JANUARY 24 - 26 YEEHAW JUNCTION FESTIVAL PICTURES

THURSDAY - SATURDAY

JANUARY 24 - 26, 2013

 

Keith and Darlene Bass are to be congratulated

for the marvelous 19th Annual Bluegrass Festival they have

given us this week.  We were too engrossed in being here

to post before this time which is after the fact.

This is just the beginning of the Florida Bluegrass

Festival circuit for us.  They are also offering other

Festivals which you can learn about

by going to their website:

www.KDBass.com

 

 

All the festivities took place under the most magnificent Tent

we have ever been under - anywhere,

and we have been to Bluegrass Festivals from Maine to Florida,

Wyoming, and Kentucky.

 

 

 

We had the joy of seeing one of our absolute

favorite groups, NOTHIN FANCY  from Virginia,

 twice on Thursday and twice on Friday.

 

NOTHIN FANCY

 

 

Justin Tomlin, Tony Shorter  & Mike Andes

of NOTHIN FANCY

 

NOTHIN FANCY welcomes visits to their website:

www.nothinfancybluegrass.com

 

which is updated daily with information

 about their engagements and new releases.

 

They have a marvelous Festival which we have

attended several years in

Buena Vista, Virginia,

in mid-September.

We highly recommend this Festival.

 

We had the pleasure of hearing six

wonderful groups

that were new to us:

 

Cody Shuler and Pine Mountain Railroad from Tennessee

 

Hagar's Mountain Boys from North Carolina

 

Father and Son

part of Hagar's Mountain Boys

 

 

 

Hagar's Mountain Boys

from North Carolina

 

Cumberland Gap Connection from Kentucky and Tennessee

 

Still-House from Virginia

 

The Roys from Tennessee

included a Brother and Sister

 

Sister and Brother

of The Roys

 

 

The Roys was a lively group.

 

 

Jerry Butler and the Blu J's from Tennessee

were the first act on Thursday

and got us off to a great start.

 

Familiar faces in the Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road

from North Carolina,

reminded us of their wonderful indoor festival

we attended in November 2011,

in Greensboro, North Carolina.

 

 

Lorraine Jordan

 

Finally, Junior Sisk and Rambler's Choice

from Virginia was another

band we had heard in the past

at Sterling Belcher's

Triple Creek Bluegrass Festival in

Rocky Mount, Virginia,

as well as here at Yeehaw Junction.

 

 

Junior Sisk and Rambler's Choice from Virginia

 

In between bands, I took a walk around the grounds

or should I say the pasture. 

I was amazed at the friendly neighbors

who had moved over to make room for all of us.

I was reminded of the very first time we attended

this Festival in 2010,

when we arrived early and heard them "talking"

I swear they said YEEHAW to welcome us.

 

"Pretty Face"

neighbor posed for me.

 

 

You don't have to have a big rig

to come and enjoy this Festival.

 

 

During my walk around, 

I stopped to visit with Mary Rose Robinson,

and purchased her autobiography

which was just published in 2012,

entitled MY JOURNEY IN HIS STORY.

 

We met Mary and Mike the first year, 2005,

we had our Fifth Wheel,

while at Jenny Brook Festival in Weston, Vermont.

What a joy to read of their

 Bluegrass Gospel Sing Ministry

adventures.

You must get yourself a copy

either at a Festival or by going online to:

www.bluegrassgospelsing.com  

 

If it were not so late, I would read

the last few Chapters before calling it a day.

It is captivating reading.  Mary has done a

remarkable job of  telling their

story of thirteen years in this

unique Ministry.

We look forward to their Sunday

morning Gospel Sings at the many

Festivals we attend each year.

 

 

We had three young folks called to the Stage

to perform with several of the groups.

I am sorry I did not get their names

 

but they were a refreshing addition to the line-ups.

 

 

 

 

 

Last but not least a photo

of Keith Bass with

The Florida Bluegrass Express

 

 

The Florida Bluegrass Express

host band of the Festival

JANUARY 23, 2013 - YEEHAW JUNCTION BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL

WEDNESDAY

JANUARY 23, 2013

 

It feels so good to be ON THE ROAD AGAIN.

At least I thought that, as we started out from

Summerfield, Florida, heading to YeeHaw Junction,

close to the intersection of  US Hwy 441 and State Rt. 60,

to attend a Bluegrass Festival that runs from

January 24 - January 26th.

 

Russ felt the stress of driving US HWY 441/27 South

from the very first turn out of SOUTHERN OAKS RV Resort.

The traffic lights through THE VILLAGES and LEESBURG

were timed so that we had to STOP

at every single one of them.

I don't even remember his having this issue

during the entire 14,644 miles of our

cross-country trip this past summer.

 

 

SANDHILL CRANE

ORANGES  READY TO BE PICKED

5:50 pm sun setting

 

 

ORANGE - FLORIDA SUNSET

17:50:24 EST

 

 

When we arrived here at the Festival, we were greeted by the

promoter, and her husband, and escorted to our Site.

At 4:30 PM, all the guests gathered for a Pot Luck

which was accompanied by a Pig Roasted to perfection.

Talk about Southern Hospitality.

Great start to what promises to be a

marvelous weekend of Music

with many of our favorite Bands.

 

 

FUN FOOTAGE

FUN FOOTAGE

At a very special family wedding,

 I found myself fascinated

 with the shoes of our young guests,
 partly because they were able to

keep them on and dance endlessly.

The youngest guest.

Well, almost.

This final photo was taken

without the person

knowing I was focusing

on her tired feet.

A fitting conclusion to

this photo essay.

DECEMBER 31, 2012 - NEW YEAR'S EVE

MONDAY

DECEMBER 31, 2012

I reluctantly watched the final hours of 2012 tick away.

Surprisingly, I felt very sad about it being over

because it has been one of the most enjoyable and

event filled years of my/our life together.

Russ and I celebrated our
30th Wedding Anniversary

throughout the year.

I never dreamed that it would end with me

wearing my Wedding Gown for a

New Year's Eve Costume party.

Several of us bemoaned the fact that
we all have such beautiful wedding gowns
and only get to wear them once.  Would anyone else
like to wear their wedding gown again?
Let's do it on New Year's Eve?

As you can see, we had five
happily married BRIDES in the famiily
who were blessed with bodies
that still fit into their gowns.
I was so proud to be among them.

Russ would have worn his wedding attire
but just a few years ago,
when I had given up ever losing weight,
we took his outdated suit to Goodwill. 

This year I made the exhilarating

discovery that I could get into my wedding dress from

June 26, 1982.
This has been a milestone year
just by the fact that I have maintained
almost a 100 pound weight loss since
October 2011.
Russ has lost 25 pounds and
is back to less than his Wedding Weight too.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

HOBO SOUP Story - Wedding Preparations

FRIDAY

"Many Hands make the work Light"

What fun, a house full of family, all working toward the common goal

of making this the most memorable Wedding possible. 

Four generations all sharing the joy and anticipation of the great day.

We started working on the cookie trays at Thanksgiving time.

Three generations of our family got together during the month of December.

They also made at least one hundred dinner plate size bows to decorate the house

archways, and banisters, as well as the Reception area.

I felt the most comfortable in the Kitchen,

and prepared our Thursday evening dinner

for the team of 13 "Helpers".

On Friday as we continued with the preparations,

we created a huge pot of HOBO Soup, similar to that

which Russ and I had experienced this summer, while traveling

with Fantasy RV Tours. 

.

It was full to the top, before we began serving.
We had half a pot leftover of HOBO Soup
which was safely stored on the deck, overnight. 
The next morning, the fun began. 
We began delegating jobs to the men, and asked one of our guests
(name withheld to save further embarrassment)
to please shovel the deck.
Rita warned him to beware of the Soup pot
setting on the wrought iron pedestal table.
In fact, she suggested putting the Soup Pot
on the floor of the deck for safe keeping.
A significant member of the household interjected,
 "----" how old are you?,
to which he replied "29".
I was told, "I think he is old enough to
know how to shovel a deck."

Well, you can almost guess the end of the story, right?
Before I had slinked off to the kitchen,
our grand daughter screamed,
"OH NO"!!!

You guessed it, our "Unnamed guest" had backed into
the pedestal table and spilled the half full pot of soup
on the frozen deck surface.

I can guarantee our HOBO Soup
story will be one of our family favorites for years to come.
It already is worth the lost Soup.  I know two
men in the family who settled for only a banana
as their lunch, in place of the
nice leftover soup we had planned.

DEC. 26 and 27th ON THE ROAD AGAIN

We were ON THE ROAD AGAIN, December 26th, traveling to Virginia.  There was snow on the ground in our hometown, but the roads stayed dry until we got into the Harrisburg, PA area.  By mid afternoon, after moving only 12 miles in one hour, south of Harrisburg, we decided to call it a day.  The Quality Inn in Enola, PA was a good stopping point.  We had seen enough cars off the road, and heard it was worse further ahead on Interstate 81 South, where one of our grandsons was also traveling.  We drove 249 miles today.

December 27th 

The scenery along our route today was picturesque.  Interstate 81 South in Virginia had snow covered mountains, and lots of farms with smoke waffing from their chimneys.  It reminded me of going over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house.  This time it was Grandma going over the hills and through the woods.

A peaceful ending to our drive.