Wrapping Up September - Friday - September 30, 2011

Nancy here: 
Well, we have been back from the Cheraw trip for over two weeks and not much has happened.  I went back to work and Bill worked on the house.  As posted, we have lowered the price again.  We did have two more showings since lowering the price, but still no offers ;o((  So on we go, to find fun stuff around here!!


Last Saturday, September 24th, we met up with RV-Dreamers Don and Lois.  They were in Myrtle Beach for the SOS (Shagging On the Strand) Convention.  We first met Don and Lois at the Willow Creek Rally in 2010.  Then we saw them again in April  at the Tennessee RV-Dreams Rally.
DSC_0011
We met for lunch and spent 2 plus hours together catching up.  Don has recently retired and they will be leaving on a trip to Arizona with Bill and Linda Napier in about a week.  Our visit ended too quickly… could have spent all day, but we will meet again down the road!! Thanks, Don and Lois, for taking time out to come see us!


I happened to get both Saturday and Sunday off this week;o))  That never happens!!   So on Sunday, we went to Mom’s residence to have the special Sunday Brunch.  Boy is that good, but way more food than either of us ever eat.  So to walk it off, we stopped at Huntington Beach State Park.  Yes, I know, we go here ALL the time.  But today they had the  Atalaya Arts and Craft Festival. 
01 - Atalaya Craft Festival - Sign

03  - Atalaya Craft Festival - Parking Jam
We have never seen this many cars here before.  Normally, we see 10-15 cars in this lot!!  Not being a crowd loving person, I was ready to just keep on going.  But Bill convinced me to at least see what was there.
03b  - Atalaya Craft Festival - Parking Jam



Atalaya is the the former beachside home of Archer and Anna Huntington.  They were the owners of the property now  known as Brookgreen Gardens. Atalaya was their beach retreat. This is the front courtyard and the archway is where you enter the residence.05a - Atalaya -  Entrance Arch
Once you enter, you are in this long hallway. 
Ok, this wasn’t too bad. 
 05b - Atalaya - Entrance Walkway

But once we turned into the main living area, the crowds were huge.  That is where all the craft people had their booths.  Every inch and every room had crafts and people.  Lots of Art, Photography, Pottery and Jewelry craftsmen.  It was very beautiful!! But since we weren’t interested in buying more stuff, we moved through quickly.


Here are a few photos of some of the crafts we found unique and interesting.

Sweet Grass Baskets
04  - Atalaya Craftmas - Sweet Grass Baskets

Handmade Brooms
04a  - Atalaya Craftmas - Hand Made Broom

If we weren’t selling our home, one of these beautiful wooden boats might have been added to our collection.
04b  - Atalaya Craftmas - wooden boats04c  - Atalaya Craftmas - wooden boats


As I mentioned early on, I am not a person who likes to be in crowds.  So I was glad when I found a few places where I was able to get a few photos of Atalaya without all the crowds.
05c - Atalaya - Staircase05d - Atalaya - Hallway05e - Atalaya - Hallway05f - Atalaya - Bedroom05g - Atalaya - View out Bedroom Window
They do have guided tours of Atalaya. 
That is now on my list of things to do. 
It is a truly unique residence and I would love to learn more about it.


Throughout the day, they had entertainment.  As we were leaving, we spent a little time listening to the Northern Border Bluegrass Band :o))05h - Atalaya - Northern Border Bluegrass Band

It was a nice way to spend a couple hours seeing things we don’t see very often.  But I was glad to get home and out of the crowds.  I am spoiled… 
I usually have Huntington Beach almost to myself ;o))


These next few pictures have nothing to do with anything. 
Just needed to show you this HUGE apple!!
06 - Big Honey Crisp apple and Black Plumb
Bill and I stopped at The Fresh Market on our way home from Mom’s.  They had the biggest Honey Crisp Apples I have ever seen.  The picture above shows the apple next to a large black plum.  Still, that doesn’t really give you the true effect of how BIG this apple really was.

So let’s put them on the scale to see what we got!!
06b - Plum Weighs 6 ounces
My Black Plum weighed in at 6 ounces.


06c - Apple tips a scale over 1 pound
The Honey Crisp Apple pushed the scale past it’s one pound capacity. 
I am guessing it weighed almost 1 1/3 pounds.  At $2.98 a pound,
you are looking at a $4.00 apple!!  Which by the way was delicious and
worth every penny :o))))

6 comments:

  1. Wow, huge apple!! I love fresh produce from a farmer's market.

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  2. Atalaya looks like a wonderful place and certainly worth another look when the crowds die down.

    That was some apple! That would be like breakfast, lunch and dinner! :)

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  3. Boy what a beautiful apple. What a tree it must be to hold branches full of apples that large. Do you know where it came from??

    Thanks for braving the crowds for me so I could see Atalya and the festival without having to go. :-))

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  4. We like Huntington Beach so you can share with us any time. That apple is big enough to share maybe with some peanut butter.
    Syl

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  5. That must have been nice to afford a beach home like that, but who'd want to clean it.

    You could have made a whole pie with just that one apple. Bet the tree was glad to get it off its branches. ;c)

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  6. I enjoy a good craft show but, like you, don't like dealing with the crowds.

    That's a whopper of an apple!

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