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.
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!
Yes, your blog your rules. And if anyone questions you, just say it again with, “ya’ folla?” (You have to have seen The Sting to get it.) Looks like fun.
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