Festival Time - Tasty Tomatos!

OK Gang, it's festival time again!!!  Last week we got you to join us as we attended the Peach Festival in Irmo, S. C., and the Bluegrass Festival at the Magnolia Lodge in Ridgeway.  They were really enjoyable events and I hope you got a chance to take a look at some of the scenes and sounds we encountered there.  This week we saw that the "Tasty Tomato Festival" was taking place down the road in Columbia and - since we LOVE tomatos - we thought we'd see if you wanted to come along as we joined the crowd.  Columbia has a somewhat unique feature in that it has a "downtown" airport.  It is the quaint and somewhat quirky "Owens Field" not far from the very center of our capitol city.  The airport has a long and storied history with many controversies and intrigues along the way.  But - it is unquestionably one of the real points of interest in the midlands.  Beginning in the 1930s, the airfield went through countless changes of hands and missions - from military to civilian.  One of the original hangars here has housed some our most memorable aircraft legends.  We don't have time to cover the
history here but we'll come back at a later date and spend more time talking about the aviation history that was made here.  Today, though, we are here for a far different reason - tomatos!!!  The Tasty Tomato Festival, sponsored by the "sustainable resources" folks in the midlands of South Carolina is a time when people get together to celebrate the agricultural bounty of \our state and, particularly, one of our most popular and enjoyable crops - tomatos!!!  Now, I've gotta tell you folks, there is almost nothing I like better during the hot South Carolina summers than one of these fabulous vegetables.  (Actually - if you want to get literal, the tomato is considered a "fruit".  The scientific folks get involved in the part of the flower from which the plant is developed.  The 'chefs' focus on whether the item is savory or sweet.)  But - here's the problem (or blessing) ... there are more than forty types or "cultivars" of tomato grown in our state and, to me they are all delicious!!!  So we had to attend this festival to register our support.  But - it was waaaayyyy more than just a vegetable tasting event.  Many area businesses who support our local farmers were there to show there support, advertise their wares and give away stuff.  And - the restaurants and food-product vendors ....  they were awesome!  Restaurants, herb producers, olive oil vendors, caterers and countless other businesseswere there contributing to the fun.  But wait ... that's not all!!  On both ends of the festival venue there were bands of virtually every genre' you could imagine with "adult beverage" vendors scattered evenly between to ensure you were in the right mood!  So - it was an absolutely great day to join several thousand of your closest  friends to celebrate the wonders of summer in South Carolina.
On the Southeast end of the festival a huge bandstand was set up for the larger and more prominent musical groups.  While we were there we got to see a really great band - that happens to specialize in "Christian Rock" but who gave every appearance of some of the groups that abounded here in the 1960s - "Heart Pressure."  Their sound and offerings were really great and we really enjoyed their talent and professionalism.  On the Northwest end of the festival was a far different type of music selection.  And ... we were absolutely amazed to see that our host from last week's event - the owner of the Magnolia Lodge - Tom Hall and his friends - were playing at the biergarten.  Tom and his crew were obviously having a ball and it was wonderful to see so many different kinds of people having so much fun.  As usual, Tom was promoting the idea of support for local musicians, farmers and businesses - its one of the things we really appreciate about him.  But he wasn't alone.  Everyone here seemed completely dedicated to ensuring that local businesses do their very best to give the people in our area great products, great entertainment and great service.  But - the really important thing about the festival and all the vendors, products and performers we saw was that it was all tremendous fun.  It is quite interesting to see these young businessmen and women doing a fabulous job promoting their companies and their products with a laser focus on emphasizing the quality of their business while simultaneously letting you know that they totally "get it" when it comes to having a good time.  The folks we joined today were absolutely delightful and there were as many of our "furry friends" as there were people at today's event.  The "Tasty Tomato Festival" was another of the many events we have the good fortune to have access to here in our wonderful state.  I hope you enjoyed your visit in Columbia today and we look forward to getting together again in the near future to travel around our community, our state, our country and our world in search of the wondrous things we can find if we only look.  At the same time, though, we never lost sight of the fact that there are so many places in our world torn by conflict, strife, war and hunger.  We understand that and we are working hard to address those terrible things in our own way.  Just because we choose to focus on the beauty and wonderful things of this world on the blog doesn't mean that we are not constantly aware of our obligations to address the darker side of our planet.  We promise that we never forget what our brothers and sisters in every country on earth are facing and we are with you every single day.  We believe that together - one of these days - we can make this a world in which peace and harmony can reign and our similarities rather than our differences will be the focus.  See ya.

Meanwhile - Back In Beautiful Ridgeway ...

Summertime in the South is very interesting gang!!  Of course down here we are accused of having every

View From Our Front Porch

kind of 'biting, stinging and irritating' creature you can imagine (no, I'm not talking about politicians) and having heat in the triple digits at least eleven months of the year.  (Well - close, but not quite!!!)  As we all say though, it ain't the heat it's the humidity!!  But, y'know gang, when you are able to 'kick back' a bit, take a deep breath and take a look around at all of the wonderful things that surround us, get together with two or three hundred of your nearest and dearest friends and listen to music that is guaranteed to stir the juices way down in your soul - it is really, really great down here in the sunny South.  We had just such an opportunity last evening and I wanted to share some of it with you briefly.

A couple of posts back we talked about the "Ag and Art" tour that was held in Fairfield County - and we mentioned a number of the places we visited.  One of them was the "Magnolia Lodge" and we talked about owner Tom Hall and all he had done to get his new business underway.  Little did we know at the time but

Tom's mother-in-law is one of Linda's very good friends and she told us about an event that was taking place at the Lodge Saturday evening.  It was a "Bluegrass Festival" featuring some outstanding musicians - and - accompanied by some of the most spectacular food offerings you could imagine.  So - we decided to attend!

I'll try to avoid all the "wordiness" and "philosophy" that tends to creep
into my posts sometimes.  But, let me tell you folks - a July evening in Ridgeway with a waxing "Supermoon", temperatures in the low eighties to mid-seventies and one of the most congenial gatherings of people
I have ever been around is guaranteed to make for a spectacular evening.  From the moment we arrived until the time we left there was absolutely nothing but the most wonderful fellowship you could imagine - and stunning music.  The two primary groups playing while we were there were "The Mustache Brothers" and "The Larry Keel Group."  Both were exceptionally good but Keel is a world-class artist and you had to be there to really appreciate him. 

I'm going to let the photos and the videos do the talking here but let me just mention a couple of things about this event.  First - it was "dirt cheap!"  Second - parking was remarkably good for the number of people who attended.  Finally - there were kids, dogs, campers, tents, buses, and virtually every kind of outdoor equipment you could imagine on the grounds of the lodge.  It was amazing!!!  If you like this kind of thing, go back and check out our post on the "Ag and Art" tour and look at Tom's web site.  Better yet, go to their facebook page.  I understand that the most "up-to-date" info about coming attractions can be found there.  If you decide to head to beautiful suburban Ridgeway, give us a call when you get here.  We'd love to join you at one of these super events.  See ya.

We Hold These Truths To Be Self Evident

July 4, 2014 in Beautiful Suburban Ridgeway

Well Gang, it is a few days after the "birthday" of our country and I intentionally delayed preparing this post because I didn't want it to get lumped in with all the traditional celebratory things that were being circulated at about that time.  And I wasn't sure I knew how to do this.  This will not be a long post and it will certainly be 'partisan' but wherever you happen to hail from, please take time to hear me out.  I certainly do not want to offend anyone and I have traveled in close to fifty countries and have had absolutely wonderful experiences in each one.  But, I'd like for you to think of something.

The United States of America is a beautiful country.  Now, don't get me wrong ...  we have our 'warts' and 'bad features' just like any human endeavor will have.  But here's the deal ... this is a country that was founded by people who believed that there was a Supreme Being who had set the cosmos in motion.  Whether you call that force "God" or "Allah" or "The Field" or "Mother Nature" the thought was that the cosmos - and thus our planet - was set in motion by forces incomprehensibly vast. In struggling to express how the lives of mere mortals were affected by this 'power' it was concluded by some very thoughtful philosophers (among those trying to define our country) that God intended for his creations to live free.  Worlds collide, supernovae explode, sparrows fall, men die and it was their belief that that was the way it was supposed to be.  Love without interference.  Furthermore, they felt that this relationship translated into the idea that all men and women - all of them - were created equal in the eyes of God and should be able to pursue their lives and their happiness freely.  (Yeah, yeah, I know it took us a little work on the "all" part!)  That was not a blind belief that everyone would function and react the same way - it meant that if we, as a species, helped each other, tried to do our best, retained an ethical approach to our interactions with others - and didn't try to force each other to do things that were inconsistent with our moral guidelines - we could have a country, an environment, where humans could have a good opportunity for self fulfillment.  Yes, the country was founded by men and women.  Yes, we did screw up a lot along the way (and will continue to do so) but, the principles contained in those founding documents were golden - for all people, wherever you live. I'm not trying to be critical of anyone else's government - for goodness sakes, we have problems enough with our own!!  But - it is "our" government - "We The People".  That means me, my wife, my son and all our friends.  Ours.  We don't hold those representing us as accountable as I think we should but - we have the chance every other November.  What I'm talking about is more important than whether you call yourselves a "Republic" an "Empire", a "Commonwealth" or a "Union" - it is the way we see - and treat - each other.  If you are willing - and have the opportunity - take a look at what started all this not quite two hundred and forty years ago.  You can click on  Declaration of Independence   and it should take you to the right site.  Think about it and, when you're ready, give someone a big hug and see if we can all dedicate ourselves to treating each other fairly and thoughtfully.  Kinda like we would want folks to treat us!!  See ya.