Mountain Memories

Stopping for lunch (well, really L-U-P-P-E-R --Lunch-Supper) in Mount Airy at the Mayflower Seafood Restaurant.

Grandma and Grandpa in front of Andy's squad car.

Donnie and I in front of Snappy's.

Here we are (oops...I forgot my hat for the picture...excuse my helmet head!) with both motorcycles at Chimney Rock.

Grandma and Grandpa in front of the Harley Davidson shop in Chimney Rock.

Last weekend, from Thursday to Saturday, we made a short trip to the mountains with Donnie's parents. We went on the motorcycles. We started early Thursday morning and made our way to Mount Airy, NC so Grandma and Grandpa could enjoy Andy's homeplace. We spent a leisurely couple of hours there and took pictures in front of Floyd's Barbershop and the Snappy Diner. We ate at the Mayflower Seafood Restaurant.



We then made our way to Boone, NC around 4:45 p.m. or so. That in itself was a real adventure because we went around our elbow to get to our thumb, so to speak. We didn't have a map...we ended up in TN at one point on Thursday night. We had to make it to Boone because I had already made reservations there. By the time we finally made it in on Thursday night, we were wet, cold, and grumpy, not to mention we all had sore behinds! We left Boone (and my, what a beautiful little town that is!) the next morning for a nice ride on the Blueridge Parkway to Linville Falls, Tweetsie Railroad, and to Spruce Pine. That (Spruce Pine) is where Grandma and Grandpa bought their beautiful homemade Grandfather Clock years ago. We visited in the little shop where they bought it. We ate supper at the Western Sizzlin' there and then.....we started on the steep, curvy road of Hwy. 221 on our way to Ridgecrest to spend the night. It was on Hwy. 221 when Grandpa's back brakes went out.....what a scare. But thanks to the Lord for His protection and watchcare over us. Come to find out, the brakes just got overheated from so much use coming down the mountain. We stopped on the side of the road and let them cool off, and we were on our way. We spent the night in Black Mountain at Ridgecrest Conference Center.

We left early the next morning to head home by way of Chimney Rock and Lake Lure. (We had first visited Chimney Rock and Lake Lure years ago with Calvin and June Gibson. We stayed many times at their wonderful mountain home...we've got wonderful memories of those times) Anyway, back to my story, on Saturday we saw some gorgeous sights along the way.........bought some mountain apples at a roadside stand......stopped at a Harley-Davidson shop in Chimney Rock for Grandma and Grandpa to browse around. We stopped in Spartanburg for lunch on the way home. Someone asked when we got home if the leaves were pretty in the mountains...well, they were pretty alright..Pretty GREEN.....they hadn't changed colors yet, but green is fine with me. The mountains are just beautiful anyway....and the sights along the Blueridge Parkway are so wonderful. Like Donnie says, motorcycles were made for mountains! We are thankful to the Lord for allowing us to view His handiwork and rejoice in the wonder of Who He is! We made it home safely Saturday afternoon. Now, where can we go next......?

More Weekend Moments

Listed below are the final pictures I'll post of our time in Goldsboro on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. The picture right below is of my sister-in-law Jan (mom of four, married to my older brother Joe, and living right there in Goldsboro) and Renee.







This picture is Daniel McCracken (my nephew) and Lori, his wife and then James and Stephanie.

The picture below is James and Stephanie's three darling little stairstep boys.

The picture below is another angle of us eating outside in Daddy's "barn".

This picture is of the little boys playing with Daddy's new puppies.

Weekend Moments

This past Friday afternoon, we traveled to Goldsboro to Mom and Dad's. We somehow managed (?!!!) to get there right in time for supper. We had gone to meet our nephew Samuel's new wife, Yaelle. You will see a picture of them below. Also, Daniel and Renee came down Friday night, too, so we had a good time visiting with them. My brother Melvin, and his wife, Sheila, came in Saturday morning and stayed a few hours. It was great to see them. That afternoon around 3ish, we sat down to a great Frogmore Stew that daddy prepared outside. My sister-in-law, Janet, and her daughter, Jennifer also came in and we spent a few minutes of fellowship with them. Also arriving in time for the feast was Mel's son, James, his wife, Stephanie, and their three busy little boys. Our nephew, Daniel, and his wife Lori, got there too around 3. It was great to visit if only for a little while. When you're far away from family, even little tidbits of time together becomes sweet and memorable. We didn't even get to be there 24 hours, but it was a wonderful time. Mom and Dad always outdo themselves to make everyone at home. I hope that when I'm in my seventies, I'll be going strong like they are. Since I can only post 5 pictures at a time, I'll add some more tomorrow.


The picture above is of Samuel and Yaelle. She is a sweetie! She didn't speak alot of English, but she truly has a servant's heart. You could always find her jumping up to help clear the table, or be doing other tasks as needed. She loves to cook, so she's girl after my own heart! It was great visiting with Samuel, too. He is in a Christian school in the South of France and has been quite busy opening up two companies. He has one cleaning company in which he employs several people that have had drug dependencies in the past, and he is helping out by giving them a chance to earn a living. Way to go, Samuel! We love you and Yaelle and will be praying for both of you.

This is mom and dad after our Friday meal. Thanks for a great weekend!

The picture above is my brother, Mel, and his wife, Sheila. He wouldn't look into the camera...he's camera shy! hahah Mel, I know you are reading this. Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit. You guys look great! I'm proud of you!

Saturday afternoon, Donnie and Daniel enjoyed a game of "hillbilly" golf....it was golf balls connected to each other by a string and you had to "throw" the string at the opposing goals and see if you scored! Looked kinda silly to me, but they had a great time!

This is beautiful Jennifer....as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. She's in nursing school there in Goldsboro. She and Jan came by for a brief visit.

I wanted to also post some happenings in our family over the weekend. My sister Christy and her husband Andre, live in France with their six children. The children are all growing up fast! Christy is my baby sister. Anyway, her oldest son, Samuel, got married this past Saturday to Yael (not sure of the spelling). So, one of these pictures is of Samuel and Yael. They are honeymooning, actually, here in the States. We hope to see them while they are here. Christy's second-born, but oldest daughter is Rachel. She got married a few years ago to Matthieu. I've added a picture of them, too. Christy's third child, Laura, got married in May to Raphael. You will see their picture in front of a chateau...which is actually where they are living Then, you'll see a picture of the whole family at Laura's wedding in May.

These next several pictures are from the post-wedding shower our church gave to David and Haley. For some reason, I have not been able to post these in order. I'm still learning, though. This is Kenneth and Reatha Dorrell and their darling little granddaughter, McKenzie. She is doing so well since her surgery.

This is little Madison standing beside the running "David/Haley DVD" that played during the shower. Isn't she cute? I couldn't figure out how to make Madison as "light" as David and Haley.

David and Haley left late Monday afternoon. We hated to see them go. They start a full week of classes and work on Tuesday. Pray for them as you think of them. They got home around 11:30 p.m. on so Monday night. We had a great time while they were here...it's just always hard to say good bye! For those of you reading this blog, I posted several pictures below and they came in as different days...sorry about that. I'm learning! Love to everyone!

David and Haley at the reception...greeting...and talking with folks.
This is Jerry and Susie Poston...blurry picture, and again, the photographer is at fault!

This is David and Haley with Mrs. Ada.

Hello Everyone....thanks to Kimberly Bonnett for two more wedding pictures. She took a bunch at the wedding and these are two of my favorites. Cort is hugging his new aunt Haley.
Here's another one of the beaming bride and groom!
David and Haley came in Friday night to spend the weekend. On Saturday, David helped his dad trim bushes in the yard and do a lot more yard work. Haley and I had little errands to run. But, in the afternoon, they went for a spin on the motorcycle. What fun they had!
Our church had a "post wedding gift card shower" for them on Sunday night. Haley and I stayed at church all afternoon and fixed food. Donnie and David stayed helped set up tables. Mrs. Monette and Jackie came in the afternoon and we decorated the food table. Here is Mrs. Mae...she wanted to do the cake for them. She's done cakes for all the boys and their wives and she wanted to make sure she could do one for David and Haley. She's been like another Grandma to our boys. We all love her!
This is Denise...sorry it's a little blurry (must be the photographer...uh, that would be me!). During the shower, there was a running CD of David and Haley's life together up to this point.