Our web diary

The Chickens are Coming....

The chickens are coming!! The chickens are coming!!

No. We did not lose our minds. This is a picture of a chicken that has decided to live next to our house. She appears to be hanging out between the exterior of our place and the shrubs. One of our neighbors stopped Marlene a few evenings ago to tell her that there is a hen roosting out front. We finally took a look today. Sure enough, we have a chicken out front.

We are not sure what to do about it. I am more of a live-and-let-live kind of person. We only use the front door to check the mail. I figure the chicken will move on at some point. Marlene does not care for birds to begin with, so she would prefer the chicken to be removed.

I was thinking about putting it craigslist under the free category..:)

SC State Fair

In the mood for a little Americana, we went to the SC Upper State Fair, and stopped in Gaffney on the way for some lunch and shopping at the outlet mall.
We stopped at Harold's, a small establishment in Gaffney, recently on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, for chili sandwhiches.

On the way home we decided to go to the Beacon in Spartanburg, also seen on TV. Even though we were hungry, we could not have finished our "a-plenty" plates even if it was our only meal for the day. It was fun. It's easy to forget that there are still unique places out there, amidst all the fast-food chains.
Highly recommended -- not just for the novelty but the onion rings as well.
See pictures in the gallery.

Vacation Part II

Our second day in Staunton, we wandered through some of the smaller shops. Sean had to be dragged out of the hobby shop with the helicopter flight-simulator. It's one of those old towns that is steeped in history -- we wandered around instead of following the walking tour -- and there are some beautiful old buildings there.
There's a beautiful old bank -- still open today -- with a small museum area, an old grocery store and many striking brick and stone facades.
Before lunch we went to the Woodrow Wilson museum, but opted not to go through the house or library. The president's car, a Pierce-Arrow, has been restored. It would have been fun to get in, but alas, not allowed of course.

After lunch we decided to go for a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway and ran into some fog -- very strange somehow on a hot sunny day. The view was obscured but it's beautiful up there.

Later we checked into the Stonewall Jackson Hotel. This historical hotel is one of the Historical Hotels of America on the National Historical Trust for preservation. It's been wonderfully restored, the lobby is gorgeous. All they need is for someone to restore the breakfast buffet, which was uninspired.

Pictures from our trip are in the photo gallery.