Glen and I like to travel on unbeaten paths. This is something that can have a good or a bad result. But the paths less taken have had many an interesting turn. From a beautiful summer sunset scene to an old codger coming down his driveway with a rifle, all are interesting.
Our travels include minimum maintenance roads, where you are on your as the road is not well maintained, to the country highways and roads where Glen drives and I am on “deer watch”. They take us to yard sales with items that make you scratch your head, wondering why in the heck they even have certain items, lovely lakes and rivers with innocent beauty or a crapload of drunken fishermen and of course, local watering holes. This is one of our favorite things to do; walking into a bar where no one knows you and leaving with many new friendships.
After an afternoon of driving the back roads in the cold winter, we were drawn towards a lovely old restaurant on a lake called the Oak Ridge. Being hungry and ready to enjoy a few cocktails with the locals, we made our way inside. We are always in awe of the country charm and friendliness of rural areas. The food was unbelievably good and conversation and libations abounded. Next thing I know, I am sitting with a group of women trying on dresses from their high school theatre for their annual Oak Ridge Society Night. I picked out my dress; we continued conversation and made our way home while we were still within our faculties. The following night was the day of the Oak Ridge Socialite Event.
The following day we met at one of the patrons homes next to the restaurant where drinks and snacks were enjoyed as we got dressed. It was the start of a festive night.
I stood in the mirror laughing so hard I could hardly stand. We did not have a lot of elegant accessories at our cabin, so I made do with what I had. There I was; in a green blue evening dress, my large straw cowboy hat with green, red and blue feathers and “Doc Martin” type black boots. I was a sight to behold, but no one cared, it was about fun. Women had elegant gowns, lovely hats, even some furs. We piled into several cars and headed to a few bars. Each time we arrived, we were announced by Glen who would shout “ladies and gentlemen, presenting the Oak Ridge Socialites! We strutted in as if we were the queens of the world as they applauded! It was an extraordinary evening!
But it was not over! After our designated drivers took us to a few places, we ended up back at the Oak Ridge. They had made an Ice Palace on the lake with lovely lights for the crowning of the King and Queen. The winners were a very sweet couple with winter style costumes with cotton balls to look like snow. We enjoyed the fantastic Ice Palace, laughing at how fun it is to just be silly!
Now it was time to go back to the restaurant, where they took a large wood plank placed it over the pool table and men and women took turns dancing on it (no, not that type of dancing, get your mind out of the gutter!). There were lots of people with lots of conversation, dancing and goofiness. I was unable to control myself when a guy that looked like Randy Quaid danced in his long johns with a huge winter hat on the table! The night went on with fun people and music. We had quite a long way to go so we did excuse ourselves after awhile and made the long trek home.
It’s amazing what the path less taken can lead you to!