“86,400 seconds in the day, and they pick this one to call me.”
Leaving for Edenton to visit our friends at Blue Stallion Farm, Ron’s phone buzzed with a work call. Panicked that he would have to postpone our leaving to deal with the network issue, he solved the problem over the phone. With hearts racing from the moment, we pointed the Atlas eastward and headed towards North Carolina and our third Hallmark weekend in Edenton.
The quaint town on the Chowan River needs a Hallmark movie filmed in its streets. The houses, built hundreds of years ago, sit nestled along the river banks, filled with memories of long ago. Horse carriages roam the roads, the drivers telling their passengers tales of days gone by. Carolers in 1800s garb sing songs of Christmas joy to all who will listen. And the residents open their homes for the famed Christmas Candlelight Tour.
Lisa cooked a delicious dinner of baked ravioli, meatballs, and sausage with garlic bread. Sitting around the table with the family, we caught up on the goings-on of the past year. Laughter erupted as we shared life, bringing joy to our hearts. Once finished, we trekked into town, Lisa and I visiting decorated homes while Ron and Dave went to Greybeards, the newest addition to the main street. Joey and Mitchell visited Surf, Wind, and Fire, and then we all congregated at Malcom’s for an end-of-the-evening toddy.
Jason and Camille’s upside down Christmas tree highlighted the evening. The houses represent their work in restoration. Dresses as Charles Dickens and his wife, the couple exuding hospitality as they greeted us into their home with love.
The dogs, Irish Wolf Hounds, thrilled us when we wandered into the kitchen of one home. Warm and loving, the gentle beasts nuzzled us for affection, them settled in their room off the kitchen.
“Alright, we’ll do one non-Christmas song,” the carolers said as we walked by the crowd, goading them into singing something other than carols. We enjoyed the impromptu performance thoroughly.
“They take minimalism to a whole new level” became the evening joke. Visiting one of the homes, I noticed that the decorations left a lot to the imagination, making the comment that brought laughter from Lisa’s lips and gave us something to chuckle over by the fire.
After a lazy morning we walked the dogs on their first nine hole outing. Camped beside the campgrounds par three course, I won the first round of the tournament by two points. The dogs enjoyed the round, and we all had fun.
Our afternoon in Edenton included lunch at Downtown Roots, sporting delicious sandwiches, Ron and I both had the Rachel, a Turkey Reuben made to perfection. A trip to Surf, Wind and Fire blessed me with a new hat and mug. My latest Christmas T-shirt came from Edenton Coffeehouse where we stopped for yummy coffee concoctions.
After touring a few of the complimentary exhibits, cookies, and a very spiked eggnog at the Visitor’s Center, we met back at Surf Wind and Fire before heading home to take care of animals and chill for a minute.
Back at the farm, I said hello to the barnyard family while Lisa got eggs for us. Tara and Sassie watched the goings on from the side field.
Sunset from the farm filled the sky with gorgeous pinks, the last rays of our Hallmark day fading away.
After a late dinner at Lisa’s, and a glass of two of eggnog, we called it a night, heading home to our puppies.
“We’ll see you at 9:30 for church,” I said as we left.
Active waiting as we await Christ’s return gave us something to think about from the Priest’s homily. Brunch at Herring one’s topped off our weekend. Picking up racquet from Joey for Ron to string, we headed to the trailer for one last round of golf before traveling home.
“We couldn’t have timed that any better,” Ron said, climbing the truck at 2:03 ready for the trip home. Another great weekend at Rocky Hock Campground with our friends.