Applachian Festival

All the years we have lived in Cincinnati,I have never gotten to go to the Appalachian Festival at Coney. This year for Mother's Day Emmy got us tickets...not just one day...but for two days. I got to wonder around Coney with my head in the clouds. I heard WV calling me once again. Some smells of my childhood that took me back to times with my great grandmother and my Nanny...the little log house under the Christmas tree that had smoke coming out of the chimney...cherry tobacco smell that reminds me of when my Dad smoked a pipe...dulcimer playing that in my minds eye I was sitting on rock in the woods at the lake where we shot archery...and food like you have never tasted before. Saturday was beautiful. We could not have asked for a better day. Michael even had fun. We would take turns doing grown up things and then kids things...and we ate in between all of that. Emmy loves bluegrass ... so there was a lot of sitting and listening to guitar, mandolins and singers with that wonder WV twang. Take me home country roads! There were cloggers that I swear didn't have any bones in their bodies...they reminded me of the stomper dolls that my Popaw had for us when we were little. What I wouldn't give to have one of those now.
This is about he first person we ran into on Sunday. He was a store keeper and I think he had his Sunday Best on for us. He had a trading post with all kinds of cool things.
This little old gentleman didn't talk too much but could he move that shuttle back and forth. He made rugs that Mark's Mom still has on her kitchen today. Don't you just lovea good old rug?
This was just a lady in the little village that they had set up. She was burning a name into a sign using a magnifying glass and the sun. I couldn't get over how bright the beam was when it hit the wood. There was smoke and everything.
I just have to mention the food one more time. Oh my goodness! Beans and cornbread! OH MY! These were some of the spiciest beans I have ever eaten... and I can tell you that there was a time when that was what we ate a lot of. We don't make 'em like that in our part of the hills...but they were so hot they made your nose run. MMMMMMM!
Mark tried some pulled pork. Said it was tasty!
I didn't get any pictures of him enjoying his lunch because I was too busy...well, you can see...We've grown some good corn and I have had tons from Mary in WI...but I am telling you right now that this was the best corn that I have ever eaten!...I could have eaten corn for the rest of the day!Emmy and Sarah got a plate of these chips/fries. They looked like potato chips but tasted like fries. They were pretty good too. Emmy and I walked by this wok thing several times on Saturday. She decided that on Sunday she would show Mark and they would have a little bit of it for lunch. Oh my, it even smelled better on Sunday. Emmy had this big sausage thing and Sarah got a portabella mushroom wrap that she said was the best thing that has have EVER eaten. Michael decide for his lunch he would have a bag of pretzels and a Mist to drink. He had already tried the cornbread on Saturday. He didn't much care for it because "it didn't taste as good as mine." Even thought it was cold and wet, we still had a great time....but the day was far from over. Read on....