers up now...mostly just hoping it wouldn't land on anyone or create any problems for anyone else.  We didn't hear of any repercussions the next day, so I guess all's well that ends well, and it apparently, ended well.

What a great way to end the evening and our week in Tanglewood, visiting with our long time friends. 

Quarry Park, Bailey Park and Downtown Winston-Salem, NC

We started off our day with a hearty bowl of oatmeal, cranberries, and in mine, fresh blueberries.  Don't know why Driver didn't throw a handful in his; they made it even better!

We had promised Tim & Staples a sample of the blueberry/lemon cake I had made the other night, and they had some free time before her Cardiac Rehab appointment, so we all jumped in the car and took a ride.  First, we admired the Knockout Roses and purple Rose of Sharon she's been nurturing in the front yard.  

After that, we drove out to Quarry Park and admired the big rock...

And the view...

And discussed whether or not we should walk out onto the viewing platform.  Tim thought maybe I would, once I saw how "safe" it was.  HAHAHAHA, joke's on you, Timbo!  There's not a snowball's chance!  I didn't even care to look over the fence, truth be told!

From there, we trucked on to downtown Winston-Salem to see some of the recent changes.  We left in 2007, just at the start of the Great Recession, so lots has transpired since then.  Some good, some not so hot, some great.  Let's just take a look around, yes?

Indoor Yoga, anyone?  Yeah, we sure didn't have THAT.  We thought we were lucky to have a vending machine and a microwave! But, here, in Innovation Quarter, changes are afoot!

What a fun and open space, with a really interesting roof.  Well, it's nice on a sunny day.  Wonder what it would be like in storm? 

There, off in the distance on the right, is what we always called the Empire Building.  We called it that because it was actually the prototype for what became the Empire State Building.  During the holidays, they always light it up in fun colors, and it becomes really pretty.

You can see it better here:

And, of course, our visit wouldn't be complete without stopping for a quick photo of Bailey, in BAILEY PARK!  Yup, this wasn't here either, when we were, but it was full of people walking, lunching and lounging today.  It seems Bailey wasn't very interested in posing for me or the camera.

I was going to walk on by this courtyard, but Staples asked me to come over and stand on the bricks a moment.  Boy, was I surprised!  They LOOK wavy, they LOOK 3 dimensional, but they are absolutely, totally FLAT.  Just like a normal brick patio.  I just couldn't get over the optical illusion.  I don't have any idea why they would do such a layout, but it was lots of fun to speculate on the how and why of it!

 'Once we got past the aggressive security guard (I mean, c'mon, the dude was guarding an indoor yoa area, some offices and a lounge, and he couldn't read Bailey's Service Dog vest?  Or see her leach tag ID? And, honestly, does she look all that ferocious?) Timbo had fun posing with young Dr Deacon.  This was a Wake Forest facility, so I guess it was to be expected, eh?

Next up, Staples wanted to check out the comfort (or lack thereof) of the modern chairs.  She pronounced them not too bad, but not for too long.

After that, we had juuuust enough time to find and explore the Black Mountain Chocolate Factory.  Let me tell you, upfront, and in all honesty, it smelled heavenly when we walked in.  

I found this little guy adorably offering up cocoa nibs for sampling.  I assure you, you won't eat more than one, and you certainly won't ever need to sample another one for the rest of your life.  They are nasty.

I believe this is their roaster, where the process starts.  Everything was behind glass walls, and there were no explanatory cards or posters, so, pretty much everything was left to your own imagination.  As factory "tours" go, it was pretty lame, sorry.  It was more of a factory "look-see."  

Out front, we found a very pleasant attendant, with a lovely display of gelato.  They all looked yummy, and we were told they are made onsite. Dick struck up a lovely conversation about local events with both the clerk and a customer.  It seemed they didn't know about the upcoming Food Truck Festival, so we felt compelled to give 'em the scoop.  No pun intended, but, groan, it was there anyway!

Looks like he found one to his liking, wild berry, I'm thinking.  The funny part came when I reminded him that Staples was outside in the car, waiting for us, and we had to go, to get her to her appointment on time.  Ooops, time flies when you're having fun, so Dick wheeled around and started walking out.  Yes, without paying!  We all shared a good laugh about it, and the clerk was nice enough to say, if he needed it that badly, she was prepared to lose the 3 bucks for a scoop, and just let it go.  Too bad she didn't tell him that sooner, or it might have been on the house!  

All in all, that took up the greater part of the day, so after a quick bite to eat (only Dick had gotten ice cream), we parted ways till next time.