Maxine and her husband Bob picked us up slightly after midnight. It was only 9:00 pm by Frank and my body clocks but still we had not had dinner and were starving. Maxine and Bob took Frank and me to a sumptuous dinner by driving through a McDonald's on the way to the hotel where we would be staying. The hotel lobby when we checked in had chocolate chip cookies, so we even dined on a multi-course meal.
Thursday, April 11th we slept in until 11:00 am (8:00 am by Frank and my body clocks). Maxine picked us up at noon, took us back to her home, a 3 minute drive away, and we just chilled there. The next day, Friday April 12th was busier. We spent the late morning and early afternoon strolling downtown Apex, a quaint historic North Carolina town about a half drive southwest of Maxine's home.
In the lower left of the previous photo there is a dollhouse lending library and a painted rock garden on the corner. Here is a closer look at both.
"Throw kindness like Confetti." What a pleasant thought!
The spelling on the sign on the side of this building just tickled my fancy.
E + X + Q + W + 💈 + Z + I + T + E
1 + 8 + 10 + 4 + 0 (blank) + 10 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 50 (all_seven_tile_bonus) = 86 points!
1 + 8 + 10 + 4 + 0 (blank) + 10 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 50 (all_seven_tile_bonus) = 86 points!
(not counting any double or triple word scores)
The shop that originally piqued our interest in coming to Apex was Southern Home Crafts. It is a collection of "homemade goodness" from several local artists. Maxine picked up two pair of boots in green and purple for her granddaughters' American Girl dolls.
This embroidered diaper was cute but I refrained from buying it.
One of the shops we passed along the way was Home Video Studio at 118 North Salem Street. I liked their signage with a logo featuring a director's clapper board. "Cut! That's a wrap!"
All that shopping and browsing made us hungry so we ate a late lunch at the Salem Street Pub at 116 North Salem Street. The food was wholesome and very filling. It was little decadent for Weight Watcher™ fare but that made it taste so much better!
I will admit to the deliciousness of the Burgers but I cannot attest to the rating of the Moonshine since we all refrained from any libations.
After our satisfying meal in Apex, we headed back to Maxine's house to relax before a music show in the evening. Since this was a Friday in Lent, we had a meatless supper of pierogi's, a meal which is far from a sacrifice for my palate. The group we were going to hear was called Velvet Caravan, a sound described on their website as combining
Gypsy, Honky-Tonk, Swing and Latin-upbeat tunes from all over the world with thunderous virtuosism and relentless sense of humor.
The performance was held at the Cary Art Center just under 2.5 miles and a 6 minute drive north from my sister's house. The next photo from the center's website shows the facility on a beautiful sunny day. When we arrived for our 7:30 pm show it was pouring rain!
I did pause to capture a photo of the art work in front of the Cary Arts Center. The previous photo must have been taken before the installation of the sculpture. On closer inspection, it appears the metal creation was made out of recycled lockers doors, a bank of lockers that may have been in a high school or other sports facility. I saw no explanatory sign and was not going to venture farther out into the watery muck to find one.
We arrived before the doors were opened to file in for our show and so we looked around the lobby a bit while waiting. If I were a music group I might be a trifle offended by this sign in the lobby, but I guess it is considerate to offer that option for folks with sensitive ears.
While we were waiting an announcement came over the loud speaker. As a precautionary measure, due to a tornado warning that had been issued, we were to relocate to the basement until either the twister passed or the warning was lifted. We were sure to stay away from any windows and we were not down there long, but it was a bit of excitement and a tad fortuitous that we were privy to an area we otherwise would have been unable to see and explore. At the base of the stairs was a wall roadmap of sorts to the various labs located in the lower level.
With all the clay work, there was a collection of firing kilns and these were their names. I especially liked what the first three were called: Big Bertha, Thelma, and Louise.
Thelma and Louise made me recall the 1991 movie staring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis. On its 25th Anniversary (in 2016) Time Magazine wrote an article on the movie's effect on feminism. An excerpt from that feature reads:
The road-trip movie Thelma & Louise, starring Geena Davis (Thelma) and Susan Sarandon (Louise) as buddies-turned-fugitives, drove a national conversation on feminism and the state of the women’s movement when it hit theaters 25 years ago on May 24, 1991. ... Indeed, some events over the next year suggested that the movie arrived at exactly the right moment for stories about women speaking out. Later that year, law professor Anita Hill testified that she had been sexually harassed by current Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during his confirmation hearings. Television coverage that captured the image of Hill being questioned by the all-male Senate Judiciary Committee panel is said to have helped women win historic victories in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives — four seats in the former and 24 in the latter in 1992 — during what became known as “The Year of the Woman.”
Along the same vein of thought, I am also reminded of all the white suits and dresses worn by the newly elected women of Congress at the 2019 State of the Union Address. A Feb 6 Washington Post article cited the white color of the garb as hearkening back to the original suffragettes. All this thinking sprouted from a random trip to a random basement due to a random weather phenomenon. I put the movie Thelma and Louise on my Netflix DVD list to watch again from my more modern day perspective. But back to the basement... The corridor stretched out past a series of doors leading in to various art labs. The boxes on the pallets in the foreground are a shipment of clay for future art creations. They made great temporary seats for those waiting out the tornado warning.
Once we were permitted to go back up to the lobby I noticed this turtle creature chilling beneath the staircase. I waved goodbye to him as I followed the stragglers of the theatre goers up the steps.
The lobby was decorated with beribboned birds. Maxine & Bob and Frank & I posed with the whimsical fine non-feathered friends.
Much to Frank's chagrin, I captured this candid shot of the similar beak profiles.
When we left it had stopped raining, there had never been a tornado, and I was able to take this night view of the front of the theater lit up. Its ionic columns with the scroll tops and its triangular shaped pediment follow a true Greek architectural tradition, giving it a grandiose, regal feel.
The next day, Saturday, April 13th, we ventured farther to the southwest, beyond Apex to 3900 Bonsal Road in New Hill to visit New Hope Valley Railway, home to the North Carolina Railway Museum. The trip was less than a half hour away, about 13 miles.
Frank enjoyed talking to some old timers and admiring some of the rolling stock at the museum. This red diesel engine is part of the New Hope Railway, dubbed the Triangle Train, which gives excursion rides.
Frank had never seen a United States Air Force engine so he was both excited and impressed.
I hung with Frank for most of the time but when the talk started going way over my head, I joined Maxine in the car. She was hanging out there to avoid any bees since she is allergic to their sting.
We saw a diesel engine being readied for an eight-mile round trip down the track, driven by someone who had signed up for the privilege. We learned that the New Hope Railway hosts an Operate-a-Loco program where would-be engineers can pay a fee, be instructed by a certified engineer, and drive a diesel themselves, with a certified engineer in attendance. Slots were all booked when we were there otherwise Frank might have taken advantage of the opportunity for the experience. Personnel told us that folks travel all the way from England to operate a steam engine when they are up an functional.
The nickname for the New Hope Railway excursion train is the Triangle Train. The Triangle Train moniker refers to Research Triangle. Per Wikipedia:
The Research Triangle, commonly referred to as simply The Triangle, is a region in the Piedmont of North Carolina [plateau region] in the United States, anchored by the three major research universities of North Carolina State University [south], Duke University [north], and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill [west], as well as the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill.
As we were leaving the museum, we paused to watch a CSX freight train go by on a nearby track. CSX is a leading supplier of rail-based freight transportation in North America. The acronym stands for Chessie-Seaboard. And the X? There are multiple explanations: intersection, eXcellence, and, the most likely legally, a temporary placeholder since "M" was taken. If you are a true ferroequinologist, you may choose to watch this 15 minute long video of CSX trains during all seasons in eastern parts of the country.
The North Carolina Railway Museum is in the outskirts of New Hill as evidenced by the chickens. The train roaring by did not phase them in the least.
On Monday, April 15th we coordinated to get together with my cousin Bruce and his wife Debbie since they live only about a half hour or so from Maxine's youngest son. Bruce is one year younger than me, and Maxine is 14 years older than me. Maxine's and my mother and Bruce's father were siblings. Growing up, Bruce's parents made him call my sister Aunt Maxine out of respect, yet Bruce and I were on a first name with no parental requirement for deferential titles. We joked some about that. We were all raised in New Jersey and spread to scattered locations as we grew up. It is kind of neat that I get to visit Bruce and Debbie when I come from California. Back in July 2017 we were able to reconnect when I was visiting. In my blog post for 8/20/17, I said of that get-together,
Bruce is one year younger than I am and I had not seen him in decades. When he walked in the door I said, "Bruce, I could walk right by you on the street and not recognize you". But as soon as he spoke and I observed his mannerisms it was like I had seen him just yesterday.I was able to find that particular post reference because I did a search on "Bruce" within my blog. More than one post came up and I was confused. Then I realized the search engine had found the name "Bruce Willis" (posts for 10/14/15 and 8/25/15) and "Bruce Springsteen" (post for 7/22/16). I wonder how my cousin would feel about being indistinguishable from such famous people, macho or musical. My cousin Bruce was born November 28, 1954, Bruce Willis was born March 19, 1955, and Bruce Springsteen was born September 23, 1949. I think cousin Bruce compares pretty darn well!
April 15th was the actual date of Maxine's 80th birthday so we went out to lunch at the Carolina Ale House to celebrate her birthday as well as the cousin mini-reunion. Clockwise around the table starting at 9 o'clock are Maxine's husband Bob, Bruce, Bruce's wife Debbie, Frank, Maxine, and Dean's two girls Camilla and Carmen.
We had a waitress take a photo so I could be included.
Back row: Bruce, Bob, Frank. Middle row: Debbie, Maxine, me. Front: Carmen, Camilla.
And here is an adult closeup so you can discern all the wrinkles on the faces.
We got a free dessert of ooey-gooey donut holes to pass around and share in honor of Maxine's birthday. Then, once back at Dean and Nishaan's house, we were treated to a piano serenade from Camilla and Carmen.
They were quite good and merited an attentive audience. Here are Debbie, Bob, and Nishaan on one side of the room and Maxine, Frank and Bruce on the other.
For a while Bruce went off to a nearby park with the girls. Here he is with Carmen when they returned as best buds.
We took one last final photo before Bruce and Debbie left for home. It had been a fun afternoon.
Later in the evening, once Dean was home from work, we went out again to eat, this time at a nearby restaurant named Char Bar #7.
Here is the whole gang afterward: Dean, Bob, Maxine, Nishaan, Diane, Frank, Carmen, Camilla.
We returned to Dean's house for singing Happy Birthday, making a wish, blowing out candles, and eating cake!
The cake was exceedingly pretty as well as delicious! Even after eating two meals out and devouring ooey gooey donut holes mid-day, we enjoyed the cake immensely that night and the next night as well.
We had one more day, Tuesday, April 16th, in North Carolina and would be heading home Wednesday, April 17th. Stay tuned for my post about our trip for Maxine's 80th Birthday – Part 2.
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