Moravian Gardens at Bethabara

Moravian Gardens at Bathabara
Originally uploaded by linfrye

The Apple Festival! What Fun! It was held, as it is annually, at Bethabara Historic Park in Winston Salem, NC -- and celebrates the Moravian settlement in this region.

The gardens have been recreated -- from medicinals to grapes (arbor above) to fencing, vegetables and of course, apples! When we arrived and were touring the gardens again, we ran into an oil painter and someone sketching some of the structures there -- lots of fun exchanging ideas -- all of us busy with cameras. This year the gardens looked better than ever!

Music was playing and we toured some of the exhibits - baskets, visual art, quilts, jewelry, food vendors and the like .... and though we bought a variety of proffered apples, the ones we really love -- Pinova -- hadn't been ready for harvest by festival time -- so we'll be traveling back west to pick them up when ready. Still, we enjoyed an apple or two, and to top it off -- apple cinnamon ice cream -- yum!

We met "The Country Store Band" -- a bluegrass feast for the ears --! Wonderfully entertaining -- a 'Southern" spin on Prairie Home Companion! We talked to the musicians, and during the 2nd set, Charles was invited to the stage to play the triangle! Really a lot of laughs and a great time!

We got home late Saturday night but it was such incredible weather and fun -- just the R&R we had hoped for!

Mike and the grands came over yesterday for dinner and play, and Ms. Boots brought some of her babies out of hiding to say 'hello' ... all in all, the kind of weekend prescribed for a bit of rest, a bit of family, a bit of art, and a lot of joy. Again, thank you ALL for your heart-warming well wishes!