Great Friends and a Pig Roast

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Everyone should be blessed with at least one friend who will be there for you no matter what, no matter the years or the distance that seperate you.  I have that friend in Debbie N.Although she lives in Ft. Lauderdale with her husband Tim (who I have also known since High School) and their two wonderful children and even though we only see each other a few days each year, when we do see each other it seems like time stands still.  Debbie and I met on the first day of High School, over 35 years ago  and while it has been almost that long since we lived in the same place, our friendship has never wavered. She really is my BFF!  While Guy has known Tim since High School where they played sports together and got into all kinds of mischief with the rest of "boys club" he never really knew Debbie (since she moved in 11th grade) but they became fast friends Saturday night and that makes me so happy :)Debbie and her family were in town to run a 5k ColorRun to benefit cancer research and to visit Tim's family.  We were invited to join them for an evening BBQ at Tim's brothers home. Not only was I excited to see Debbie and Tim, but I had not seen Tim's family in many, many years so I was doubly happy to attend.We had so much fun! Debbie and I caught up, laughed, cried and gossiped as we always do when we are together.  We, along with Tim and Guy drank a few to many beers and decided their kids were finally old enough to hear a few of our tales from HS.  Some of our revelations shocked them I must say.Debbie and I (not my best photo I must say)Guy and Tim sharing a few laughs For the BBQ Tim roasted an entire pig in a "China Box".  I had never seen this done before and was really looking forward to trying the pork as it is one of my favorites.  Tim did not disappoint.  It was amazing!! Tender, moist, cooked to perfection. I so wish we lived closer together and these times together are so fun and so special.  We are hoping they (Deb and Tim) come up for the HS gathering in October, if not Guy and I have promised to get down to their place hopefully by the end of the year.We love you guys...

Belle Isle State Park - IV Old Lancaster

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Waking up on Saturday we decided to head off the campsite and see what we might find in and around the area. To get anywhere you drive down Rt. 3 through Lancaster where we saw the Old Lancaster Jail was open and you could walk through it.  We decided to stop and take a look-seeBuilt in 1820 the old jail was just two rooms on the lower level and another two on the upper level.  Each had a fireplace for warmth and actually were rather large in size. While the rooms only had one window on each side, they are larger than some I have seen in other historic jails. I wanted to find out more about the significance of the jail but a Google search provided very little history about its use and if there is any prominent Virginia history linked to it. I am assuming not as in Virginia anything with historical significance has much information available on the web.Still it was an interesting building that I enjoyed seeing.I hope we always take advantage of the area we are in and explore as this is one if my favorite things to do.

Belle Isle State Park - Part III: Boating on the Rappahannock

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Not all state parks rent boats so when we found out that this was one of that does we decided to go ahead and explore Rappahannock River from the waterside. You go to the camp store to pay your rental fees, get your paddles and life jackets and then follow a park ranger to the boat launch where the actually trailer it into the river for you and tie it to the dock.This is where the funniest event of the entire weekend happened.  After the boat was in the water and tied up we climbed in.  I sat in the front area and Guy sat in the middle as this boat had a middle console for steering.  The seat for the driver is actually a metal cooler with a cushioned seat.  It is suppose to be welded to the base of the boat, but in this case it wasn't and before we even unhooked from the dock Guy had sat down, leaned back and bang, he is on his back, with his feet up in the air.  Poor Guy was so embarrassed and I didn't help matters because I just could not stop laughing, my sides were sore from laughing so hard and I believe there was a threat to throw me overboard. The look on the park rangers face was priceless, I am not sure he felt at all safe letting us take the boat out.After we composed ourselves we had a wonderful few hours on the river.  The water in the inlets was silky smooth and like glass but the main river had a breeze blowing and was very choppy. No worries though as the bouncing of the boat and the spray of the water on my face is one of the many things I love about boating.
A few videos:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4A2n9SsaFw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-rQEYW1TKA   Not bad right?  It was a perfect way to spend a morning!