NC State Bluegrass Fesitval

We drove an hour to Marion, NC to spend the day at the NC State Bluegrass Festival. Link to Program)

We don't have the selfie thing down yet

Another tent like this on the other side

Robin's cousin, John Holder, is famous in Bluegrass circles for his sound board skills. His own Blue Ridge Sound (LINK) worked this festival but John is also the sound man for the famous Balsam Range band (LINK) who played today. Was great seeing John even though it was quick because he was so busy putting on a great show.

All of the bands were great. We got to see Rhonda Vincent again. We saw her in Nashville at The Opry in June.

Rhonda is the blond in blue dress

 Next year we'll take the RV there and stay on the grounds for all 3 days.

Wedding

Not ours! Ike and Maggie Wheeless. I've known Ike since he was a baby since his parents, Doug and Jane have been friends since around 1972. We served together in Ft Monmouth, Korea, and The Pentagon. Doug passed away in 2013 and is interred very near Daniele at Arlington.

So, on Wednesday we went to Asheville and stayed at Bear Creek RV again. Thur and Friday we help Jane with all the wedding prep. Was a fantastic wedding.

Unrelated to the wedding, look at how Jane did her basement to accommodate all the grand kids!

On Sunday we went to Hendersonville and walked the streets. Very nice how they have restored the area. Sadly, I forgot to take pictures! Here's their website that has pix (LINK)

Had a nice German lunch at the Black Forest (LINK)

Zipping!!!!!

Happy Birthday Robin! She has talked since we met about doing a zip line. I got sneaky and surprised her today. All she knew was that she had to wear good athletic type shoes and jeans. I kept giving wrong hints on the trip to Blowing Rock until we arrived at HawksNest. Link

So off we went.

Here are some action shots

Alas, lightning came into the area so we had to stand down. The guides (NAMES>) were fantastic and organized some games while we waited.

Alas, it was not to be. We had to quit after 4 runs out of 11. But, Hawksnest was standup and gave us a raincheck to do all 11 anytime for 1 year. We both had a blast.

Afterwards we had a nice late lunch in a beautiful setting in Blowing Rock. Name???

Ole Steve pulled off a surprise. Not what will I do next year?