All Around the Town in Brevard, NC

As nice as it is to have a quiet, tranquil Bed & Breakfast to stay at, it's also nice to be close to a beautiful, charming town like Brevard. We knew before arrival that the town has Tuesday night street dances during the summer--we had chanced upon this event last summer while staying in Sapphire Valley, 18 miles west.

This family-friendly event has a local flavor, though tourists are made welcome. Some humane society reps. introduce these magnificent and huge dogs to the gathering crowd, especially the children.

The ice cream truck is an important part of the weekly routine.

The bubbles were designed to lure folks to the concession stand. Watching the kids frolic around popping them was pure fun.

Main Street is closed off every Tuesday evening as young and old haul out the folding chairs in anticipation of the fun.

This fine bluegrass band is a standard fixture at the bandstand beside city hall, overlooking Main Street. They played all the square dance tunes, plus bluegrass favorites and requests during breaktime for the dancers.

The Old Time Street Dance club could generate a ton of enthusiasm and got a lot of folks out of their chairs to join in. Judy and I saw some impressive and complex swings and moves we hadn't seen last summer.Even the band had to have a break, but there was always something to watch. This young fellow entertained the crowd with handstands, walkovers, and stunts.

One of the most appealing aspects of the whole affair was how children were included. During the regular square dances, there was a separate children's circle where some adults helped teach the calls and moves to the younger folks, who caught on with ease.

But before we left, both adults and kids were invited to combine for "The Bunny Hop." Good, clean fun.

On the rainy morning that greeted us Wednesday, we explored a K-Mart (remember that?). Can you identify any of these up-to-date pinatas? Like Darth Vader and Sponge Bob!

We visited about 5 or 6 local thrift and consignment shops, finding a few deals along the way. One of Judy's favorite finds was this grocery store, based in Tennessee, which had excellent prices.

Our exploration of town led us to the Brevard library, which was heavily used. I don't recall what Judy looked at, but I read the 500th issue of MAD magazine. I still have a couple of copies from when they were 25 cents.

This treasure chest certainly catches the attention of all who enter their children's section, which was extensive.

When Judy saw out the library window that the rain had finally ceased, we quickly picked up our things (except my SFL umbrella) and headed off for
our waterfall tour which I described in detail in a previous blog post.

Some hours later we were back in Brevard for an excellent Mexican dinner at El Ranchero, which we had discovered last summer on a side street. I got the Texas Fajita (bottom right) featuring grilled beef, shrimp, and chicken. M-m-m-m.

Near the library we spotted the South Broad Park, a small but cozy park of little nooks and winding trails.
At first glance, this sculpture of a deer is deceptive. While the legs and head are rusty iron, the body is a huge stone! (wonder what kind of glue these sculptors use)

And parks have to have butterfly bushes. More details about this are in my Flora and Fauna post.

The parking area for the park is also home to a small local farmer's market. Of course we couldn't resist supporting the local farmers in a small way.

For our final evening meal in Brevard, we tried a small Japanese restaurant recommended by our B&B hostess. We both ordered Thai dishes, though Judy suspected they gave me the Japanese fried rice rather than the Thai fried rice. Neither of us had ever seen it served in a hollowed-out pineapple. Most impressive! (mine is on the left)

And I dutifully ate every bite except the rind. Again, most impressive!

I have one more post to share. It will be about our journey up Highway 276 from Brevard to the Blue Ridge Parkway. And it will be my 200th blog post! Since I just started blogging when I retired last summer, that surprises me. But I'm certainly not ready to retire from blogging! Thanks for visiting my Eclectic Blog from time to time.

P.S. I may have mentioned that this whole trip was my and Judy's gift to each other for our 33rd wedding anniversary. On the way home Judy saw these flowers at an Aldi's (cut-rate grocery--are you surprised?) and I agreed to buy them for her. They're still lovely, though fading.

Neither Judy nor I expected the flowers that were on our front porch when we arrived home in Murdocksville/West End/Taylortown/Pinehurst extra-territorial zone. This beautiful arrangement were from her thoughtful and supportive parents, Jack and Thelma. And I just realized. . . these flowers are half mine!

Don't forget to check soon for my 200th blog post.

If you'd like a sample of the street dancing, the video below is about 8 minutes. The participants range from experienced to novices, but it will be apparent how much fun they are all having.