We were up and about by 7:15 and Ken made us a great cooked breakfast while I got ready. He worked on the computer and spent time hooking up our Rand McNally GPS to our computer to get a LARGE update. We hadn't updated it since we bought it 1 year ago and it took lots of memory! Our other GPS quite working, so we had to pull out this RV Rand McNally one. We had been very disappointed with it when we bought it, but we thought we would give it another chance. It seems to be working well, but I still don't find it the most user friendly!
Then it was time for a haircut for Ken, so hairstylist, Bonnie, went to work. He looks like a new man!!!!! I decided Waldo needed a good cleaning, so that was my project for the rest of the morning.
After lunch, we left to go to the Blue Ridge Music Center, about 40 minutes from the CG. We spent some of that time driving on the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway. It was created in the depression days of the 1930's, and was the nation's first rural parkway. Standards for road design and engineering were pioneered here. It is also the nation's longest parkway stretching 469 miles to connect the Shenandoah National Park in VA with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in NC. Talked to Doloris back home and we had a nice chat. We are looking forward to some camping trips with them this summer and fall.
We arrived at the Center at 2:00 and we all recognized each other right away. It is a very informal music "jam session" and all the "listeners" got the story of why we were there, how long it has been since we have seen each other, some funny stories about our growing up years in school, etc. We had such a good time. Stu plays both the fiddle and banjo and is quite accomplished at both. He plays there every Sunday afternoon and the other musicians can vary week to week, but I think there is usually a "core group".
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| This is our high school friend, Stu Shenk, well known in this area for his banjo and fiddle playing! |
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| It was a foursome when we got there! |
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| Later, 2 more joined the group. |
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| The other fiddle player was so good. I am also amazed how these players need no music. Just give them a key for starting the song, and off they go! |
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| Stu is also a great fiddle player. He learned to play the fiddle in West Virginia, where they hold it this way instead of under their chin. That is for more "uppity" players who play the violin, or so they say in West Virginia! |
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| Quite a nice setting for listening to their music! So glad it was in a shaded area, for it was a very hot day! |
His wife, Susie, got there around 3:45 and it was so good to see her again too. None of us had been together since about 1979, so we had a lot of "catching up" to do. The 4 of us went to a local restaurant and had a very nice meal with plenty of conversation. We said our good-byes around 7:15 and we were back to the CG by 8. What a special day! Thanks so much, Stu and Susie, for spending time with us. We had a great time!
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| It is always special to meet up with friends from your past! |
Ken disconnected things outside while I prepared the inside for an early departure tomorrow. I had a nice, long conversation with Melissa. It is hard to imagine but they are in Tennessee already and only have about 80 more miles to drive to get to her mother in Nashville. They are such "road warriors" driving 560 miles one day and over 600 the next. I told her we had dealt the cards for Pinochle and they never showed up!!!! We miss our nightly card games!
Ken had a long chat with his brother, Paul, who had called for an update on my father and to ask about our trip. We could go on and on and on about our special trip. It was beyond our greatest expectations!
Also talked to my sister today regarding our Dad. She had visited him and today he was not confused at all. They had great conversations. He knows at times he is "not all there" and it bothers him. He is not sure what is actually fact and what is fiction. She told him to not be concerned about the past, but just concentrate on the future and getting well. Good advice, sis!!!!
We went to bed by 10:30 and hope to be on the road by 6:30 tomorrow morning! PA here we come!
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