Roadtrip

Mom and I took a whirlwind trip to Mayberry this weekend, but, first, I joined Kristi and Erin at Pickin' at the Pea. 

This year, the organizers of the sale are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Pea Green community, which is where the sale is held. The community was originally settled by farming families who saw the need for a general store, community center, and small school; the next closest ones were in Petticoat Junction, ten miles away (ten miles might as well been a hundred back then, I suppose).

The old school is now a private residence and the store is a museum of sorts, but the families in the area still use the community center for dances, meetings, and, of course, Pickin' at the Pea.

As always, the sale was stocked with unique vintage items, funky junk, and collectibles from years gone by. I made a couple of purchases, including some inexpensive costume jewelry and a vintage silk kimono-style coat that was a bit on the pricey side, but Erin convinced me that I needed it. Erin is a very bad influence (picture of the coat coming...eventually).

Of course, I bought a few of the amazing donuts, made by the lovely Mennonite ladies whose families now make up the majority of the residents of Pea Green; I would never pass up an opportunity for them, and Mom and I ate them on the way to Mayberry.

It was a beautiful day for a drive, and as always, Mom was great company.

Our first stop, once we got to Mayberry, was at the old house. We made a quick tour of it, to make sure everything was secure and that nothing was out of the ordinary, which is when we found Dad's old Stampede cowboy boots on a shelf in a closet. Those boots were not in that closet when we moved Mom, and I know that because I was the one who cleaned out that closet. We have no idea how they got there, but we are happy to have them again.

Our next stop was the cemetery, where we attended the service for one of mom's good friends; she passed away quite unexpectedly on Monday and it was coincidental that we were going to be in town for the service.

After the service, we drove to Mount Pilot to see my cousin and to pick up a painting that my Aunt Pat had done, and that Mom inherited. It was a nice visit, but I could tell that Mom was getting tired and we still had the ballet recital to get through that evening, so we excused ourselves and drove back to Mayberry to check into our motel so Mom could rest for a bit.

The recital later that night was very well done. It was a retelling of Cinderella and the dance school pulled out all the stops on the background, props, and costumes. While my great nieces's dance number was brief, it was adorable.

After the recital, Mom and I joined my nephew for dinner and then we collapsed back in our room. Following breakfast on Sunday, we were back on the road. As I said earlier; it was a whirlwind trip. But I'm glad we got to take it together.