The Town of Chincoteage

In my previous post, I said I’d share pics from Cape Charles and Chincoteague, but, truth is, since it was raining, I did a really piss-poor job capturing images of Cape Charles. So you’ll just have to Google that one if you are really curious.

I did, however, get to spend a decent amount of time in Chincoteague. I got to poke around the town a bit — it’s bigger than I anticipated — and spend some time on the national wildlife refuge.

To get to the town of Chincoteague, which is on Chincoteague Island, you head east for about 11 miles on VA-175 from US-13. The landscape becomes rural pretty quickly after leaving US-13, so one would expect it to be less and less populated, with trees giving way to marsh as one approaches the Chincoteague Island (CI). And that’s sort of what happens. But first, you have to drive past Wallops Island, “NASA’s principal facility for management and implementation of suborbital research programs.”

Despite knowing I’d be passing the NASA facility, seeing the field full of radar antennas and other high-tech-looking stuff on one side of the road and a few smallish rockets on the other side of the road just felt odd.

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Heading into Chincoteague

Also odd was the number of billboards along the north side of the road leading to CI. For what seemed like a few miles, there was a billboard about every 50 yards (~150 meters) or so. They were all the same height and seemed to be positioned at the exact same angle in relation to the road. Weird.

It was late in the day when I reached CI, so I headed right for the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, which is located on neighboring Assateague (ass-uh-teak) Island.

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I LOVE Wildlife Refuges

The rain had slowed down a bit, but it was pretty windy and cold. And, with the skies so overcast, there wasn’t much light for pictures.

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Snowy Egret in the Marsh

 

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Autumn Splendor at the Marsh

Fall at the marsh is lovely to me, with all of the contrasting colors.

I made it to tow before it was fully dark and captured a picture of the LOVEwork, then proceeded to my motel.

After a long, relaxing evening, I headed back to the refuge early Sunday morning. (I’ll share those pics in my next post.) I planned my day around the 11:00 a.m. opening of the Museum of Chincoteague, which is very close to the refuge entrance. I did poke around town a bit after leaving my motel.

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Misty statue in the downtown waterfront park.

 

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Main Street

 

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Main Street

 

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As seen in a store window on Main Street.

With CI being a beachy destination, there was a certain amount of kitschy beach-themed and other stuff typical of east coast resort towns.

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Seasonal Seafood “Restaurant”

 

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Hippy Eatery

 

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Giraffes

It seemed odd to me that I saw at least one giraffe every day during my brief journey. In a recent exchange with my buddy Fuzzy about the sudden appearance of giraffes in my life, she said something to the effect that maybe they’ve always been there and I’d just never noticed them.

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Flirty Giraffe

Perhaps. But why have I all of a sudden started noticing giraffes?!?

I’ll have to file that question under unsolved mysteries of the universe. Oh, and hope I don’t continue seeing giraffes.

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Chincoteague Island Mural

The lighthouse in that mural is the iconic Assateague Lighthouse, which was completed in 1867.

In addition to the refuge and one other must-see island sight, the Museum of Chincoteague was a must-visit destination for me.

I’d been wanting to visit Chincoteague since I was a kid and read Marguerite Henry’s book, Misty of Chincoteague. Henry followed with other books, but Misty always played a key role, whether as a character in the book or as the head of a long line of island ponies.

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The Famous Misty

Look what’s at the museum. Or maybe I should say look “who” is at the museum.

Misty! In the flesh.
Misty! In the flesh (Kind of. Is it still called flesh after death?)

I’m still sort of torn between being creeped-out that they’d stuffed Misty and pleased that I actually got to see her.

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Misty

She looked so real. I mean, I know it is her, but in the above image, she almost looks alive, doesn’t she? She’s much smaller than I’d imagined. Of course, I was much smaller, too, when actually imagining Misty.

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L-R, Stormy (Misty’s foal) and Misty

The museum is on the little side, but very well done and lovingly maintained.

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First Order Fresnel Lens from the Assateague Island Lighthouse (c. 1866)

Apparently, that lens was used in the lighthouse until 1961 when it was replaced by a more-advanced directional coded beacon.

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Close-up of the lens.

 

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Seafood is still very much a part of island life.

 

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Drawbridge (route to the mainland)

It’s a lovely place. I’m not sure how I’d feel about it in the heat of summer amidst throngs of tourists, but it is certainly a charming place to visit in the off season. I hope to return. One day…

Odd and Interesting Fun

Having successfully captured King Neptune and the beach at daybreak (see previous post if you missed it), I set out to capture the other two oddities on my list and six remaining LOVEworks.

The Virginia Beach LOVEwork was first, then I was off to see “‘Hugh Mongous,’ the simian mascot of Ocean Breeze Waterpark.”

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Hugh Mongous

How can you NOT smile at him? He’s one big, colorful, smiley gorilla dude.

It was only later when scrolling through pics and seeing the previously unshared selfie of Hugh and I that I realized we are wearing the same glasses.

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Matching Eyewear!

What can I say? The big dude has style!

From there, I headed inland to capture the LOVEworks in Newport News and Norfolk. On the way, since I’d be passing Mount Trashmore, I decided to stop and see the Whispering Giant (big carved Indian, more on that later) that’s been there since 1976.

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Whispering Giant at Mount Trashmore

 

I found the Newport News sculpture without incident. The first one in Norfolk was a bit of a challenge. I ended up at the Virginia Zoological Park, adjacent to Lafayette Park (the park where I was supposed to be). That’s where I saw this sculpture…

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Elefly or Butterphant?

A VERY cool, life-sized elephant, fashioned of butterflies, holding a butterfly.

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How cool is that? Click on it for a closer look at the butterfly skin.

I know I use the word “cool” too much. I can’t help it.

I was on my way back to the car when I spotted this peeking through the bushes at me.

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Sad-looking, Abandoned Giraffe

Another giraffe. How odd. I never see giraffe sculptures then, in less than 24 hours, I see two. Hmmm. (I had to manuever a bit to get that picture.)

I eventually found my way to the appropriate spot in Lafayette Park, thanks to the helpful lady at the zoo info desk. I captured the final Norfolk-area LOVEwork at the airport, which felt a bit weird. Who visits airports just to see stuff?

That’s where I realized I’d neglected to take my ATM card along on the trip. I had $5 cash and no ATM card. Crap. Oh well, I’d survive, hopefully without having to get a cash advance on the credit card.

From there, I headed north across the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, an engineering marvel I’ll describe another time.

I forgot to mention that the skies had been really overcast all morning. It finally started raining shortly after I reached Virginia’s Eastern Shore. By the time I reached Cape Charles, the next-to-last LOVEwork location, the skies let loose. A downpour. Ugh.

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Lighthouse Water Tower in Cape Charles, Virginia

I did manage to capture a picture of the lighthouse water tower, which is one of the RoadsideAmerica stops I’d planned before leaving home.

Oh, and I was really tickled to see this as I was leaving Cape Charles…

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Cotton!

I’d never actually seen cotton growing before. To the best of my knowledge, anyway.

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It was still raining quite hard.

I shot those pictures very quickly, since I had to pull into someone’s driveway to do so.

As I continued north, I passed another oddity I had NOT planned on stopping to see. But, since I did actually see it, I figured I should stop for a pic.

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Lady Liberty with My Car

Again, road trip pics with the car are not nearly as interesting (romantic?) as road trip pics with the bike. 🙁

I’d been planning on grabbing lunch in Cape Charles, but the rain changed my mind. The further north I drove, the hungrier I got. I was half-hoping I’d see a Bojangles. The other half of me was thinking I’d just eat in Chincoteague, my destination for the day.

Then I saw a pretty big and interesting billboard advertising The Great Machipongo Clam Shack (web site) in Nassawaddox, Virginia.

The name makes me sorta giggle for some reason. also, I like clams. So I told myself that, if I passed it and the parking lot was full enough, I’d stop. Sure enough, there were quite a few cars parked at the place, so I hung a U-turn and visited the The Great Machipongo Clam Shack.

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“Healthy” Eats? I was thinking fried clams and french fries!

I’m glad I stopped. The food was delicious.

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Fried clams, shrimp, and scallops with sweet potato fries.

The sweet potato fries were served sprinkled with sugar instead of salt. I’d never heard of that, but those fries were damn good. I may never eat them with salt again. The shrimp were, by far, the best fried shrimp I’ve ever eaten.

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Crab / Be Kind to Everyone

The crab on the window had caught my eye on the way in, so I snagged a pic before I left.

From there, it was about an hour to Chincoteague. I was anxious to get to the island before dark so I could scope-out the wildlife refuge and maybe see a cool sunset from the marsh. But it was still raining. Perhaps I’ll get to see another marsh sunset sometime soon.

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Marsh at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

I’ll tell you all about Chincoteague and Assateague Islands in an upcoming post.

 

Beach or Bust

As I was planning my latest road trip, I had a few simple goals in mind. One, capture pics of all nine LOVE signs. Mission accomplished.

Goal #2, see three roadside oddities I’d selected on RoadsideAmerica.com and one cool town hall. Check!

Goal #3, spend the night close enough to the beach that I could watch the sunrise. That’s why I drove so far/was in such a hurry on the first day. I really wanted to make it to the beach.

There were a couple of other general goals, too. Enjoy some alone time and see what I could see. When you take time to look, interestingness almost always presents itself.

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Along the road from Farmville to South Boston, Virginia.

 

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A South Boston building that could use some TLC.

 

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South Boston’s Town Hall

 

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Downtown South Boston

Look closely at the above pic. See anything odd? I’d just happened to park near something unusual on that street.

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A large, metal giraffe!

What are the odds of my parking by a large metal giraffe — about 15′ / 5 meters tall — simply by chance. I laughed out loud when I saw it.

I stopped at the Halifax County Visitors’ Center as I was leaving South Boston. Mainly because those places usually have bathrooms. It was actually a very nice visitors’ center with all sorts of nice displays, brochures, etc., but it was late in the day and the lady needed to be somewhere so was anxious to leave. BUT, she did ask what brought me to the area. When I told her about the LOVEwork, she told me there was one in Boydton, which I’d be passing through.

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Boydton, Virginia

I looked for it, I did. Especially since it’s NOT on the current list and may be added soon. But I couldn’t find the dang thing. 🙁

I didn’t see a whole lot of other interesting stuff in my push towards the coast, mainly because it got dark. I did, however, drive past Virginia’s largest lake, Buggs Island Lake, also known as the John H. Kerr Reservoir. I wasn’t expecting that.

Here’s some fun stuff I saw when I reached my destination for the night, Virginia Beach.

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Pink Fish (yes, I know it looks red)

 

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Friends of the Pink Fish

 

Bi-color Fish
Bi-color Fish

Those fun fish were right next to my hotel, which was oceanfront. Yay!!! Gotta love traveling off-season when you can snag an oceanfront room for under $60.

I’ve been to VA Beach before, but just to visit the beach (as in sunbathe and swim), I’d never really looked around. I had no idea there’s a public art program, and that there are fun displays like the school of fish (est. 1993) scattered around the city.

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Large Concrete Conch Shell

And a cluster of big-ass Hermit Crabs.

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Hermit Crab

I love kitschy souvenir shops. Most of them were closed, unfortunately (it was around 9:00 when I reached VA Beach). I couldn’t resist snapping a shot of this colorful display as I made my way to eat dinner.

Colorful Stuff!
Colorful Stuff!

Speaking of colorful stuff… I was tired. I wanted something quick and easy for dinner, so was happy to see a pizza restaurant that was open AND served beer. By complete coincidence, it happened to house an “oddity” I’d seen mentioned on RoadsideAmerica.com, but had deemed not interesting enough to go out of my way for.

Hippy Bus!
Hippy Bus!

It’s listing on RoadsideAmerica.com is titled, “Hippy Bus in Pizzeria.” Had I read the listing instead of just scrolling past it, I’d have realized it’s creator was Mark Cline, a name many lovers of large fiberglass Americana will recognize. He created Foamhenge, which I still need to visit, and “has been building fiberglass monsters, dinosaurs, and freaks for the tourist attractions of America for decades.”

Dinner
Dinner

It was weirdly warm at the beach — mid-70s! (mid-20s in C) — so I was able to enjoy my modest but yummy dinner on the outside patio.

Then I went to visit one of my targeted attractions… King Neptune. 🙂

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King Neptune

I’d selected my hotel specifically with this guy in mind.

As RoadsideAmerica.com describes him…

The statue of Neptune is 34 feet tall and weighs 12.5 tons. It was unveiled along the beach in 2005. The bronze scowling Neptune holds a trident in one hand and a turtle in the other. Sculptor Paul DiPasquale also created the Arthur Ashe statue in Richmond in 1992, which is generally loathed as a work of art, but he seems to have gotten Neptune right. – See more at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/23107.

I was really looking forward to seeing him at sunrise, but couldn’t resist one or two quick night shots.

As for the sunrise… was it worth it?

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ToadMama’s Shoes on Beach

Find out next time…

 

Farmville, Not a Game

Until recently, Farmville was just the name of a town I’d seen on road signs. It probably stuck in my head because of FarmVille, the farming simulation social network game (I have never played).

As I was planning my trip, I did a quick little bit of research on every targeted LOVEwork location to see if there was anything interesting enough that I could see quickly on my way through. I didn’t read much about each location, just sorta browsed images of the area to see what I might see. Of course, I also checked RoadsideAmerica.com to see if anything stood out. Because, you know, if I am going to be in a certain neighborhood, I should at least know what awesome oddities are nearby.

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Heading SE into Farmville on US 15 (business).

In addition to the LOVEworks, there were only four other things I noted as must sees. Along the entire 800-plus-mile route. One of those was this cool mural in Farmville, which is part of the Paint Farmville Downtown program.

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Cool Mural in Farmville

I don’t know why, but I sorta pictured the majority of the route to Farmville being flat, straight, and uninteresting. It wasn’t. I was pleasantly surprised at the nice roads and pretty scenery. It helped that there are more colorful leaves on the trees south of us.

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Very pretty drive.

Images of the car as part of the landscape don’t quite have the same appeal as images with the bike, do they?

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Nowhere near as interesting as a shot of the bike.

 

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Grumpy Man with Mole

I immediately saw a face when I spotted that building. How about you?

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Heading NE into Farmville on US 15 (business).

 

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Main Street (it was rush hour on a Friday)

 

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Main Street

 

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Repurposed Warehouses

I really liked Farmville. It’s definitely on my list of “need to re-visit and spend more time” places. It’s obvious that a lot of love and effort were put into renovating the downtown. Not only is it visually pleasing, there are all kinds of cool shops and eateries along Main Street, too. Oh, and a really, really cool bicycle/walking path, which is a 31-mile rails-to-trails conversion.

Check this out… High Bridge Trail State Park and/or watch the nifty video embedded below to see how the park got its name. Kudos to whoever planned/designed the park plaza on Main Street. Even the bathrooms are amazingly well done and charming. No crap. LOL.

Rather than post too many pics here, I decided to upload them to Flickr for sharing. To see more pics in and around, follow this link to my Farmville album on Flickr.

Do you find it easier to see the pics on Flickr, or would you rather I just added them to the post?

More Farmville links:

It’s a charming place, really. Most definitely worth further exploration.

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LOVEwork in Farmville (#LOVEVA)

 

Slick’s Hillside of Concrete Statues

Y’all know I don’t usually subject my Hubby to really weird stuff that I know he won’t appreciate or enjoy, right? But sometimes, I can’t help myself. Especially when there’s something that is just SO up my amusement alley, in a location we’re not likely to re-visit anytime soon. Which is why, after leaving Mount Airy, North Carolina on our recent trip, I included a stop at Slick’s Pottery in the neighboring town of Slate Mountain. I may or may not have planned the route specifically because it passed through that particular locale. 🙂

After reading the entry on RoadsideAmerica.com, how could I NOT stop there? It says…

Along a rural road, an unexpected army of concrete warriors, animals, and Jesi crowd a hillside below a concrete statue factory. The selection no doubt varies continually, but on the day that we stopped by we saw what Americans apparently crave for their lawns and gardens: a dragon, lion, eagle, Indian chiefs, enraptured worshippers, armless Venuses, a pink elephant, an Amish buggy, and a cow up on a pole painted as a tribute to New York City. And there were many more statues arrayed in ordered battalions back from the road, up to the factory. It’s all about the latest ironic juxtaposition waiting to be photographed.

How could I pass THAT up? I would’ve been kicking myself indefinitely if we hadn’t stopped, always wondering what amazing wonders we could have seen.

And, in the end, we only spent five minutes there.

Yes, I can work fast when required.

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I think he even enjoyed the visit. A little, anyway.
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It really was a small hillside full of statues.

The business was closed while we were there (a Sunday morning). 🙁

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ToadMama with Hippo and Chicken

Of course, when I saw the above picture of me was missing an important third component, I requested a re-do.

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ToadMama with Hippo, Chicken, and Sasquatch
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Yankee Cow
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Artsy Shot
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There was quite an assortment.
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Obligatory Bike Shot
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ToadMama with Soldier (and mooning photobomber on left)
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I found one for my yard!
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This is actually the mooning photobomber.

I read somewhere that the four-foot-tall Sasquatch is one of their biggest sellers.

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Hubby spotted the giant green rooftop ape.
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Another concrete hippo. And a camel.
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Pink Elephant on Platform

Wasn’t that a fun stop? If only Slick’s place wasn’t so far from home.

Granny T’s Kids are Real Animals

My friend Tracey, aka Granny Trace, invited Carol and I to her house — Turtle Tree Farms — for a girlfriends’ sleepover on Friday. Tracey, Carol, and I have known each other for 35+ years. We don’t get together for stuff like that nearly as often as we’d like, so it’s always fun when we do.

Tracey Loves Fall
Tracey Loves Fall

I left my house on Friday as soon as I finished work and drove to Tracey’s, outside of York, Pennsylvania, arriving just in time for dinner.

Cooking Dinner (hot dogs)
Cooking Dinner (hot dogs)

I love, Love, LOVE hot dogs cooked over a campfire. Really.

We had marshmallows for dessert. Some of us had LOTS of marshmallows. 🙂

Like I said earlier, just getting together is always something to look forward to, but this time was extra special. This time, we got to meet some new family members.

Tracey adopted two kids earlier this year. They were a Mothers’ Day gift from her husband. How cool is that?

Carol and I had seen a few pics of the kids, twin girls (not identical), and heard some stories about them, but we hadn’t met them.

They were already in bed when I arrived last night. I was excited to meet finally them the girls this morning. They’re cute, even if they are real animals.

Sugar Maple and Wooly Willow (L-R)
Sugar Maple and Wooly Willow (L-R)

 

Meeting the kids.
Meeting the kids.

 

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They’re super-friendly.

That’s lounge wear, by the way. I didn’t go out in public dressed like that!

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The girls liked Carol and me.

 

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Nigerian Dwarf Goats

 

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Tracey and her girls.

They’re very curious, too.

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Wooly Willow and Sugar Maple (L-R)

 

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Sugar Maple and Wooly Willow (L-R)

It was pretty funny just how curious they are. Every time I’d stoop down to take a picture, they’d run over.

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“What’cha doing?”

 

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Wooly Willow

 

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Sugar Maple

 

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Wooly Willow

 

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The Kids

Tracey has other animals, too.

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Piper (female Chocolate Lab)

 

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Chickens

 

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Big-hair Chicken

She also has three cats, a family of ducks (parents and three babies), and some more chickens who weren’t at all keen to be photographed.

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Curious Goat

 

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Carol giving Piper treats.

 

More Fall Decor
More Fall Decor

Tracey has a lovely country farmhouse. It’s always very warm and welcoming.

Hanging out with girlfriends is priceless. Really. I’m lucky to have such great friends.

And you know I love Tracey’s critters.

Speaking of critters, my girls were happy to see me when I got back home. They were quite interested in my dirty laundry, too. LOTS of new and interesting smells, that’s for sure.

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Inspection Time

Thanks again Trace! I had a wonderful time. Thanks to you and Carol, too, for the goodies you sent me home with (Halloween decor, homemade jam, and frog wine).

I’m already looking forward to our next gathering. Love you girls!