Trip to Dixie

"...I was only there as a temporary inhabitant...like someone who finds himself in a beautiful mansion, eating exquisite food, aware that this is only a party, that the mansion belongs to someone else, and that time will come when the lights will go out, the owners will go to bed, the servants will return to their quarters, the door will close, and we'll be out in the street again, waiting for a taxi or bus to restore us to the mediocrity of our everyday lives."

- Excerpt from The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho. Alvin and I are back to reality after a great vacation to North Carolina. My cousin Sandy let us stay in their beautiful home in Wilmington.

Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not ^acovet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s ^bwife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

What if it's not your "neighbour" but your cousin? That doesn't count does it?



The view from their pool onto the golf course.



Alvin relaxing to a little "Punk'd" in their living room.

So besides having a lovely place to stay we got to experience a little of the true south. To my native Oregonian sweetheart this place was a whole other world. You can actually wear a bathing suit to the beach instead of a sweatshirt to the coast. The BBQ here isn't chicken on a grill but pulled pork roasted in vinegar (yum!). It's generally a good idea not to bring up politics or the Confederate flag. The "dog days of summer" equal 400% humidity. And Southern Hospitality is a very real thing. Family I barely know welcomed us with open arms and even let us use their vehicle.