Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

One week down, one to go

Tuesday April 29, 2014
Charlottesville, Virginia

 

 

We made it back to C’ville just in time for the Dogwood Festival

 

 

This time of year really is one of my favorites because of all the beautiful flowers and flowering trees.  The temperatures haven’t gotten hot yet.

The Festival includes a carnival which was at the park just down the street from where Winnona is parked.   

It stays there for two weeks and in the middle they do fireworks which Winnona could see if she wasn’t facing away from them.  :-)   It also includes a barbeque, a fashion show,  a golf tournament, a parade, the queen’s ball.  It takes up nearly the entire month of April.

 

 

 

 

 

Of course a trip to Spudnuts was in order. 

Delicious potato donuts as usual.  Coconut of course!  mmmmmmmm

 

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Carrie came for a whirlwind week-end.  

 

On Saturday we walked down to the city market and were pleasantly surprised to run into the Dogwood Parade.  Nothing like a small town parade.  Too cute.  Even the bookmobile was in the parade ahead of the high school band as were the never ending princesses and little Miss this and little Mr. that.  Who talks these kids into this??

 

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Charlottesville loves its Rivanna River.

 

Junk food anyone?  No doubt the kids will want some

 

We walked up the street with the parade and then cut over to the other side of the Downtown Sidewalk Mall to the City Market where we were going to meet Carrie’s cousin Justin and his wife and 3 children.  I would have loved to watch the parade, Carrie not so much, but we had a date.

At the market we ran into my friends Pam and Keith who are the parents of Carrie’s friend Kate with whom we had dinner later that evening. Kate and Carrie have been friends since 2nd grade.  I got a picture of Pam, Keith and Carrie at the market but forgot my camera when we went to dinner with Kate. Bummer! Kate’s a cutie!

 

 

 

We walked around the market but we didn’t see them and I didn’t see my friend Maggie the potter either.  Darn.  Then Justin called and said they were watching the parade.  ALL RIGHTY THEN!   I do get to see the parade.   Off we went to join them.

 

Does every town have Shriners in little cars?  How do they decide who gets to drive?

 

It seems everything is orange for the Orange and Blue Virginia Wahoos.  Even the tractor.
Did you have tractors in your home town parade?

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Miss Virginia Desiree Williams was on her float.  Boy is she beautiful!

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Big sister Norah loved all the “princesses”.  Baby John has Carrie’s undivided attention.

 

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The jazzercise gals got a good workout.  They danced all the way and it was at least 2 miles.

 

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Apparently Buford Middle School has a step team.  Is this a new sport?  They were totally synchronized and brought big cheers from the crowd.  I’m guessing the guy in the back must be the coach.  He looks a bit big for middle school.

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Justin’s sister Ashley joined us.  We were very happy to see her.  She only lives about 2 blocks over so she came on out to meet us.

 

 

 

Among my parade favorites were the Green Grannies.

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And I guess the Green Grandpas with great signboards.

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Whole foods sent out their banana and pea pod.  Eat Organic!!   And a carrot on a bicycle.

 

Now seriously how often do you get to see a carrot on a bike.  He was on the opposite side of the street from me and I couldn’t see him until he had almost passed us.

 

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The children had a great time and we did too.  We all had suckers.  Even Dad!   This is a rare picture of little Elise sitting still.  She’s a busy girl with tons of energy. 

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Every southern town has its Civil War statue and many, like Charlottesville, also have a statue of Robert E. Lee.  He’s a beloved favorite son of Virginia.  His statue is in Lee Park next to the Main branch of the library.  The two sisters, Norah and Elise, thought they’d go make his acquaintance and see the pretty tulips in bloom

 

 

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Norah returns but dad has to go round up Elise.  Too funny!

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Justin and Carrie were favorite cousins as children and since he stayed in Charlottesville after attending UVA architecture school, Carrie always likes to see him when she comes home.   Baby John was just born on March 1st so this is the first time any of us have seen him.  What a darling he is.

 

 

Sunday morning at the farm it’s time to work up an appetite for the farm breakfast

 A hike along the pond and through the woods did the trick but no one though to get a picture of the big spread.  Bad…bad!  Does it seem to you we have eaten our way through this week-end?  You’d be right and it isn’t finished yet. 

Still winter in the woods and spring is just barely showing at the pond.  Although the frogs are quite vocal.

 

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GMF pond

 

 

 

Sunday afternoon we went for visit with long time family friends.

 

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Carrie and her friend Allegra met in Kindergarten and have remained friends all these years.  Allegra is now an MD specializing in ObGyn and has been practicing in Boston.  I think this past winter has convinced her she needs to move back south.  LOL    Luckily she was in town interviewing at the same time we were all here. 

Her parents, Ted and Lynne, have been friends of ours for just as long.  They invited us over for dinner and Lynne fixed an amazing spread which was just beautiful and of course I was too busy eating it to remember pictures.  So all you get to see is the empty plates.   That’s a real shame.  Guess Lynne will have to do it again.   I promise to take pictures next time! Smile

 

However we did get a picture of Lynne cutting her walnut torte.  I mean to tell you this is one fabulous dessert.  We were all smiling just as big as she is while we ate it.  That’s a recipe I must remember to get.  If you are reading this Lynne, send it along…please!!

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Carrie is a cat lover, she wanted to get a picture of Allegra and the family cat.  Now that’s some kitty for sure.

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And now, it’s RAINING AGAIN!!

 

 

We had a nice clear spring weather week-end, just perfect, but immediately after that the rain began again.  All day every day for 3 days.  We are supposed to get major storms tomorrow with hail and strong winds.  Crossing my fingers none of the trees in the neighborhood where Winnona is parked come down on top of her.  The area is beautiful with many old trees.  In the past few years at least one of them has come down each year.  Some do no damage and one totally flattened the house next door to it.  Thank goodness no one was home at the time.   She’d be much safer at the farm but since it won’t quit raining, no work can be done on the road.   I’m wondering where we can go other than California to get away from this east coast never ending rain.

24 comments:

  1. I guess you were lucky the rain quit for Carrie's visit.

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  2. I think you need to change the name of your blog to The Direction Of Our Rainstorms.

    You're just like that character in the Lil' Abner comic strip who had a black cloud following him all around. Joe Bifstyk (sp)? I guess I'm showing my age here... ;c)

    Small town parades are so much fun, I haven't been to one since I marched in one in my school band way back in the sixties.

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  3. It is so much fun to be able to meet up with friends from the past. I'd love to be on that farm.

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  4. So glad you had a pretty weekend with Carrie!! Yep...rain, rain go away... Raining here in the Smokies at well:o(( Hope the bad stuff passes you and Winnona by!!!

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  5. Nice to touch down in the home town for a rainy spell. Glad that Carrie was able to join you and get some visiting in too. Good times.... the rain really matters very little compared to that.

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  6. I'll look for you this week - hope you can come again!
    Maggie

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  7. That's one fluffy cat and almost as cute as our Baxter.

    You certainly have been in the rain. Glad you weren't in Pensacola or the Florida panhandle. They got flooded.

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  8. We had a beautiful run of good weather until today. T-storms and torrential rain this morning! Small town parades are so cool!

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  9. I don't remember seeing the Dogwood parade. Is that my memory failing or just a fun but forgettable event? I do remember our dear friend Lynne of the super delicious torte walking in the Batesville Parade dressed as Super Woman when Carrie and Allegra were newly friends and they lived just down the road from us. Now I wish I could find that picture.

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  10. Great blog :) I nearly relived a fun filled weekend. I did get some farm breakfast pictures...should have thought to share them! I think the carrot on the bike wins for most amusing :) And, what a stunning close up of Miss Virginia. She certainly has a pretty face indeed. Lynne did make an amazing meal. YUM. I could eat that again :)

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  11. Looks like a wonderful parade. Charlottesville is a wonderful town. Our daughter's college roommate lives there and I love visiting.

    Carrie is a beautiful young woman. How nice that you are getting to visit with so many friends. Enjoy your time with family and friends. We arrive in York, PA tomorrow and we'll be doing the same thing.

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  12. Love small town parades. Looks like yours was pretty cool :) Glad you had a great weekend with Carrie. We all hope the rain goes to California! :)

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  13. Nice that the weather gave you a break for the festivities ... stay safe.

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  14. Being home and seeing old friends and family is a good thing!!!

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  15. Hey, we made it into the blog! It was great to see you guys. We have to get together more often. We have known each other for a long time. We're almost family. I remeber those Batesville parades, they were lots of fun, you coud to anything you wanted. The kids decorated their bikes and rode then in the parade.

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  16. Yes, we had tractors in our home town parade. I got to drive them because my mom was the John Deere dealer. Once my lawn tractor stalled and my step brother (then just my friend) nearly ran over me with the big tractor because he was waving to the crowds instead of watching where he was going.

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  17. Love the small town parades and have enjoyed many tractor filled ones here in VT. So glad you had a nice weekend for Carrie's visit, love catching up with old friends. Raining here in VT too for the next week or so (they don't call it the Green Mountain State for nothing) just glad we had good weather for our traveling.

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  18. Yes please, send all the rain to California (one man's junk is another man's......well you know), we're already getting wild fires :-( . Our parade tractors were usually green or gray - love the orange one! Small town parades are such great entertainment - nothing says organic like vegetables with legs!! Thanks again for sharing a wonderful couple of days. Carrie is just lit up from inside - loving that time with her folks :-).

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  19. I enjoyed your parade, and all your eats. . .the donuts looked very, very tempting. . .the pond was just lovely!

    Enjoy you time at home. . .back on the road before you know it. It's raining here in Michigan too. . .

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  20. Small town parades are so great -- thanks for sharing your parade with us. :-) It looks like you all are having a wonderful visit with Carrie and lots of fun reconnecting with hometown friends. Glad you had a bit of a respite from bad weather -- all of the rain you've had is making me happy we're heading west instead of up the east coast as we had originally planned. Hope there are many more sunny days in your near future!

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  21. Well a great weekend for a parade plus friends and family. All those gorgeous blooms wouldn't happen if it weren't for the rain. And at least it wasn't snow. ;)

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  22. Donuts, Dogwoods and a Parade...what's not to love:o)) Really, a lovely weekend with family and friends!!

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  23. Having grown up in a little midwestern town, I do miss the small-town parades. Looks like a wonderful visit with Carrie and friends.

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