Camping Trip, Day Three, July 29

Friday, July 29: It was about 10 a.m. this morning by the time we had breakfast and took turns in the bathroom. Once the dogs were walked and settled, we drove the couple of miles to the small town, where we toured the museum and visited a flea market.



At the museum, there were two ladies, one of whom followed us around and related stories about the various memorabilia. One display case featured an early 1900s dress and hat worn as wedding attire by a resident. We were told the lady lived well into her 90s, and was still driving until a year or two before she died. She gave up her keys, however, when she one day "made a new drive-through window" in the side of a bank.



Another display case featured a gun and a newspaper article about a circa 1940s sheriff involved in a rivalry shootout with the barber over a woman.



There was also lots of other stuff...a tortuous looking beauty shop machine for doing permanents, an old gas pump with a glass tank at the top, a large red coffee grinder, a Victrola, WW II ration books, a huge and lethal looking canner, and lots of other items.



From there, we went next door to a flea market, where I found a lace doily that will work as a placemat, a new-looking $5 hat, and a twenty-five cent book called, "Chicken Poop for the Soul," a comical parody of the popular Chicken Soup series. If I don't like it, nothing lost. Reviewers at Amazon.com give it five stars, though, so I'm hoping to get a few laughs from it.



Went back to the camper after that for lunch. Mother stayed at camp for the afternoon, while Hubbie, Sis, and I went to a roadside fruit stand to buy a half bushel of local peaches. This area of the state is famed for its luscious peaches. Last year, the peach crop was poor, but this year has been a bumper crop year.



Then we stopped by the park where the grape festival was held to tour the museum across the street. But it was closed...it only opens between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and it was about 2:30 when we got there. So we walked down the street to a yard sale, where Sis found lots of stuff she can use in making jewelry. I didn't find anything I wanted.



Before leaving, we checked to see if the sweet Reliance grapes that we so love were being sold by the vendor who has had them every year. The vendor was not set up yet. We walked around the festival grounds, where vendors were busily setting up their wares, and where across the street on the other side of the park, there was a camel ready for giving rides. I took several shots of it.



Afterward, we went back to camp. I was so sweaty that I needed to change clothes before we went to the Swiss village for supper at their underground restaurant. The restaurant used to be the original 1880 wine cellar.



The restaurant is full of ambiance, and waitresses in Swiss Miss costumes serve the customers at dark wood tables, decorated with red table runners, and candles melted in wine bottles. Candle light is about the only light in the dark restaurant.



Before serving the entrees, the waitress brought us salads, then bowls of Swiss onion soup, and mini-loaves of hot yeast bread. For entrees, Sis ordered salmon, Hubbie ordered steak and shrimp, and Mother and I had baked chicken.

Mother and I nearly fell out of our chairs when our meals arrived, and we saw half chickens on our plates. No way were we going to be able to eat that much, so we ended up taking most of it back to the camper.

The Swiss onion soup was good, but we all laughed at our efforts to manage the stringy Swiss cheese. Sis wound hers around a piece of bread, while I wound mine on my spoon. Hubbie bit his off, and Mother tried to cut her cheese on the side of the bowl with her spoon.

Following our meal, we went back to the festival grounds, where we listened to music and walked around checking out the various crafts booths. I pushed Mother in her wheelchair for this excursion.

We didn't stay long, because it was so hot. Rested at camp for a while before going back to the festival for fireworks at 9:30 p.m. The fireworks are set off in a field near one of the wineries. There were only a few of us to view it from this vantage point. People didn't gather here, because the fireworks could be clearly seen from the festival grounds across the street. But from where we were sitting, I had a clear shot of the displays, which were right overhead. The show was excellent for such a small town, and we were impressed. By this time, the temperature had dropped a little and there was a cool breeze, so we thoroughly enjoyed the display.

The fireworks show ended the day for us, and we were plenty ready to head to bed when we arrived back at camp.