As if our impending move to Japan is not travel enough, Hunter and I pulled a 500 miler last weekend. There are people to see, plenty to do, and lots of fun to fit in before our departure! Friday afternoon we headed down to Coinjock, NC with a friend to attend our second East Coast Star Party. Our first was in May earlier this year, and we went into it not knowing what to expect. We had such a great time that we came back, and we were not disappointed. Just as before, the people were great. It was mostly just the local astronomers, all of whom were happy to let us look through our scopes, show us their astro-photography, or give us an on-the-spot astronomy lesson. We loved all of it. Per the standard, we stayed up late drinking wine, coffee, and circulating through the camp. There was an hour or two of clear viewing, during which time we were able to see the Milky Way, Veil Nebula, Ring Nebula, the Caroline’s Rose star cluster, globular clusters M13 and M15, and more. Once the clouds rolled in everyone put their red lights down on the ground and circled their camp chairs around for an “astronomer’s campfire.” I’m not sure what time we turned in, but when we returned to our tent palace (the one that we borrowed turned out to be HUGE), I passed out and didn’t move until morning.
One of the most unnerving but memorable aspects of this expedition was the port-a-potty. For whatever reason all of nature had decided to take refuge in it, so it was pee at your own risk. The first time I walked in something moving dropped on my head. I went back out very quickly. It turned out to only be a very large cricket, so I took a light and went in again. When I closed the door I found myself face to face with a (n also very big) writing spider. She stayed put so I kept an eye on her and went about my business. Then, when I reached for the toilet paper, I got a tree frog instead. There were about twenty of them hanging out inside… and they were so stinking cute. But still. Using the bathroom was probably the most adventurous part of the camp out.
We went home early on Saturday, showered, and then drove about 200 miles in the opposite direction to see Hunter’s parents. Turns out that they weren’t expecting us, so it was a surprise visit! Once we all got over our shock we had a lovely time, though. We were happy to get in a visit with them this month 🙂
On Sunday we drove up into to mountains to enjoy Rebec Vineyard’s Wine and Garlic Festival. The day turned out to be sunny and beautiful and we had a charming time tasting wine and weaving through the venders on the mountaintop. Last time we were there I had quite a bit of wine and, upon stumbling into the petting zoo, was flabbergasted to find a huge camel named Delilah. I am delighted to report that Delilah was there this weekend too, and we had a nice little visit. Almost all of the wines we tasted were very good, and we indulged in garlic fries and a garlic cranberry turkey burger. We had no one to meet and no time we had to leave by, so it was fun and relaxing. This is hands down one of my favorite festivals to attend.
I wonder what sort of events I’ll get to go to in Japan =D
The Rheuma-tortoise 