Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Parties for the Wedding and Moving North…

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We are still in Raleigh for Katie and Brooks’ wedding in mid-October which is getting closer and closer. Sharon is about finished with her yearly medical appointments with only one more appointment to go. There have been more wedding related parties and Katie and Brooks’ are receiving a ton of really nice gifts.

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One party we attended was at Katie and Brooks’ friend’s house who hosted a “Stock the Bar” party. The original thought was to help them stock the bar for the cocktail reception after the wedding but the County Club venue has rules against that. Obviously the club would prefer the profit from the alcohol sales. But that didn’t stop the party… so Katie and Brooks now have a well stocked bar. It has been fun for them and we have enjoyed the opportunity to get to know more of Brooks’ family and friends.

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There was another party last weekend where the hostess is also the sister of Katie’s florist for the wedding.  The hostess has a beautiful home with a fabulous back yard which slopes down to a stream. The steep slope to the stream is heavily wooded so no one will ever build behind them. Very cool… This was a more intimate and smaller party where we met more of the relatives. Two highlights of this party were the very delicious short ribs served for dinner and the hostess’s cat.

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Why the cat? Well this was no ordinary cat as the husband of the hostess taught the cat tricks like you would a dog. This cat would lay down, sit and “give five” but the “coup de grace” trick was that it could also ring a bell to ask for a treat. Super neat and very fun to watch. He said he taught the cat to do so by first putting the treat under the bell. As the cat would play with the bell to try and get the treat underneath it he would occasional hit the bell and make it ring. When doing so the owner would lift the bell for the cat to get the treat. Very neat trick – especially for a cat!!! Check out this link to see the ultimate cat trick…

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So other than parties, some disc golf, happy hours and walks around NC State University we haven’t been doing too much. Back “home” at the Fairgrounds everyone was asked to leave October 1st to make room for all the workers who need places to camp to prepare for the North Carolina State Fair. Only problem for us was that Jordan Lake’s Campgrounds were all still closed from hurricane damage and our back up plan RV park was full with hurricane refugees. Luckily we found a spot north of Raleigh which had openings so we are now at Lake Falls State Recreation Area about 25 minutes north. A little further out than we had hoped but hey, not everything works out as planned… and such is life On the Road of Retirement…

NOTE: We are now at Lake Falls State Recreation Area north of Raleigh NC until shortly after the wedding…

4 comments:

  1. Wonder how Paul and I can throw a "Stock the Bar" party for ourselves. lol
    I love the cat tricks. I need to show them to Bella. Maybe she will learn some too.

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  2. Heyduke, Lake Falls at this time of year has the worst black tick population I've ever seen. A couple of years ago, we camped in our RVs with our son and family at Lake Falls, and when all of us got home, we had to check each other and the kids for these little black ticks; we found so many, even in the ears and on the scalp. I vowed I would never go back to the place. If you can find somewhere else to park, do it.

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    1. Thanks for the heads up... we have been here two days and have done some hiking and we haven't had any problems with any ticks but will certainly keep a close eye out for them. This was the only place around that had any vacancies with the hurricane refugees and the state fair nearby. Not too mention Jordan Lake CG's are all still closed...

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  3. P.S. As a last resort, check Camping World at Garner, NC (about 12 minutes outside of Raleigh off Hwy. 70) to determine if you can park there on their 8 acres. Just tell them your problem.

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