Christmas Season 2021

    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.

There Is This Tree...

    

   When I open the blind in the bathroom window in the morning, the first sight I see is this Japanese Maple tree out by the drive.

   In the late Fall, it is a beacon of brightness, drawing the eyes of all around who pass our way. When the sun is on it, no matter the time of day, it shines.

   From the early morning to the time of the day when the tree catches the last light of a sunset in the West,   God's handiwork is on display.

   Carolyn planted this over 10 years ago. It was a volunteer seedling taken from Jim and Louise Woodruff's yard, and it has prospered over these years. The Woodruffs are lifelong friends from their days at Oakwood Baptist Church, and their daughter Beth, who passed away from cancer last year around this time, was married to Carolyn's son B.J.

   No matter the time of day, when the sun is shining, the maple is projecting its colors.

   In the midday, the red is in stark contrast to the yellow of the willow oaks in the front yard.

   One of my favorite shots of the tree in its glory, is taken from under the branches, in the early afternoon, looking out to the southwest.

   When Carolyn and Bruce built their home here back in the early 70s, the land was covered with mostly pines and Sweet Gums, with an occasional Dogwood. Over the years my wife has brought trees from other spots, ones that she has dug up and transplanted, so that today the variety is awesome.

   This piece of ground that we call home is filled with trees. Oaks, Dogwoods, Magnolias, Tulip Populars, Hollys, Cedars, and even the recently planted Leyland Cypress (Clyde), but to my eye, not one of these matches the splendor of Fall in the foliage of that Japanese Maple.

Senior Adults Hit the Trail (Part II)

    When last I wrote, Carolyn and I were over in Delaware, making our way toward home. Wilmington, DE had been the furtherest stop on our Delmarva tour, and we had been able to see and do a lot of things at this point.

   All those courthouses, all those meals we had eaten on the road, all the people we had come in contact with, these memories rode with us as we turned south toward Dover, the state capital of Delaware.

   The morning was beautiful that Thursday, and the traffic light, as we drove US 13 south. 

   Conveniently for us, the old courthouse for Kent County was located in the same area as the State Capital.

   December 7, 1787, Delaware became the first state admitted to the Union after the Revolutionary War. It's land area ranks 2nd smallest after Rhode Island.

   After Dover, we drove west on Route 12, back across the state line, returning to Maryland to pick up a courthouse we had bypassed on Tuesday. 

   Denton, the county seat of Caroline County.

   With its historical marker to help us remember where we are, and were.

   Back on the road again, recrossing the Maryland/Delaware state line heading southeast toward Georgetown, DE, site of the Sussex County courthouse, and our home for the night.

   The old one, with its appropriate marker

   And the new.

   No, we did not spend the night in the courthouse, although it was a nice looking structure, we had booked an Airbnb room in a small farm east of town.

     Their claim to fame was rescuing animals:

   Horses, dogs and a cat that ruled the place. 

   Even a cemetery, not an animal one, but the resting place of the family that had resided on this piece of land. A busy 9 acres of land consisting of pastures, a barn, and an orchard, all hosted by a 34 year Army veteran. Our home for a Thursday night in Delmarva.

   Friday dawned on time, and we moved out into a grey day. We had one more Maryland courthouse to record, Worcester County whose county seat was Snow Hill. About the only rain we had on the whole trip dampened us as we rolled into Snow Hill, an interesting little town.

   A nice, well kept older courthouse, built in 1894, replacing the previous two buildings that had burned. The pretty lady on the front porch in the blue rain jacket made use of the bench to stay out of the showers while the photographer plied his trade in the rain.

   No time to waste, we moved out of Maryland, down our buddy US Hwy 13 south toward the Chesapeake Bridges and Tunnels for a second time as we moved to our resting spot for the night in the town of Glen Allen, VA. A nice Comfort Inn awaited us there.

   Saturday would be a pretty busy day, not that we did a lot of new things but we had couple of engagements that would take some driving. 

   First on our list for this day was brunch with Gary and Christie Powers, who owned the condo above ours at Grandview on the Island. They also had a beautiful town home in Richmond, and we enjoyed their friendship and fellowship while dining with them for this morning's meal.

   Then on to an area north of Charlottesville, VA, where the Woodberry School was located. Lucy, our mountain biking granddaughter was racing that afternoon in a meet at the school. Her school, Blacksburg High, has a competitive biking team, and we wanted to see her ride. 

   There are several meets during the Fall, with scores accumulated and totaled after each race. Lucy stands in 5th place in the JV division after the race on this Saturday. She was happy with her finish, and we were proud to see her accomplishment in this sport.

   After a return to Blacksburg, to spend the night with Doug and family, church on Sunday morning, a big pancake feast for lunch, including the chocolate ones, we rested Sunday afternoon (with a little Pickleball on the side), spent Sunday night and got ready for our final planned stop.

   As a short backstory, we had established the Mayre Jorges Bowman Scholarship at Woodlawn School (Dwayne and Karen's School in Davidson) and Monday would be the day that we met the recipient for this year and his Mother for lunch with the School's head of school, along with Dwayne and Karen. The scholarship is given to a rising 9th grade student, selected by a committee of teachers and staff at the school, and this day would mark the first award given in what we pray will be a long standing tradition at the school

   Congrats to Jayden Crowell for being chosen for this honor. It was fun lunching with Jayden and his Mom, before leaving NC and speeding home to sleep in our own bed.

   The odometer clicked off a little over 2,100 miles while we traveled these roads. We saw a lot of stuff, met some interesting people, visited with good friends and a visited with two of my side of the family in their home environs.

   All this was good, but home sure looked good.

   Amen

   

A Correction About Lunch

 

   When I began the blog about traveling in Delmarva, I mentioned a small eatery in Easton, MD. When looking through my pictures later, I found one taken in the upscale soup and salad spot, but had misnamed it.

   Sunflowers and Greens

   The nice lady at the Chamber of Commerce had recommended another restaurant up the street but it was closed, so we walked a few yards to this place, which the kind lady had also mentioned with the caveat that it was pricier but the food was good.

   Peanut soup and Spinach salad was what I chose while my wife sprang for Chicken Salad. The food prices were upscale, but the quality of the food served us was also. 

   On the table was also a small flat smooth stone. Nearby was a wax stylus. I did not ask what it was for, but as we got ready to leave I left a small note on the stone.

   First time I ever did that.

   One great thing about small county-seat towns, the fast food places are found out on the main highway and the memorable spots are around the courthouse square.

   And we will remember this one for sure.

Senior Adults Hit the Trail (Part I)

 DELMARVA

   We hit the road again, a few days back, with only two items on our agenda. The first event was to get to a Hokies football game in Lane Stadium, and the second was a bike race at Woodberry School just outside of Orange, VA. These two events, separated by 7 days, both involving stays at Doug's home in Blacksburg, gave us a few days to wander around the countryside.

   ALERT: There are pictures involved in our travel. There are courthouses in small towns begging to be recognized and and photographed, there are places to stay, and a part of the country that neither of us had traveled before.

   Our main focus was Delmarva. The Eastern Shore of Virginia, the Chesapeake region of Maryland, and the whole state of Delaware. Get out your Atlas and ride along with us as we explore a new-to-us part of the US.

   After football and Lane Stadium (read the prior blog for this great adventure), we were Presbyterians for a day with Doug and family, then left on Monday for Yorktown, VA to visit Carolyn's good friend, Louise. After a short time with her, we began the exploration of Delmarva, driving the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel system 17 miles over to the Eastern shore. 

   The construction of this tunnel and bridge combination was an engineering feat. Built back in the 1960s it connected the Norfork, VA area with the Eastern Shore. Lots of water out there.

   Our first Airbnb stay was in Onancock, VA, a picturesque town about midway up the peninsula on US Hwy 13, the main, and only, road north toward Maryland.

   One room in an older home, with no other guests for the night, also with a restaurant, rated well but closed on Mondays. Quiet as was the whole town when the sun went down.

   We thought we were in trouble, as we arrived in town and found our home stay for the night. The only person around in the Inn/Restaurant spoke no English. But after some sign language and finger pointing, she asked Blue Room? Nodding my head and answering  in her native tongue, she led us to the second floor front room, and we unloaded our bags. Turns out we had missed a communique from our host that gave instructions on what to do, but we had a good nights rest after an eventful day. 

   Next morning we got up kinda early and caught the harbor just as the sun did.

   Tuesday, a "courthouse day", with our first one just a few minutes up Route 13. 

   Accomack County, Virginia, comes from Native American term meaning " land beyond the waters".

   As we move up US 13 into Maryland, the courthouses will take up most of the rest of the day. Evening will find us spending the night in another Airbnb in Wilmington.

First we go to Princess Anne, county seat of Somerset County.

Next, north on 13 to Salisbury, county seat of Wicomico County.

Moving over to US 50, and still heading north, we come to Cambridge, county seat of Dorchester County.

   Still on 50, next stop for lunch and a courthouse is Easton, county seat for Talbot County. We discovered a nice travel tip here as we used public parking downtown and looked for a place to eat. At the end of the lot was a small building containing the Chamber of Commerce. We walked in to find the one employee getting ready to eat also. Looking for information on eateries, she suggested Soup and Greens, right up the street where a delicious peanut soup and spinach salad with bacon dressing filled us up. In the same area was the courthouse and the public library.

   Inside the Library were clean rest rooms and free Wifi. Along with information on the town and environs, these two amenities were welcome as a place to rest a minute in air conditioning, and use the Internet to plan the next part of our route north.

   North on 50 we come to Centerville, county seat of Queen Anne's County. The courthouse grounds featured a likeness of the Queen complete with pedestal. This county was founded in 1706 and named for the lady who ruled Great Britain and Ireland from 1702 to 1714.

   The last courthouse of the day, and yes they were beginning to run together as they might be for you readers also, was in Chestertown, county seat of Kent County.

   Wilmington, DE was the chosen place to spend a couple of nights before we headed back south again toward Virginia and a Saturday bike race. We had chosen a room in the townhouse of a single young lady. Heather made us feel at home right away, and since she was leaving Wednesday to visit her boyfriend over in Lancaster, PA, we had the run of the place.

   Wilmington is the county seat of New Castle County, Delaware. The older courthouse is in the foreground and the newer one is behind it and looming over it.

   We parked our car about a block from the courthouses, and found an sidewalk cafe with good food close by. When we parked at the meter, we did not know how long we would be in the area so we put in just what change we had. Then we located a convenience store and got enough quarters to take up 2 hours. 

   After a delightful lunch, we headed back to the car. Another car had just pulled in behind us, and the couple were standing at their meter discussing the situation. We told them that we had 45 minutes left on our meter, and, if they waited just a minute, they could pull up into our space with the time already paid for on the meter and not have to worry about all the change. They were appreciative, and we got in our good deed for the day.

   Heather's place was in a townhome development that boasted a wooded area with a walking trail in the back of the dwelling. We walked a mile or so, drove to the Acme supermarket to get supper fixings, ate, watched a little TV on our laptop, went to bed, slept great, and got ready to go south on Thursday morning.

   (Let's take a break from traveling, sit a while and digest all the images and words, and pick up the journey in the next blog post.)

   

Sports Education (Part ll)

    My charming wife, Carolyn, and I have been working on her sports education. 

   We began with baseball with the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park a few weeks back. A great game to watch from the stands in person as the Braves were on their way to an Eastern Division win in the National League.

   But this is Fall and that means College Football. 

   What better place to experience Part ll of this curriculum. Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, VA is the perfect spot to learn. The Pitt Panthers were coming to town to face the Hokies in an ACC showdown.

   The day was a little raw, with cloudy skies and a blustery wind. We decided to experience college football from outside the stadium with the crowd noise, at no cost.

   We mixed with the crowd as they moved toward the stadium. After pausing at the Frank Beamer sculpture for a photo shoot, we moved toward a spot where we could see into the crowded stands.

   As the last of the crowd filed onto the concourse below the east stands, we moved up into the gate area with the ticket takers. I explained to the nice gentleman at the turnstile that my wife had never seen the inside of a college stadium during a game and just wanted to get a feel. He moved off to speak to another official, and soon returned with an invitation to come inside the gate. (nice gatekeeper facing us on the left).

      We turned right through the gate and moved north to the end of the stands. Turning to our left, we looked out on the field of play. I have been to several games in Lane, but I'm sure this was the closest I had been to the action. 

   We watched from our "Standing Room Only" spots as the Hokies kicked off to the Panthers

   The early action was right in front of us at our end of the field. The Pitt Panthers drove down the field and scored. It was the beginning of a long afternoon for the Hokies, but a good memory for us to take home.   

   The crowd was big and loud, it was neat to watch the fans and hear the cheers when the Hokies did something good. We were situated right next to these folks in the east end zone stands.

   We didn't stay long. Thinking that we had received a gift from the gatekeeper, we did not want to overstay our welcome. We exited the way we had entered thinking we would at least thank our benefactor, but when we got there he had already left.

   Leaving word with another man at the turnstile, we moved on toward our meeting spot with Doug where we would catch our ride home.

   Looking back on our experience, much more than we anticipated when we hatched the idea with Doug, we knew we had been blessed. It was a free gift, and my wife was more than just pleased. Phase ll of her sports education had been extra special for both of us.

   Coach Beamer, a true legend in college football, had been one of Mayre's and my "wave to" neighbors when we lived in Blacksburg back when. 

Carolyn Meets Willies

   In the middle of Brunswick, GA, across the marsh to the west of St. Simons Island, lies a legend in dining experiences.

   Willie's Wee-nee Wagon is an institution in the area; serving up a menu of burgers, fries, dogs and, a particular favorite, the pork chop sandwich. Sweet tea is the drink of choice.

   The history of this eatery, as proclaimed by the sign on the outside wall.

   There is a small eating area inside the building, but most folks eat outside at picnic tables. Orders are taken at windows both inside and out. Ready orders are announced at the window and customers pick up their food and return to their seats. 

   I was introduced to Willie's by some friends when we first moved to the Golden Isles. Tom and Larry were both locals, born and raised in the area, who remained here after college to begin their careers and start their families. 

   Mayre and I had dined there, and also taken our kids when they visited one Christmas. Everyone knew about Willie's.

   So Carolyn and I pulled up at the diner last Tuesday a little after 1PM. I had told her about the place the first time the came down, but this was to be the day she experienced it for herself.

   I stood in the ordering line outside while my wife sat with some trepidation at one of the outdoor tables. 

   Soon she had her food and shortly it was consumed. She pronounced it great, and another willie's rookie became an adherent of the food on the menu. 

   A Slaw Dog and Sweet Tea

   Some few minutes later, the food was gone, the tea also, and we were ready to proclaim..

   "We'll be back"

   And as we got in the car and prepared to drive back to the Island, I counted and there were still 14 people waiting in line to order. None appeared to be tourists, but locals who knew where to go for lunch.

   As did we...