Wrightsville Beach N.C. Vacation

Hello friends, It feels strange being back here. It has only been a couple of weeks but it feels like forever. I have really missed being here with all of you. This is a special space to me. Forgive me for not getting to your blog posts I am catching up.

A lot has been going on. Last week my husband and I took a much needed vacation to our favorite beach in North Carolina, Wrightsville Beach. Wrightsville Beach is very near Wilmington NC. We try to go almost every year.

A week before the vacation we hosted my nephew Chris, and a lot of my family, for Chris’ Birthday. It was a very special one, the big 50. And of course if you have read any of my posts you know I get a little crazy when I have people at my house. I want everything to be perfect. Probably to the point my husband is about to divorce me over it. I come up with a huge to-do list that borders on impossible. All the while I know in the back of my mind that all of these things are not going to get done. Well you know what?? a lot of those things didn’t get done. I was planning the party and planning the vacation and I knew I had to let some things slide, so I did. And you know what else? we had a great time even though I felt like some things in my house could have been a little neater. I doubt anyone even noticed.

Just after the party I started planning for our vacation. Me and hubs both worked up until almost the day before the vacation. And of course planning means someone coming in to take care of the kitties and checking on the house and etc etc.

We left out last Sunday morning at 5:00 AM. It is about a nine hour drive for us and of course add in food and fuel stops it makes it about ten hours. We like to get an early start and get ahead of traffic. I love driving for a couple of hours and finally getting to see the sun start to peep out.

***The weather was beautiful all week. This was the sunrise the morning we left for vacation***.

North Carolina has the most beautiful
Day Lillies planted in the medians of the interstate. They are so beautiful.

Every morning while we are on vacation we walk into town. It is almost three miles round trip. It is great exercise. We go early before the heat gets too bad. I just love this little town. The walk takes us on a back street full of walkers, runners and bike riders. Both sides of the street is a gallery of beach homes. I love them all. They are so unique. I always enjoy seeing the different ways people have planned their gardens and porches and decks.

***Many people walk their dogs into town. There is a watering station for thirsty babies.***

I loved this little book exchange library. I did finish a book while we were there and was going to swap it for a book here. We didn’t get to walk the last morning of our trip. We had to leave a little unexpectedly. More on that in a minute.

As I said the weather was perfect all week long. Lots of surfers hit the waves early in the morning. They have until 10:00 AM and then only sectioned areas can be used by surfers.

We ate at Poe’s Tavern again this year. This restaurant has a few locations in the U.S. North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. They specialize in burgers, fish tacos, sandwiches and salads. The restaurant and menu features all things Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar’s Drunken Chili, Beef Raven, Beef Tell-Tale Heart and Beef Rue Morgue are a few of the menu selections. Posters line the walls with movie clips and quotes. It really is a fun place.

***Poe’s Tavern. We had some amazing blackened sword fish tacos.***

We spent a lot of time just relaxing and enjoying the beach and some down time. I read a couple of books and of course brought knitting with me.

***The hot crab dip at the Oceanic is one of our favorites***.

On Thursday morning the nursing facility, where my mother in law is staying, called and said she had taken a turn for the worse. We decided to leave the next day. When we got to her she didn’t appear to be any worse than she had been when we left. But you never know at her age. I am sure the nurses and doctors were being cautious and wanted us near if anything happened. We were glad we decided to cut the trip a little short and get back home.

Several weeks ago we called a local tree cutting service to get a quote on cutting some trees near our lake bank. While we were gone the tree cutters came and took out many of the trees near the lake. Through the years the growth had gotten out of hand. That’s one thing that happens when you live in the woods. HA!! Our view of the lake was almost gone. It was a costly investment but so worth it when we got back home and had our view of the lake again.

We were so happy to get back home to all the babies. And they were so glad to see us. Kitty Kitty has slept with me every night.

I hope all is well with you? Do you like the beach? What is your idea of the perfect vacation?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

Friday Favorites

Happy Happy Friday!!! I have a few favorites to share with you.

First of all let me say. I love Dunkin coffee. I don’t get Dunkin a lot so when I do I savor it. I love Iced Caramel Macchiatos. Today when I went to Dunkin they told me it was National Donut Day so I got a free donut. I chose blueberry it’s my favorite.

***Iced Caramel Macchiato. My favorite.***

I baked bread last week. It has been awhile since I baked bread. I was afraid it wouldn’t rise because of the humidity or barometric pressure, but it did. It turned out great!!! I always take two loaves to work with me, I have to get it out of the house so I won’t eat all of it.

I have been enjoying this sewing box that a friend from work gave me. It belonged to his mother in law. After she passed away he nor his wife had a use for it. He knows how much I love to sew and embroider. He brought it to me. I have had so much fun combing through it. It is full of everything!!!

Lavender Ice cream. This is a locally made ice cream. The lady who makes this is a good friend of mine. She owns a little ice cream shop downtown in Sweetwater. Everything there is hand made even the waffle cones. This is some of the best ice cream I have ever had. My favorite right now is Lavender.

Last week we celebrated my niece, Michelle, with a small family gathering at our favorite local Mexican Restaurant. We had so much fun!! They did the traditional cake smashing.

I made the Birthday cake. She loves yellow cake with chocolate icing. We did not smash this one. We ate all of it and gave some to friends who were in the restaurant. We also gave our waiter a large piece. He said the chocolate frosting reminded him of his grandmother’s frosting. AHHHHH!!

We had some yummy drinks.

Several of my orchids are blooming!!!

And I leave you with one of my all time favorites. My happy place with my big boy Gus. He loves sleeping on my lap in the mornings while I drink coffee.

What are some favorites you have had this week? Don’t forget that tomorrow is National Knit in Public Day. Will you be knitting ? I think I will.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!

Hello Monday

Hello and happy Memorial Day. How was your week and weekend? Hopefully it was a nice long one for you. I am so humbled and awe stricken to think of the men and women who have served our country and gave everything in doing so. Let us never forget the reason we observe Memorial Day.

Have you ever had a week that felt like it was a month long? Well that is how work was for me last week. It seems like all I did was come home, eat some dinner and go to bed.

On Wednesday we noticed a dog running around the yard. We saw it on our blink security camera. We thought he belonged to someone visiting one of the neighbors. We kept seeing him and then when Mark came home on Wednesday he, turns out it was a she, followed his truck down the driveway and proceeded to make herself at home. She looked half starved. My husband said that was just the hound in her. We weren’t sure how she would do with the cats so we put the outside kitties in the garage.

***She came right up on my deck while we were gone.*** ***Sorry for the bad pic it was from the blink camera.***

The dog, I named her Sally, and was already figuring out which day I could get her to the vet, did not have a tag on her collar. She was big and goofy and so sweet. We gave her some food and water. During the night it rained and I was so worried about her. By morning she had gone back home. Turns out some people were camping down the lake and she was just wandering around. I was a little disappointed and a little relieved. Although I would never let my babies wander like this alone.

On Friday, I again went with some friends to Iron Works Grill on the river. They do karaoke every Friday night. It is so much fun. Plus the views are spectacular. Aren’t those mountains beautiful?

A couple of weekends ago I went to an estate sale. The people having the sale had actually had it for a couple of weekends so they were ready to get rid of some things. Well everything actually. This is what I got:

***This blue Buddha for $2.00. I think it will go great in one of our bathrooms.***

***I cannot pass up a nice cake stand. And this one doubles as a bowl $2.00***

Look at this purse. It is a little worn and I am going to redo the lining. I love it. It reminds me of the purses my mama carried when I was a little girl. I may try a little diluted bleach water to whiten it back up. $2.00.

I just couldn’t pass those things up. I know my husband rolls his eyes when I drag pieces into the house but I always find use for them eventually.

The pollen here has been crazy. So many people are having sinus and allergy problems, fortunately I am not. My poor husband has allergies and this time of year for him is really hard. We have also had a lot of rain. It seems like it has rained almost every day for a couple of weeks. I guess that helps the pollen a little.

***The roads near my house were almost flooded this morning.***

I leave you with the best thing I have received in a long time. A friend from work found out I like to sew and that I had a sewing machine. He told me that his mother or grandmother had an old tackle box that was full of sewing supplies. He asked if I would like to have it. He said he had no use for it. I told him I would love to have it. He brought it in today. It was full of all kinds of goodies. Threads, bobbins, needles, buttons, sewing machine tools, pins etc etc. I was in heaven. I offered to pay him for it but he said giving it to someone that could use it was enough. I was really touched.

I have been knitting like crazy with every spare minute. I worked on a shawl and almost have it finished. I guess you could say it is more of a wrap. I made another one exactly like it last year but it was my first one and I wasn’t too happy with the way it turned out. Hopefully I will have it finished and blocked by the end of the week. I also started another pair of socks. Pink.

That’s it for me tonight.

Always remember

Love your day your way!

Visiting Churchill Downs

A few weeks ago the Kentucky Derby celebrated its 150th anniversary race. The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May. I have never been to the race, but two weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit Churchill Downs with an attraction group that our company is a part of. Churchill Downs is where the Kentucky Derby takes place.

One of the perks of my job is getting to visit other tourism attractions. When we do, we get to meet with a lot of their front line people. It is a great way to share information and experience the different ways in which different places do things. If you missed my post about spending a few days in Louisville Kentucky check it out here

The Kentucky Derby was held on May 4th of this year. As I mentioned this was the 150th anniversary of this very special race. I hadn’t really thought much about the race but now that I have been to the track I would love to see an actual race.

Our group got into town on Sunday May 5th. There was still lots of decorations and festivities going on but most were starting to die down by Sunday afternoon. Tuesday May 7th was our day to explore several places and get a behind the scenes tour. Churchill Downs was first on the agenda.

We arrived at Churchill Downs and went through a gate leading us to one of the training areas. We were met by an older gentlemen who told us that, first of all we weren’t supposed to get in the way, so we didn’t. Second, watch out for the horses and respect the trainers and our surroundings, we did. We felt so fortunate to have this opportunity I think we would have walked on our hands if he had told us to. Of course I knew we weren’t going to be able to see any of the thoroughbreds. What we were able to see was some of the up and coming future hopefuls of the Kentucky Derby maybe 2025, 2026, 2027.

Even though we arrived by 9:00 AM the stables were already hopping. Our guide, who was amazing, told us that the trainers arrive around 5:00 AM to start working the horses. They work them for hours and then do a 45 minute to 1 hour cool-down. Most of the trainers live onsite for several months out of each year.

When I closed my eyes I could almost hear the thundering of the hooves and the cheering of the crowd. These horses are trained for this moment, it can be an awesome, exciting and heart breaking moment for many.

***Watching one of the trainers walk his horse. Beautiful!!***

The Kentucky Derby winner for this year was Mystic Dan. He won by a nose!! He barely beat out Sierra Leone and Forever Young. This is the 26th time that the Kentucky Derby has been decided by the length of a neck or less. The Kentucky Derby is commonly referred to as the “most exciting two minutes in sports’ because that’s normally how long it lasts. It is 1& 1/4 miles long or 2,200 yards. Mystic Dan came out of stall number 3.

We were able to stand in the stalls. It was very exciting thinking about Mystic Dan being there just 48 hours or so before and getting ready to run the race of a life time.

Of course I had to stand in the stall where Mystic Dan stood it was very exciting!!!!

We also visited the Derby Museum. I learned so much about the Derby. Check out their website ***http://www.derbymuseum.org***

Some of the information in the Museum:

We were also able to watch a clip of the derby. I have to tell you that our tour guide was the most amazing man. He truly loved horses. He told us that when he was a young boy he would come to the stables early in the morning and watch the horses being led through their daily training routines. He would muck out the stalls or do whatever he could just to be around them. He said that when he came to the Derby he liked to stay behind the scenes and watch the horses come out. He said he had only sat in the stands one time.

What an exciting visit. I never thought much about the Derby but now I think I would like to go and experience the race. Maybe I should add that to my bucket list.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!