Hunger Pangs

I went to the grocery store with 2.....TWO.....1, 2.....items on my "list!"  There was a problem with the list, obviously......
1.  I took too long looking at more than what I went in for.
2.  I was hungry and EVERYTHING looked good!
Hence, the FULL grocery cart!  Those TWO items ended up costing me more than $100!  SIGH!  But, I did get some good deals!

While Ilene and I were in Georgia more than 3 weeks ago now, Bro. Dave showed me a Bible with Dr. Henry Morris' notes, so I ordered one while I was there.  It was SUPPOSED to arrive by June 14th!  I got a note saying "something had happened and the order was being re-shipped!"  It came today and other than being a bit beaten up, I see no reason for the big delay in delivery!  My name and address was perfectly legible.  Anyway, I'm glad I got it finally!  The Bible will go to church with me tonight!

Ilene shared some veggies with us that she had received from her cousin.  Besides the green beans, she gave us a zucchini squash and a couple of yellow squash and a couple of cucumbers.  We like to slice the veggies up, use olive oil and spices and roast the veggies in the oven.  We LOVE the charred side especially!  YUM!  The spices included meat tenderizer, Mrs. Dash Vegetable seasoning, and a salt and pepper mixture by "Jane."  (Something already in Mark's possession.)  I use aluminum foil in the pan and I don't have to wash it!  Cook the veggies at 425 for about 25 minutes, but that depends on how thinly you slice the veggies, or how blackened you like them!

Well, that and the grilled boneless, skinless chicken thighs I bought today took care of the hunger pangs!  Thank You, Lord, for supplying our every need with MUCH more than we deserve!

Squirrel Spur

"What is a Squirrel Spur?" you ask?  I'm glad you asked because I'm about to tell you!

Squirrel Spur Road is designated as a "motorcycle ride" by Motorcycle Roads dot com.  Mark learned of it from one of the guys he works with who recently made the road trip.  So, we planned to get up Saturday morning and make the trip there and back, but decided to leave after work on Friday, spend the night and then come back on Saturday.  It was a great trip!  The only thing that might be a problem was that rain was in the forecast for that part of Virginia over night and for Saturday.

Friday, June 21st, 5 p.m.

We left the house, stopping at in Wallburg to fill up with gas.  The ride up 52 was not fun.  The semis, with the turbulence they create, were hard to avoid at that time of the day!  (Mark was reminded by his friend at work that Rt. 8 is the better way to go to avoid 52!  Needless to say, a do-over is in serious consideration for the future!)

We stopped in Mt. Airy for supper, eating at Cracker Barrel before continuing our trip.  Once we left 52 the trip was very enjoyable.  And the weather was perfect!  We arrived at the Motel around 7:30 p.m.  After we got settled into our room, we decided to do some exploring.  We made a circle around the Motel on US58 and then headed down the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We got back to the Motel around 9 p.m.  We got comfortable in front of the TV and played A Different Kind Of Rummy til around 11 and then went to bed.

Maps

This is what our trip looked like.  The road marked

in gray was an alternate route.  We stuck to the

blue route.

Squirrel Spur Rd., which is

Route 614

A nice, curvy road

Quite a bit of Squirrel Spur Rd. ran 

parallel to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Here you can see  the Motel is on Business 58.  We rode past the Motel (to the left in the picture), took a right turn onto US58 down to Meadows of Dan (just a couple of miles, if that), made a right turn back onto Business 58 (Jeb Stuart Highway) and got on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

There were several connections between 614 and the Blue Ridge Parkway, so we had decided to take that route to begin our trip on Saturday.  After we got home we wished we had just stayed on the Blue Ridge Parkway and gone to Boone.  Maybe next time!

Pictures taken on the trip up to the Motel

Leaving.....

Beautiful skies!

Pilot Mountain

Cracker Barrel stop in Mt. Airy

YUM!

On the road again.....

Virginia!

Probably the Blue Ridge mountains in the distance.

The reason for the trip!

Dog must be looking for those squirrels!

That's what I'm takin' about!

What a lovely name!

Nothing fancy, just a bed and a bath, a TV and wifi!

What more could we need?!  And the price was right!

Pictures taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway

HERE is a link about Meadows of Dan, 

a beautiful, peaceful name to me.

"cattle on a thousand hills"

Deer!

And another.....blur of deer

Turkey at 2 o'clock from the rear view mirror

Mabry Mill at dusk

Down the street from the Motel we stopped for a fill up and some snacks.

OOPS!  Sideways picture of the country store!

Saturday, June 22nd, 8:30 a.m., left for home

We got up around 7:30, got dressed, packed up and headed home.  It had rained during the night or earlier in the morning and there were clouds in the sky, but we traveled without rain and ended up having to take our jackets off.  We planned to stop in Mt. Airy along the way for breakfast, but it was pretty crowded already, so we decided to go on home since neither of us were starved!  We got home around 10.  After unpacking, Mark cut some grass and showered and we went to Subway for lunch.  We took the sandwiches to a new park down the street from us and behind the town hall.  The rest of the day was spent lazily, with Mark taking a nap and me spending some time in the craft shed.  Mark grilled steaks for supper and afterwards we played more of A Different Kind Of Rummy until 11 before going to bed.

We left these clouds behind!

Sunday was church as usual.  Mark's friend, Joel Johnson, joined us for services and then he and his son, Brady, came for lunch...grilled burgers.  We so enjoyed having you attend the services with us and then sharing lunch with us, Joel.....and Brady!  Praying Brady and your wife will join you the next time!

It was a great weekend!  Thank You, Lord, for traveling mercies and grace in giving us great weather!