Pork, Peanut and Pine Festival At Chippokes Plantation State Park

39th Annual Pork, Peanut and Pine Festival

Ask a local when the Pork, Peanut and Pine Festival is and you will usual get the answer, "It's on the hottest two days of the year."  And that is usually a true statement.  But thankfully we were blessed with a cold front this week and it was actually tolerable.  Normally we just walk through the craft section and then grab a bite to eat.  By then we are miserably hot and head on home.  But since it was almost springlike, we spent the whole afternoon enjoying the festival.

Farm Animals For Everyone

Pigs.  I love them.   Don't know why.  They had two varieties this day.  Work pigs and play pigs.  I enjoyed them both.  The little feeding pigs were sweet.

But not as sweet as this little cutie.  She is four months old and up for sale.  Definitely hard to resist.

Festival Fun

What festival would be complete without old cars, tractors and the mandatory firetruck?  Hubby was in he-man heaven.

I didn't get any photos of the tractors but I did grab this shot of a  kilted man in the BBQ line.  You dont' see that every day!

Beautiful Countryside

The gardens at Chippokes Plantation

After walking around admiring the beauty we indulged in some BBQ and sweet tea.  Doesn't get much better than that.  Hubby wanted some boiled peanuts.  It's not something I enjoy but he loves them.

We sat in the grass to enjoy our food while we watched the live entertainment.  There was a bluegrass band called Flatland Bluegrass Band playing.  It was just the perfect touch for this day in the country.  I didn't hear why she put that hat on but everyone got a kick out of it.

Boat Party

We took the shuttle (it was a flatbed pulled by a tractor!) down to the river.  I had never been to the river and someone said there were lots of boats for photos.  Of course I wanted to take pictures of boats.  I don't know what I expected but it wasn't a massive boat party.

As I was looking out over the hundreds of boats I saw something way off in the distance across the water.  I had an idea what it was but really didn't think it was possible.  So I got out my biggest lens and zoomed in.  I was right!  It was actually Busch Gardens.  This will give you an idea just how massive these two rides are.  It's amazing that I could actually even see them with the naked eye from this distance.

So after a very enjoyable day and plenty to eat we headed out.  Didn't go straight home though.  We decided to tour Bacon's Castle.  But I'll talk about that another day.

Sharon

Independence Day Holiday Weekend

Arthur's Aftermath

After a week of weatherman frenzy, tropical storm Arthur finally made an appearance.  Sort of.  We got a bit of rain Thursday night and some gusty winds on Friday morning.  But when I dragged myself out of bed at around 8:00 the sun was shining and by late afternoon even the winds had died down.   Now I'm not usually one to appreciate a cold front but in this case it was very welcome.  After the blistering, sauna-like days we've had lately this has been like a second Spring.  You couldn't ask for nicer weather for a holiday weekend.  Unfortunately almost all of the events and fireworks in our area were cancelled on Thursday and rescheduled for Saturday.

Busch Gardens To The Rescue!

Fortunately Busch Gardens has started their nightly fireworks display.  It runs from July 3 to August 10.  It used to be called IllumiNites but is now called Star Spangled Nights.  They have decorated Italy in an American theme complete with the Statue of Liberty and a hot dog stand.

I was so happy to see they actually have West Virginia hot dogs on the menu!  Unbelievable!  I am so impressed.  The only thing I see wrong with it is that they left out the onions.  I'm sure they would add them if requested, but to me a real WV hot dog is toasted bun, mustard, onions, chili and coleslaw.  Yummy stuff.  They also have bacon on a stick.  Hubby's eyes lit up on that one.

West Virginia Hot Dog

Life Is Full Of Hard Choices

With mouth watering, I watched them making the hot dogs.  But I held off.  I was saving myself.  I have been thinking about a funnel cake ever since last night and I was on a mission.  So I'll save the hot dog for next time.  Witness my self control.

Strawberry Short Cake Funnel Cake

OK.  So much for my self control.  I ate almost this whole thing.  It's called a Strawberry Short Cake Funnel Cake and it's a wondrous bit of heavenly delight!  If you can't tell, it's a funnel cake layered with strawberries, whipped cream, ice cream and hot fudge drizzled on top.  And it's not the last one I'll ever eat.

 

London Rocks

Busch has totally redecorated England.  I like it.  It's very "London".  As cool as it looks during the day, it really looks fantastic at night.  Totally loved the colors and lighting.

England at night

The London Rocks show was fabulous.  They haven't had a live show in this theater in quite a while and they have outdone themselves with this one.  I love it!  The music was great.  A lot of Beatles with a bit of Rolling Stones, Queen and David Bowie.  Great stuff.  The sets were beautiful.  Hopefully next time I'll get some photos.

London Rocks at the Globe Theatre

Back To Reality

I spent the last day of my holiday weekend trying to get some work done.  I picked my first basket of blackberries!  There were a few birds giving me the evil eye while I worked.  The squirrels got every last peach off my tree today and I refuse to lose my blackberries too.

I also worked on a new tombstone box, a mini scrapbook and a whimsical painted mirror.  I finished the box and the other two projects are almost complete.  Photos to follow.

Sharon

#4thofJuly, #LondonRocks, #holidayweekend, #bestfestivalfood,