June 6th: Finally catching up with the blog. Very busy month of May

The Rahns left Florida May 5th. The next next item on my agenda was a trip to Virginia Tech U for my great niece's graduation May 14th. As I was checking flights to get close to Virginia Tech, I realized there were no convenient places to fly into. I noticed Raleigh Durham was not too far from Virginia Tech which was great. I had been wanting to get together with our very good friends Buck and Donna Bambic since before COVID. The Bambics had moved from Ohio and relocated in Durham. I decided to fly into Durham, spend a few days with Bambics and then drive to Virginia Tech to get together with family for the graduation.

Donna on the patio

When I arrived at Bambics' home they had cocktails planned on their very comfortable patio along with great appetizers. Donna always has great appetizers!

Buck and Donna

Later we had a very nice dinner, watched a little television and went to bed early. It was great seeing them in their new home. Our plan was to visit the Duke University Botanical Garden the next day.

When the Bambics travelled with us on Yesterday's Dream, they learned Linda and I enjoyed going out for breakfast. Especially if we could find a diner type restaurant. So we began the day with a great breakfast at a fun diner.

Steve and Donna

The botanical garden was very impressive. Some of the trees were huge.

Donna and I were dwarfed by this Willow Oak Tree. Here is a link describing the trees on the Duke University grounds. Duke University Trees

Buck and Donna on the Red Bridge

A famous icon for the Botanical Garden is the Red Bridge. I took a few pictures but this link shows the bridge through various seasons. Duke Red Bridge

We spotted these turtles from the bridge. It was fun for me to see fresh water turtles again. We always enjoyed looking for them when we kayaked.

Interesting tree bark

Pine tree

Donna started pointing out the variety of tree bark in the garden. She has started painting water color pictures and likes painting the tree barks. They are pretty neat when you take the time to notice them.

There were many beautiful flowers and a peaceful Asian water feature

Asian water feature

 

Duke University Chapel

After touring the garden we walked around the Duke Campus. It is very impressive. In particular, the Chapel is really something. I have no idea why they call it a chapel. It's huge. Notice the person in front of the chapel door for a size perspective.

Interior, Duke Chapel

The interior just goes on and on and up and up!

Duke chapel pipe organ

The pipe organ must really be something when played.

The next day we took a ride to a small inland lake for a short hike. It was a little overcast but basically a pleasant day. The lake was nice and there were a lot of well cared for flower gardens.

Buck works as an usher at the Durham Bulls Baseball games. He had 2 good tickets for Donna and I to attend the game. It was supposed to rain so Donna and I decided to drive ourselves. It was fun to see the stadium and Buck in action. Buck is very sociable and loves talking with the people. After the 5th inning it looked like it was about to rain. The score was just tied up by the Bulls so Donna and I decided it was a good time to leave. Buck had to stay until 10:30 PM.

On the way to the stadium we walked through Tobacco Road. The old buildings for the tobacco plant have been restored and turned into shops and restaurants. There is a lot of history about the tobacco industry. It seemed strange to be promoting the history of tobacco but it was the major industry. 

There is a long grass area between the buildings which is a nice place to relax. Donna liked the modern style lounge chairs.

Also located on the grounds is the Burt's Bees headquarters. The cabin Burt lived in for the last part of his life was moved from Maine to the current site on tobacco Road. His history is interesting. If you enlarge the picture you can read about him.

Burt's Cabin

I was leaving for Roanoke, (where I was staying for the graduation) around noon. That left time for me to take a walk around the wooded area behind the housing development. I spotted a very colorful bird. I was about to take it's picture when a bluejay chased it away. I decided to wait a little to see if it came back. It not only came back but ended up hopping very close to me. 

I don't have my bird book here so I don't know its name but I'll bet my sister Terri or her daughter Stephanie can identify it!

As I was packing up, Donna brought this bag out in case I needed it. Pretty funny!

I decided to post this part of May and cover the rest of May in the next couple blogs.