The Christmas Season has been here for a few days, and we have enjoyed all the festivities. Doug and his family, minus Caroline who went straight from school to Pensacola where Dawn's whole family will gather for this Holiday, came for a couple of nights before going farther south.
The back yard got some good use with a family frisbee game on some hilly terrain. In this shot, Lucy shows her throwing form while Doug waits to receive the toss and David and Laken watch.
We plan to go to Donna's on Monday, stopping for brunch with our friends The Stophels in Franklin, on the way west. After three nights in Conway, we will go back eastward, stopping in Nashville to see Carolyn's son Rush and his family.
I know plans are all tentative, with Covid on the loose again, but we will make the effort and pray that everybody stays well and safe.
Dwayne and Karen have their kiddos home for Christmas, and we will try to get together with that family after New Years, unless we are quarantined or something.
Speaking of the North Carolina gang, My Christmas present from them was a book about Old Missouri Courthouses, built in the 19th century and still standing heading into the 23rd.
Made me want to get back on the trail again with these grand old buildings. It is fun to go into these towns, some are pretty small, and think about how the people lived and worked there and what their lives looked like. Eating in a local spot on a courthouse square is an adventure to look forward to, For sure!
I believe my new project might be to photograph and find out about the oldest courthouses in each state still standing and some even still functioning as government buildings. I got a jump on this when we visited the Delmarva peninsula this past summer.
The oldest Maryland county courthouse was in Centerville, and served Queen Anne County.
The oldest in Delaware was in Georgetown, Sussex County.
We could get Arkansas at Searcy and Tennessee in Dickson County as we come home from this trip.
Two down, two planned, and only 46 more to go.
One of the advantages of doing this kind of tour are the people and stories that reside in these towns with old courthouses.
One story, from the Missouri book, intrigued me.
From Miller County, Tuscumbia, MO
"At first glance the building's attractive domed clock tower appears typical for a first rate courthouse of the era. Although the tower was designed to house a clock, no funds were available for the mechanism. The visible clock is actually only an illusion, which appears complements of the original painter for the building. This local Tuscumbia painter spent several days to complete his mirage, which is set at 8 o'clock on all four sides. Over the years the county has never seen fit to install an actual clock, but has repainted the fake "clock" multiple times.The original painter would no doubt be pleased with the longevity of his temporary timepiece".
We have noted in our travels the inconsistency of timepieces in these courthouse clock towers, with sometimes four different times shown to onlookers, and some with only one of four sides in operation, but this is a first for a make believe real clock. At least the time is correct twice a day, regardless of the compass direction.
More adventures await.
