Autumn Is Here!

in Mount Airy!

We went there today and had a great time! It is all weekend, and vendors and food tents line the streets of downtown Mount Airy. Check it out!

 

Photo Bomb! Who dat?!

 The donuts and the pretzels are BIG!

 People as far as you can see!

 They were actually tap dancing to the music!

Never been to an event where one of the food vendors sells ham biscuits. Another one 

had collard greens. Welcome home, ya'll!!

Before the BIG event of the Autumn Leaves festival, we visited Pilot Mountain State Park. It's a pretty drive to Pilot Mountain (see an earlier post of Statehood to see it). And if you are an Andy Griffith fan, he always refers to it in his shows as "Mount Pilot." It was really windy, and 48 degrees, so we only stayed for about 2 minutes before heading back down. BRRRR!!

When we reached the Pilot Mountain Ranger Station to use the facilities, I found a brochure for Horne Creek Farm, which is one of a few farms run by the state of NC to showcase life as a working and productive farm in the early 1900s. So we decided to check it out. It was also free and only 10 minutes away! They were very well to-do for farmers. They're named Hauser (the guide pronounced it "Hooser"). They had 12 children: 10 boys and 2 girls. He mostly grew grain crops but also did fruit and tobacco. He was like a George Washington Carver of his day, rotating crops and keeping up with the agricultural practices of his day, even using bat guano to help fertilize the fields. His yields were always 2/3 better than anyone else's in the area. Wowza! She also said they got together with the grandchildren of this family to help reconstruct the farmhouse because the grandchildren lived in it and they used their oral history for reconstruction. How cool is that??!!! 

Lawn mower

 Can't imagine 12 children around this table at one time; must've 

had a revolving system

  Smokehouse

 Mouser (there are actually 2)

The temperature was 70 and sunny, nary a cloud in the sky. Tomorrow is a little cooler. Perfect for a trip to a vineyard and lunch on their back deck. Ya'll come back now!😉

What To Do When It Rains.....

Well, this is the second day of rain here at the campground. There was Hurricane Michael remnants, then a front that came through. So what can you do to keep from going stir crazy? Some people watch TV or a movie. Well, we don't watch that much TV, so we do other things. Here are some ideas for you.

Knit a sweater! This is for my BFF LH

 

Line your cabinet shelves! They were getting scratch marks from the pots, so why not?!

Make a gourmet meal! This is braised chicken with balsamic vinegar and mushrooms. Yum!!

 

 

on the other side is the label with the prescription name and info (Rx # and due date)

Organize/reduce bulky pill containers! I took all of my pills (prescriptions, too) and put them in these handy plastic bags (from Walmart, 100count for $2) and labeled them. I wrote the prescription number and date they were due on the front, so all I have to do is change the date due when they get refilled! No more bulky containers in the cabinet! All of my stuff fits neatly in one small basket!

So now that you have all of these great ideas to do on a rainy day, consider this reward when it all blows through:

Ya'll come back now!😉

Welcome Back to Mount Airy!

We picked up our home and made it back to Mount Airy. We are here for a week, including their Autumn Leaves festival this weekend. Should be fun, since the last time we were here was summer, 2016. When we left West Virginia this morning on the way to pick it up, the sky was on fire. We were blessed with this beautiful sunrise:

Then we picked up our house! We asked them to wash it and do some things on the inside. They gave her a good scrub, even shining the tires. She's a beaut! Here is the inside, too, in case you've never been inside!

And now we are in Mount Airy, NC, home of Andy Griffith.  We are sure to visit the wineries again and Snappy Lunch for the pork chop sandwich (a classic!). We are on the hill and have full hookups (water, sewer, cable, and electric) for $33.50/night. That is amazing! The average temperature is no higher than 80 degrees while we're here, and the low is expected to be between 40 and 50. Fall is here! And we've even seen a few leaves change. I am just glad to be settled somewhere for awhile. 

Ya'll come back!

New Statehood!

Hi all! We have established our statehood in South Dakota, and everyone couldn't be friendlier. Starting from our host at the DMV to our hotel concierge, named for our home state, Virginia (not really, she was named for her grandmother). But she calls us her favorite retirees, and she has been very accommodating, even helping us get to know our new city for today's excursion and what to eat at the restaurant attached to the hotel (even the "secret door"). The only thing we haven't found is a polo shirt with South Dakota on it; but maybe we have to order it. I have to work on my accent, though. I asked the lady at the park if they had collared shirts. She thought I said "colored."
Hmmm. 😏

These are the gas stations in this part of the "world." They are like 7Eleven and Circle K. The reason I took a picture is because this is a medium (it's really a large in our part of the "world".), but if you can read the side of the cup, this company also gives 10% of their profits back to their community. Nicely done! AND they have fancy coffee machines where you stick your cup underneath and push the screen to what coffee you want and it fills it up!

We crossed the border yesterday, and you see how fast they are allowed to drive. Gary didn't want to drive faster than 70. The lady at the DMV said they drive 85. Wow! That's just way too fast. I guess they don't want you to stay long, lol! I took a picture of the temperature. That was around noon. Today's temperature was 50. Yep! Fall is here!

My official license! Yes, I'm an organ donor AND I registered to vote!

Falls Park 

The county is Minnehaha, which is Lakota Sioux for "Laughing Water".

You can walk downtown Sioux Falls and on either side of the street are various sculptures, called the Sculpture Walk. So I took some pictures of the notable ones.

Gary found Sasquatch finally; they are now friends on Facebook

A grizzly bear; stick a fork in him, he's done (he is make of forks!)

 

A seahorse

A rattelsnake

A giant shiny mushroom

a beautiful eagle

Titled "Music Over the World"

 Laura Ingalls and her dog

His pitcher is the wrong way to collect water!

The restaurant that takes care of us!

Thanks for coming with us to our new hometown. I hope you like it as much as us. Ya'll come back now!