Sunday, January 04, 2009

Happy New Year

Philip and I left Ocracoke on New Year's Eve morning. It seemed as if I had just unpacked, but everything went back into the suitcase including the sand dollar found under the rainbow and a perfect Scotch bonnet seashell. We filled the car with all our paraphenalia including a lunch of leftover ham sandwiches and pulled out onto the sandy drive.

We made one last visit to the seashore. It was spectacular with not a soul in sight. I gave one last long sigh, I won't be seeing this lovely warm weather or the sea for quite a while. We took pictures of our shadows and head towards the ferry.

It was a great drive to Williamsburg with literally no traffic as we headed towards First Night. I love spending New Year's Eve in Williamsburg, it is so historic and beautiful. Once arriving we bought our buttons, circled all the our events on the program and then went from venue to venue. We enjoyed gospel music, a
German drinking band and so many more. Of course, our favorite was Molasses Creek. They were the headliner for the first night so it was great fun to attend their show. We sat in the middle of the front row. The performance was stellar. They also played at the stadium for the midnight countdown. I do not know how they played with the cold, but they maintained their professionalism as the audience shivered. We all counted down to midnight, watched a gorgeous array of fireworks and then back to our hotel rooms. We collectively gathered food and drink and met in Kitty and Gary's room. (See last blog!) We told stories and enjoyed the party until 3:00, then called it a night, or a morning.

The next day Philip and I drove across the Appalachian Mountains using old highway 250. It was curvy and at times I actually held my breath as we continued our journey to Indiana. We stopped to hike one of the trails leftover from the Civil War reading the markers as we made our way on foot up into the hills. I took this photo from atop the mountain!!

We stopped for dinner at a local mama/papa restaurant in the mountains. By Friday we returned to interstate and found ourselves in the midwest.

All is well at the House at the White Picket Gardens, no frozen pipes or water lines, no flooded basement. We unpacked clothes and memories and toasted the New Year with a glass of wine.

Happy New Year to all,
Lou Ann

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