We just finished a wonderful journey visiting RJ's brother in Arkansas and then on to Raleigh to visit our good friends, Ron and Mary.
Paul has a beautiful magnolia tree in his yard. I couldn't resist taking a photo of one of the seed pods.
We visited a chicken farm. A LARGE one. The process is in place to obtain fertilized eggs to create baby chicks. This young man works on week-ends sorting and grading the eggs.
This is the inside of one of the chicken houses. Amazingly, there was very little odor. These chickens and roosters get very specialized feed and the temperatures are regulated very carefully. After a few months the chickens are removed and used to make chicken soup. The houses are dismantled inside and carefully cleaned before the new chickens arrive.
We went to a parade with other family members. The kids really enjoyed grabbing all the candy that was thrown. This float was the only unusual one.
On our way to North Carolina we drove through the Great Smoky Mountains. That is always a beautiful drive.
This little mountain stream was outside our restaurant in Gatlinburg. The sound from the stream was wonderful. I'd like to go back in warmer weather and sit at the outdoor tables to fully enjoy this stream.
Our friends' cat loved to perch in this live plant. I missed the shot where she was chewing on it.
These performers were at the American Music Jubilee Christmas performance outside Raleigh. The female singers were very good. This was quite an experience, best described as a combination of Hee Haw, Lawrence Welk and a Southern Revival Meeting. Don't think I will need to repeat this next year......
Good friends, good food and good wine - does it get any better than this?
