Fencing Lessons

Kids are exposed to so much more these days. Not at all like growing up in a small town in eastern North Carolina 60 plus years ago. 

My 10 and 12 year old grandsons taking fencing lessons in Winston Salem.

This is the only kind of fencing I knew when growing up on the farm. 

Build a Boat in 4 Hours and Take It for a Spin

YIt can be done!  The National Wooden Boat Building Competition was held this weekend in Beaufort.  The idea is to build a 12 foot row boat in less than 4 hours, put it in the water and beat the rest of the builders in a rowing competition. There are other rules but that is generally what it is all about. 

Prizes are given for the boat built in the shortest time, the best built boat and of course the rowing competition. Everyone uses the same plans and the same materials. 

A large tent was erected in a parking lot on the Beaufort waterfront where the competition was held. 30 minutes into the contest it looked like this. Did I mention that each team is limited to a 12 ft by 15 ft space?  At this point we walked down Front street to see the wooden boat show that was being held at the Maritime Museum. 

There were some really cool old boats on display. 

This is not an old boat.  It was built from plans by a man from Figure Eight Island from plans.  He spent 2500 hours on the boat and it was just beautiful. It also had a modern V-8 engine and will do 45 mph. 

This was a neat little lake trawler that was towed in from West Virginia. This too is a new boat, but has classic lines. 

Back to the building competition an hour later and it looked like this. Beginning to look like a boat. 

Here is one of the completed boats at the end of the competition. 

The rowing competition was held at 4:00. Hilarious. Only a few of the builders knew how to row a boat. No boats sank though some were taking on water. 

Some other boats on display at the waterfront was the Cricket II which holds the world record for catching the largest Maco shark-1080 lbs. 

Local pirate Sinbad was there with his pirate ship. 

My favorite was this little steam powered boat. Doesn't it remind you of the African Queen?

A lot to see today in Beaufort. The weather was perfect. 

Columbus has Landed

Columbus has landed and he landed at Sanitary Seafood in Morehead City. These replica ships were tied up to the dock at Sanitary Seafood this weekend. 

The Nina

The Pinta. Unfortunately the Santa Maria sank 500 years ago. 

It's amazing how small these ships are. Today we would call them boats. They crossed the Atlantic and discovered the New World without the aid of an engine, air conditioning or even a gps. These were truly brave men. 

What They Say About Fishing

"A Bad Day of Fishing Beats a Good Day of Work"

Another thing I have found is that if you hold the fish very close to the camera, it looks much larger. 

 

Outside of Nashville

Our daughter recommended that Becky and I should take a little trip down to Leipers Fork. Leipers Fork is nothing more than a crossroads with a few stores  and a couple of restaurants. It's about 45 minutes southwest of Nashville. 

Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant is well known as a music venue. We were there in the morning and the music did not start until the evening. We just grabbed a soda and decided to take a ride through the surrounding countryside. I have heard it said that 1% of the people have 90% of the money.  Well, I have decided that 90% of the 1% live around Leiper's Fork. I have never seen so many expensive estates in one area. 

Street view of one estate. 

And another

And another. 

This goes on for miles and miles. Black wooden fences everywhere, manicured pastures and hardly a cow in sight.  I guess the people who live here do not want to be bothered with smelling cow manure. 

I never felt so poor in all my life. Well, back to the real world. It was time for lunch and we had just enough money to go to the Loveless Cafe on the way back to Nashville. 

This place has great food and is also a famous music venue. Someday I hope to come back and enjoy the entertainment. 

Short Visit with Grandson and Family in Nashville

It had been a couple of months since we had seen our family in Nashville, Tennessee. Our 18 month old grandson, Levi, is growing so fast and we were anxious to see him. We see him every week on FaceTime, but it is not the same as being there in person.  

You can see how mature he is. Check out that fedora. Thank goodness he got his good looks from his parents and not his grandad. He is the happiest child I have ever seen. 

Their neighborhood has lots of children. They were having a neighborhood block party when we arrived Monday afternoon. 

Levi was sweeping the sidewalk. 

Now that the weather is beginning to warm up, we were able to plan some outdoor activities. We took Levi on his very first trip to the zoo. The Nashville Zoo is very popular. I think everyone in Nashville decided to go that day. It also has a lot of exhibits and activities for children.  

Levi wrestled an alligator into submission without losing his hat. 

Check out the kid wearing his hat in his stroller. We got to see many animals including this giraffe which is the tallest one I have ever seen. The zoo had a good selection of animals including a kangaroo petting park. We probably saw about half of the zoo before leaving to get Levi home for lunch and nap. Maybe another visit in the future. 

Oriental

Saturday was a nice day for a boat ride so we took a trip with our friend up the Intracoastal Waterway from Morehead City to the small town of Oriental on the Neuse River. It's about a forty-five minute ride.  

Oriental is the sailing capital of the east coast and they certainly have a lot of sailboats there.  

They have a public dock downtown where you can park your boat while you explore the town or eat at one of the few resturants there. 

You will likely see a few fishing boats, but mostly sailboats. 

The public dock. 

The Tucan Resturant is right by the dock where we had lunch. It is not crowded at all this time of year. In the summer it can get a little busy. 

Photograph taken up one of the creeks there. 

It's a great day trip by boat or car from the Beaufort, Morehead City, Atlantic Beach area. It is much faster by boat. For you land captains, you have a choice of driving up to New Bern US 70, crossing the Neuse River bridge and driving east on hwy 55 to Oriental. It's about a hour and a half trip.  You can also take highway 101 to the Minnesott Beach ferry where you cross the Neuse then drive east to Oriental. The ferry is free and leaves the dock about every 30 minutes. This trip can take a little longer but the scenery is better and you get a free boat ride. 

Chicken Bog Time Again

We had several "old" high school classmates over for a low country chicken bog last night. There were about 20 people in all. The chicken bog was good and the fellowship was outstanding. 

I got the recipe off the internet. I cut back a little on the hot spices but it was still plenty hot. I think I will cut back even more the next time. It must not have been too hot, since I made a triple recipe and only four servings were left. They say you can freeze it so that what we did with the leftovers. 

Following is the recipe. 

Chicken Bog

Ingredients

1 (3-5 pound) chicken (cut into pieces)

1 pound smoked sausage

1/4 cup butter

2 teaspoons Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

1 teaspoon ground red pepper

2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pinch of salt

Dash of garlic powder

3 bay leaves

8 cups water

3 cups raw white rice

Directions:

1. Cut the sausage into 1/2-inch pieces.

2. Combine the chicken, sausage, butter, seasonings and bay leaves in a large stock pot.

3. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 40 minutes at a low boil.

4. Remove the chicken. WARNING: VERY HOT

5. Remove the meat from the bones of the chicken. (Throw away the bones and skin. )

6. Add the rice to the pot with remaining chicken broth and seasonings.

7. Bring to a boil, stirring well.

8. Boil for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer, cover the pot and let cook for 10 more minuets or until the rice is done.

9. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves, return the chicken to the pot, mix well, and

serve.

10. Pour your self a big glass of iced-tea and enjoy.

Grandmother's 20 gallon washpot with chicken, smoked sausage, water and spices. 

Rice with deboned chicken and sausage and smelling good. Almost ready to eat. Yummmmm!!!

Oh, I failed to mention that several people brought deserts. Banana pudding, cobbler, 2 cakes, candy.  Too much. 

Another Classmate Hits the Big 70

It has come to my attention that we have another classmate that is going to turn 70 this Saturday, March 7. 

This is a picture of Rex and his lovely wife Pat that was taken a few weeks ago. I spoke with Rex by phone recently to hear how he is doing with his recent cataract surgery. He now has near perfect vision in both eyes and no longer wears glasses. Can anyone remember when Rex did not wear glasses?

Please join in wishing Rex a Happy Birthday. 

If you are a classmate that has already turned 70 and have not been included in the blog, it is simply because I don't know your birth date. Please give me your birth date and any other information that you would like to share and I will be sure to post it. 

Sunday at the Museum

We have hardly been out of the house this week due to this cold, crummy weather we have been having. My 12 year old grandson and his mother came to Raleigh Sunday from Winston Salem to see one of her friends and her new baby. They also plannned to go to the museum after the visit. We decided to finally get out of the house and take a trip to Raleigh to meet our grandson and daughter and to go to Trader Joe's. We meet Eamon and Kristen at the Museum of Natural Sciences just after lunch. 

Eamon with a T-Rex. 

 I have been to the museum a number of times over the years and have seen most of the exhibits. One exhibit I missed was the butterfly conservatory. It was very interesting and was filled with butterflies. Not only that, it was a warm tropical setting and if I need anything it is warm and tropical. I have included a few photos. 

I apologize for the photographs. It is hard to take a picture of a butterfly. They are kind of like dolphin. By the time you press the button they are gone. Anyway, if you are ever in Raleigh and have some time to kill, go to the museum. They have some interesting things there and it is all free.