Stone….change is pretty much imperceptible. Side by side still photos have trouble capturing it. The people….well the years have a bit more of an effect. See for yourself.
These pics are thirty four years apart.
We vacationed here at Natural Bridge/Red River Gorge in 1979 just after we were married. How time flies!
Our niece Amanda’s wedding. It was a lovely ceremony and the reception was a great chance to catch up with Tammy and her kids.
Sunday’s get together was a bit less formal. Kent grilled burgers and dogs and we hung out with extended family: Kent’s step Mom Peg and Tom, her daughters and their hubbies, Deb and Ron and Becky and Marc, plus Tammy and part of her crew, Ken and Bethany, and Amanda (the new bride). Wet, cool weather thwarted our plans to host the gathering at the campground. We over-ran Peg’s house instead. We got outside for a bit as there were a couple of heated bouts of corn hole. Everyone pitched in with great eats and it was fun to catch up. I was bummed that we didn’t get to make our s’mores; but as is typical we had way too much food even without them!
It was a great visit with Molly. Go Tigers! …I think War Eagles sounds cooler but hey, that’s just me. It is a beautiful campus even with the sad looking oaks on Toomers Corner.
We checked out Toomer’s Corner Drugstore with its lemonade, ice cream, and more stuff with the Auburn logo than you could imagine.
Bonus, Bob, Lou Ann, Grant and Clark were down to spend the Holiday with Molly so we got to hang out with everyone. We experienced The Mellow Mushroom pizza joint, Neffers and Maestro 2300. Plus, all the Easter stuff: Peeps and chocolate nestled in colored grass (plastic and edible), we boiled and colored eggs and ate a delicious lamb dinner. It was a great time.
Mike and Tracy are married. The handsome groom (of course). The beautiful bride. An ideal setting in the snow covered mountains. A perfect, romantic ceremony. A fun reception that combined great food, traditional toasts and dances, and a not-so-traditional cookie dunking. There was plenty of music and dancing. There were even a few snow flakes to add to the mood. It was wonderful.
Rehearsal night was a great time too. The food at the BBQ was great and constant hum of joyful voices was a perfect start for the weekend. Mike got to show off his awesome fire building skills at the bonfire. My toes were freezing by the time we wrapped up, it was definitely a Mike moment that I wouldn’t have missed for the world.
Carol and I, with some help from our fellows, baked about 40 dozen cookies. Mike and Tracy wanted cookies instead of cake at the wedding. We had great time doing it and they came out delicious.
It looked like they were a hit at the wedding too.
Mike and Tracy
Everybody got together in Pa again this year with lots of good food, our share of holiday libations, and time to catch up on lives that are speeding by. We managed to pack in all the essential Holiday goings on. Then it was all about our niece Molly. The beautiful bride (and dashing groom) tied the knot at a lovely news years eve ceremony followed by a fun party, capped off with fireworks. It certainly seemed to me that it was a great start for what promises to be a long and joyous union.
We celebrated Turkey Day with Mom and the weekend after with more family. Mike, Tracy, and Carol made it to PA too, add in Molly and Clark and Grant and it made for quite a crew as we all descended upon Bob and LouAnn for one evening. We packed Mom’s apartment another night; great company and wonderful food.
Playing in the Alumni band for homecoming was the main impetus for a trip back memory lane to West Virginia. There was more though. We caught the Homecoming parade Thursday night with class floats for 6th through 12th grade, the Wahama marching band, and plenty of local fire trucks to toss candy and blare sirens and horns. It’s a three town affair. We just caught theNew Haven stretch then dove for cover as the pouring rain set in.
Next, Mothman, a woman gunslinger (Mad Anne Bailey), Chief Cornstalk, a general, a Fireman, and the Wahama White Falcon. These are stainless steel statues placed mostly along the floodwall in Pt Pleasant. The artistry is wonderful and the techniques used to create facial features and other detail are just amazing. There is a giant mural too that depicts the history of the town. Impressive. The whole Mothman myth is pretty cool and great that this little burg has been able to capitalize on it.
Caught some family time with aunts and uncles thatKentjust doesn’t get to see often enough. We need to work on that.
Serious flashback. Kentgot a haircut from the guy who gave him his very first store bought haircut as a kid. That shop seems to be THE place to catch up on all the local happenings too. Two generations of barbers in this little main street shop have cut and continue to cut at least three generations of Sayre and Harrah hair. This fellow at the age of 84 just celebrated 65 years of barbering. Pretty impressive career. Kent got a good haircut and a fun flashback moment.
Start with pinky-orange smoked salmon, a little dollop of dill cream cheese, a couple capers and a bit of red onion atop a crusty slice of baggette. Pretty delicious. Follow it with seafood chowder filled with chunks of more types of seafood than I could identify and so creamy it was more like dessert. Kent’s lobster roll was crunchy and stuffed to overflowing. We were both pretty pleased with our selections and the view was wonderful from the deck just above the Lunenburg water front. Nice.