Just Some Pics

 

These are just some pictures I took yesterday.  This is a small pond in our apartment complex.  I've just never seen this sign before.

 

This is a place we went to eat lunch yesterday after our district meeting.  It is called "Country Dairy".  It is a big farm and restaurant.  This is the wagon they take groups around their pastures and do a whole "tour" of the farm.  They make their own ice cream (which is the BEST I've ever had), cheese, beef jerky, and have all kinds of meat for sale.  It's a cool place. 

This is the restaurant.  Who are those guys in white shirts?

Then last night we went to the lake to watch the sunset.  In this picture it is still in the clouds.

Still up there.

Now it's down, almost in the water.

There it goes!

It was beautiful!

Note the coat.  It is starting to get cold up here.

My favorite.

And that's it.

P-Day Adventures

 

Yesterday for our P-Day (personal day) Bennie and I went to the Ludington State Park again and hiked around.  The last time we went we stayed on the beach a lot, but this time we went to the other side of the park and hiked some trails around the river and some sand dunes.  I loved the sand dunes.  They were a lot of fun.  This first picture was just where we stopped on the way up to the park.  There were a lot of white caps on the lake. 



 

 

 

 

We had crossed over a dam and just walked along the river.  We saw several salmon swimming around.  We looked for otters but never saw any.





We found a trail called the "Skyline" trail, which was a boardwalk that went along the tops of the sand dunes.  That's Lake Michigan in the background.

Sand.  It looks like snow.  It was really hard walking up the sand hills but a lot of fun running down.

The river in the background. 

On top of a dune.

We saw a redheaded woodpecker that looked just like Woody!  Hard to see, but he is on that tree right in the middle.  You might need to click on the picture to see it better.

And we saw several deer.  This one looks a little ghostly with his bright eyes :)

It was a lot of fun but wore me out.  I felt like I had climbed Stone Mountain, which I really miss btw.  I love looking at Lake Michigan.  It is so blue.

Trip to Mackinac Island

 

Monday we traveled north to Mackinaw City for a senior missionary couples outing.  We took the scenic route and passed by this buffalo herd.

 

We went through Traverse City, which was gorgeous!  Most of the way up we stayed really close to Lake Michigan and saw the water several times.

We arrived in Mackinaw City Monday afternoon and visited all the shops and stores.  It was fun.  Then Tuesday morning we set out for Mackinac Island.  This is a picture of the island across Lake Huron.

This is the long bridge over the strait where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet.

This is a picture from our ferry going towards the island.

Getting closer to the island.

This is just of the main street.  No cars on the island, just bikes and horses.  Bennie said the smell was a mixture of fudge and horse manure :)

Handsome guy!

We took a carriage ride all around the island.  The leaves are already starting to change up here.

The Grand Hotel.  It cost $10.00 just to go inside to look around.  We just looked from the outside.

The back side of the island.  The island is four miles across, and 500 people live there year round.

The boardwalk close to town.

The houses are beautiful.

Stately manors.

Just the street.  They rent bikes, plus you can take your own over on the ferry if you want.

I loved this house and all the flowers.

It was a fun trip.  There were 24 in our group.  Apparently they have these "senior outings" a couple times a year with all the older couples in our mission.  We bought FIVE slabs of fudge.  We passed by one of the endless fudge shops, and they had just reduced their fudge - five for $19.95, which is $4.00 each, which is not bad I don't think.  We got chocolate, chocolate with walnuts, chocolate with pecans, chocolate with peanut butter, and butterfinger.  We gave most of it away this morning to the young missionaries at our district meeting.  It's fun being a missionary! 

Here in Michigan

I just found out how to get back on my blog.  These are a few pictures from here in Ludington.  Bennie and I walked out to a lighthouse at the Ludington State Park.  We about had the whole beach to ourselves.

 

This is the lighthouse and gift shop.  It is A LOT taller than it looks.  I'm still sore from climbing all the way to the top.

Found someone to take our picture.

This is the beautiful courthouse in downtown Ludington.

We had a church activity at the firing range.  It was fun!

I'll try to update more, now that I figured out how to get back on here.  We are enjoying our mission immensely.  This place is beautiful!  And the people are great. 

Mom

I have a wonderful mother. She has been not only a parent but my best friend. I have always tried to be like her. She is the kind of person that everyone likes to be around. We have had so much fun together. I can’t remember how many times we have “gotten tickled” about something and laughed until we cried. I have always been able to talk to her about anything. She taught school, and so many people who had her have told me that she was their favorite teacher. When I was younger she would get out in the yard with us kids and play football, softball, basketball, whatever we were doing. And she was good at it too. She played on a women’s softball team for years. She also had a group of women on Monday nights playing volleyball at the Jonesville School gym. She has always been so active. She turned 80 years old in February but still competed in the Yadkin Valley Senior Games in May. It was my first time as I am now old enough, and we had a great time together participating in the different events. She is very musically talented. She played piano at her church for years and often would sing solos. She has a beautiful voice. She sang “The Lord’s Prayer” at my wedding. When I was in elementary school she would teach music to all the classes. Not boring songs, but cool songs like Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind” and Herman’s Hermits “Henry the 8th”. My Mom has always been a great example to me. She taught me about faith, because she always had so much. She taught me kindness and charity. I learned from her to laugh and enjoy life, to always be optimistic. I love her very much and always will.

Two Different Fiddlers' Conventions

It's been a few years since I wrote here, so I guess it's about time to do so. I was biking today on the greenway in Mt. Airy and rode by the fairgrounds. There is a Fiddlers' Convention here this weekend, and the grounds were full of campers and fiddlers. I was reminded of a different fiddlers' convention I used to go to. I actually went four years in a row (1972-1975). It was in Union Grove. As I rode by the one today I noticed a lot of differences. Today the field was full of vehicles - campers, RV's, trucks, cars, and then the tents where groups were sitting in camp chairs playing music. As I rode by you could hear different songs from the different campsites. But it just looked really crowded with hardly any space to walk around.

So the one in Union Grove was totally different. There were no vehicles at all, just tents. Everyone carried in their own stuff. AND there were no camp chairs back then. I know, hard to believe, right? People would either sit on the ground or on a blanket. There was a lot of cut wood to be had also, plus you could find some downed trees in the woods close by and drag some logs to your campsite. I don't really remember music being played at the campsites. What I do remember is everyone was smoking marijuana. You could walk down lanes/roads between rows of tents, and EVERYBODY would invite you to come smoke a joint with them. And these people came from all over. I remember reading in the paper back then that they estimated 150,000 people were there. The event took place in a huge field with rolling hills, and tents were just everywhere as far as you could see. So with the campfires and the pot there was always a haze of smoke hanging over the festivities. There was a big tent somewhere with a stage for the musicians, but each time I walked by it there was hardly anyone there. The crowd seemed to just be there for the partying. And it wasn't wild, just peaceful. I never saw any alcohol, just the drugs.

I don't mean to glorify this or anything, it's just a perspective on the differences as I was riding my bike this morning.

ARIZONA

We went to Arizona last week to visit with Justin and Vanessa. It was a great trip! My first plane ride too. I was really worred about flying, but Dr. Ballard fixed me up, and it was actually pretty nice. Everything was so different there. I was just amazed practically the whole time.

We flew into Phoenix on Wednesday the 12th. Justin met us at the airport. He looked so good. I hadn't seen him since last Christmas. We went to our hotel, ate supper, changed clothes, then went to the Mesa Temple for an Endowment session. That is a beautiful temple. The next day we drove to Tucson, going the scenic route so we could just see the countryside. It is very rugged, a lot of scrub plants and cacti. I was looking out the window at everything and all of a sudden I saw a cow, just standing out in the desert - actually a long-horned steer I guess. He just looked so out of place.

Then we got to their apartment in Tucson and got settled in. We did several day trips - going up to Mt. Lemmon (8,000 feet! - with snow on the ground), going to Tubac one day for shopping at quaint gift shops, eating Mexican, Italian, just eating. I tried really hard to stay on my diet. We just had a really good time. I saw tumbleweeds, a roadrunner, and heard coyotes howling in the middle of the night.

One day we went to the Desert Museum. That was a fun place to visit. It was like going to the NC Zoo and seeing the Sonoran Desert section, except it was ALL desert section.

On Sunday afternoon we had dinner with some of Justin and Vanessa's friends from church. Their home, like most of the houses, was made of cinder blocks and looked like it was sitting in a vacant lot with all the scrub brush in the front "yard". We went in, and inside it was beautiful and roomy. Then we went out the back door to sit at their patio table. Their back "yard" was amazing. The ground was just dirt - but not dirty. It was kind of sandy and rocky, but looked like it had been swept clean or something. There was no scrub brush in the back but several mesquite trees shading the whole walled in area. Yes, most homes have walls around them. They had pomegranate bushes and a coy pond with a sparkling fountain over big rocks. There was a trampoline at ground level that their grandkids were jumping on. And they had a small area (maybe 30x20 feet) of grass growing with borders around it. It was kind of the opposite of our yards with our bordered areas. Anyway, like I said, I was just amazed at everything.

We took a few pictures. This is me and Justin in front of the Mesa Temple.


These are orange trees growing on the temple grounds.



Me and Justin just in the desert.

The desert.

Me and Bennie.

Justin and Bennie.

More desert.

Saguaro cactus. I liked these the best.

The weather was perfect all week. One morning Justin and I went running at a local park trail. It was in the 50's around 8:00 a.m., and by lunch time it was in the 70's every day. And the sky was that perfect clear blue the whole time. We had a really good time, and Justin and Vanessa are great hosts!

Poor Vince Young

Yeah, cry me a river. This kid had everything going for him - EVERYTHING. Then he had a bad game, got a little hurt, got booed by his own fans, and then just quit. So now he is back - as second string QB for the Tennessee Titans, behind - of all people - Kerry Collins (remember the former Panther?). So, now Collins is leading the team, and they are UNDEFEATED - the only NFL team that is. But it could have been Vince Young in the spotlight instead of Collins, because actually Young is the better quarterback of the two. He HAS to hate this whole situation. So I'm wondering if he still is getting his big bucks just sitting on the sidelines smiling all the time - at least every time the camera turns to him he is smiling or laughing with his teammates. Well, maybe he's not so dumb after all . . .

5K

I ran (mostly walked) my first 5K yesterday. My number was 161, and that was close to where I came in as. I was one of the last ones - but at least not THE last. Anyway, it was fun. Challenging. I started out with Quentin. He ran with me until I had to stop and walk, then he went on. As the race went on there was this older lady (late 60's/early 70's) that was always about 50 yards in front of me. I kind of told myself that at least I could beat HER, but every time I would run a little, so would she. Then I would have to stop and walk again, and she would too. It was almost like she was keeping an eye on me or something. So she beat me in the end. My time was 41 minutes. I know, I know. People can walk three miles faster than that, but I walk slow too. So, another one off my "bucket list".

Sad Stuff

The last couple of days have just been full of sad stuff for me. Yesterday Mom and I went to see "Nights in Rodanthe", which was a great movie - just sad. I love Richard Gere. He just gets better and better with age. And then last night and today I've been catching up on my television shows I've recorded for the last few weeks. My gosh, did any of you see ER? They always kill off someone that you really like. And One Tree Hill - they lost someone. Oh, and BTW I'm getting really tired of the "torture" scenes with Dan. I know he is a really bad guy, and at first it was okay because he was getting some payback, but now enough is enough. And then I come in here to the computer and find out that Paul Newman is dead. He is without a doubt one of my alltime favorite actors - ever. I love "The Sting" probably the best, and then "Butch Cassidy". He was just good in everything. And also in his personal life he gave so much to help sick kids. So, yesterday at the movies I cried a lot, and then today I've cried watching stupid TV. All I can say is that the Panthers HAVE to win tomorrow.

How 'Bout Them Cats?

Yesterday's Panther game was one of the best I've ever seen. It was so exciting, and came down to the LAST TWO SECONDS. Jake is back! And I really like D'Angelo Williams. He can read the defenders so well and will change his direction if needed, not just go into a bunch of players just because that is where the play is supposed to be run. And Dante Rosario was very impressive. He should be way ahead of Dwayne Jarrett behind Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammed. Phillip Rivers (NC State) did a good job for San Diego. And I loved to watch everyone's reaction at the end. Jake was on Cloud 9 running down the field toward Rosario, and John Fox was cute as a button dancing out to the field. The poor SD coach just looked disgusted. Anyway, the game was a lot of fun to watch. I honestly believe we can go all the way this year!

Autumn in August?

This is the view from our driveway looking out our backyard.

Phone Calls And License Plates

Today I got a phone call. The caller ID read "Northern Hospital", which is our local hospital in Mt. Airy. So I answered, and a female voice asked if this was the residence of Bennie Harris. I said yes, starting to get a little scared. Then she said her name and that she worked in the Emergency Room at the hospital. Now I'm really scared. Then she said, "Do you have any John McCain signs?" WHAT? I'll be so glad when Bennie is no longer chairman of our county Republican party.

And below are pictures of my new license plate. The old one is first, then the new one. Isn't it cool?

1997 Nissan Maxima

That is what multi-millionaire, academy award winner Morgan Freeman drives - or did drive until he crashed last night. I hope he is okay, but I just found this strange.

East/West

Mom and I went to the East/West all star basketball game on Monday night at the Greensboro Coliseum to watch Victor Davila (6'9") play his last high school game. There were ten on each team - the twenty best players in the state, and Victor dominated! He scored 24 points against a 7'1" guy who has signed with Wake Forest (who in turn only scored 12 points against Victor). He tied with a guy from the East who also scored 24 points, and who was the MVP - but just because the East won. If the West had won Vic would have been MVP. Anyway, it was exciting to watch. AND he only played a little over half the game. The coach would sub all five at one time halfway through the quarter until the last quarter, then I think Victor played the whole time. So, now on to Virginia Tech. Go Hokies!

Ponyboy, What Happened?

I just finished watching a TV movie, "A Gunfighter's Pledge", I think was the name. C. Thomas Howell was one of the main characters. If I hadn't seen his name in the credits I wouldn't have recognized him. He has not aged gracefully at all. On the other hand, Luke Perry, who was also in the movie, has really come into his own since the Dylan McKay days. He has finally shaken off that teenaged punk look and has actually grown up into a pretty decent-looking actor. I think it's interesting to see how people age. When I go back to Starmount to a ball game or something I usually will see some people that I haven't seen since high school. The guys who were so cute back then are such rednecks now - beer bellies and all. It's like an opposite thing. The nerdy guys have actually grown up to be pretty handsome and seem to take better care of themselves. And the girls/women. Most of us have also gained a lot of weight, but there was this one girl at one of our reunions a few years ago that was always really heavy in school, and now she's got the body of a model. It's just strange.

Golf - Me?

I have never enjoyed watching golf before, and I don't really know how to explain this, but on Sunday I happened to come across the end of the U. S. Open and watched the last few holes. I guess I just kind of got caught up in it, and then the thrilling ending where Tiger Woods tied Rocco Mediate. He was so excited. So the two guys had a playoff on Monday - all 18 holes again. Well, I didn't really plan to watch it, but while I was eating lunch yesterday I turned on the TV, and there it was, finishing up the 9th hole. So I recorded it to watch later. Then last night Bennie and I both watched the rest of the match(?) together, and I loved it. I liked Tiger Woods, but I had never realized what a baby he is. He makes a shot he doesn't like and cusses and pouts. On the other hand Rocco really seemed like a fun guy to be around and very likeable. Plus he was the MAJOR underdog, so Bennie and I were both pulling for him. The problem was he CAN'T PUTT. Not worth a nickel. He would start off and get his ball really close to the hole, and then it would take a couple more to actually get in the hole. Whereas Tiger would be terrible starting off - getting his ball in the sand or the high grass. But then he would just hit it right out and get it within a yard of the hole. Several times Tiger's ball would be twice as far away as Rocco's on the green, and he would putt it right in, and then Rocco would barely miss and have to tap it in. It was fun to watch. After the 18 holes in the playoff they were tied again and went to sudden death. At the end Rocco actually had a chance to tie it again, but, like I said, he CAN'T PUTT. He barely missed it, and lost to Tiger. I never thought I would say this, but that golf match was exciting to watch. Maybe I'll become a fan now - of Rocco, not Tiger.

IPODer

Yep, that's me. I can Ipod with the best of them, thanks to a LOT of help from my family. I have 177 songs and 469 pictures on my new free Ipod. Yes, I said free. I got it for free from our Greenpoints by shopping at Lowes all these years. I've got things organized, and I feel really good about it. I hate learning something new technology-wise, because it just seems so foreign, but once I get some of it down I just feel good about it. So now I'm ready to go.

On a down note, several of my favorite TV shows have been axed - New Amsterdam, Men in Trees, Shark, Women's Murder Club, and October Road. Oh well.

But some other shows are just starting back - Last Comic Standing, Mad Men, Burn Notice, just to name a few.

Oh, and I've seen two really good movies the last couple of weeks. The first one was Prince Caspian. The Narnia books are my all-time favorites, and this movie didn't disappoint. And then last Friday we saw Indiana Jones and the KOTCS. I thought this was better than or as good as the first one, but a LOT better than the second and third ones. It had everything in this movie. I enjoyed it immensely.

I think I'm starting to be a little less afraid about our trip this November to Arizona. It's kind of like having a baby. You go nine months, and you try not to think about the labor and delivery, but just having the baby with you afterwards. So I'm trying not to think about the flight and just concentrate on being with Justin and Vanessa.

If anyone has any ideas for good songs let me know. It's hard to think of songs that I like to put on my Ipod. Sorry I've been rambling - oh yeah, Ramble On. There's another one!