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.