PILOT'S PERCH CABIN VACATION - PART 4 - JULY 21ST TO 26TH, 2019

We are home from our trip.  I am sharing our daily happenings and will be repeating this paragraph until the end of them.  One full day left after this one.  I will also be sharing the cabin's website (name below in red lettering) for anyone to take a look and just in case you would like to rent one day.  Highly recommended by our own experience.   You can read all posts from our get-away if you go to the bottom and click on the label with the title, 'Pilot's Perch Vacation_July 2019'.

Pilot's Perch Cabin Vacation

From July 21st to July 26th, 2019

Part 4

Wednesday, July 24th, 2019

Off to Winstom Salem, N.C.

Back to sunny days!

We left early today as we wanted to make the most of the sunny weather after the rainy start to our vacation.

On the way we saw a Horne Creek Farm sign at 9.40 a.m. which interested me.  It was one of those historical markers.  I looked it up later and you can check its link in red.  Looks an interesting place to visit but we didn't make it this time.  It is on the list now for our next trip down here.

The following two photos are the only non-flower ones on this post.  The rest are the flowers from Reynolda Gardens.  We stopped at McDonalds in Tobaccoville.  We tend to frequent McDonalds more on road trips, just because they are everywhere when nothing else is.  Not saying this is the case here.  It was just convenient.  Gregg enjoys his egg, bacon and cheese biscuit and I order their oatmeal.  

Gregg knew that the Krispy Kreme Corporation headquarters was in Winston Salem and being a big fan since childhood of their doughnuts - this was a nostalgia trip I think - he wanted to check it out.  He was disappointed to learn that no, they don't actually have a Krispy Kreme Doughnut store there, but it wasn't long before we found one. 

Mmmm....McDonalds for breakfast and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for lunch....very naughty but oh so good for the soul!  Good job we don't have one on the doorstep at home.  (We were very good that night and had a large salad with a portion of a ready-made rotisserie chicken that we bought at the supermarket just before we reached the cabin.  Yes I am feeling we negated the naughtiness of the day.)  Now back to the garden.

On our sugar rush we went on a 12 mile hike - just kidding - I wish - we looked for the directions to the nearest botanical garden and found that there were two close by.  We went to both but I will show some of Reynolda Gardens today, at least part of it.  There are more flowers to share later and other posts eventually.

The garden was started by this lady.  I found her photo online.  She was born in November 17th, 1880 and died in May 23rd, 1924.

There is a lot to her story but when Mary Katharine Smith married tobacco tycoon R. J. Reynolds, she set into motion the building of a large country estate.  She wanted to build one that was self-sustaining, with a lake, a formal garden, a model farm, a school and village to house workers.  The centerpiece would be a sprawling 60-room home built in the bungalow style, which was eventually named the Reynolda House.  

Fifty years after it was opened in 1917, the house was converted into a public art museum.  This link will give you more information.  Since 1958 the estate which includes the gardens, has been in the ownership of Wake Forest University (WFU).

We didn't see the actual house but had a lovely walk around the garden, starting off in the green house.

Walking outside among all those flowers was wonderful.

We didn't walk every square inch but a lot of it, and eventually it was time to make our way back to the cabin to relax. We fixed a quick and easy dinner and then sat on the balcony and chatted for a while.  I had a habit of looking over the rail to see if I could spot any wildlife.  Happily there were two deer down below.  

It was beginning to get dark and we couldn't see too clearly.  We took several photos and most of them were fuzzy, but Gregg took this one and it is another sweet memory to end the day.  

Tomorrow we go to Mabry Mill, and the day after that we will be going home.