A Day In Greensboro

November 21st was another outing, Rebecca driving us and Penelope to nearby Greensboro for shopping in antiques and books and records, downtown lunch at Crafted taco restaurant, and a visit to the Replacements, Ltd. complex. Vicki has been a Replacements customer for many years, Rebecca has become one, and I was curious enough to go along. Replacements, Ltd., for those not in the know, collects and sells fine housewares...dishes, crystal, silverware, figurines, artsy things...it is the place to go (Replacements.com) if your Royal Doulton setting for twelve is missing an espresso cup. Or a teapot. It's also said to be the world's largest collection of said stuff. The complex is beyond stupendously large and interesting; so large as to have its own museum and guided tours. And the company is very employee-, community-, and environment-oriented, very high tech, and very proud of its relatively unique history. We spent a couple hours there and certainly would go back. 

Most of us, there

Moi, doing my thing

In the showroom, a display of the 500 most popular patterns...

And there's our Royal Doulton "Canton," as seen with the late
Queen Elizabeth and Paddington Bear during the Platinum Jubilee
(be very impressed)

Some corporate history

The "new" warehouse is large enough to hold six football fields

And there's Rebecca's Denby...part of the reason for the visit... not
our first Denby experience

Shipping department

More of the expanse...

Stemware

Displays like this all over the complex, for both visitors
and employees 

Display on fine china in movies, TV shows, etc.

They also do restoration and repair

Flatware

More corporate history, in the museum and on the tour

Among the curiosities...

Among the bargain bins...not pictured: the huge Xmas store, the
fine jewelry department, etc. 

Many displays on how the stuff is/was made...

Ditto

And, of course, you can buy the complete set if you're so inclined

Moving right along, we are now in downtown Greensboro,
looking at all the art deco

And historic stuff...the Woolworth building, site of some of the earliest
and most effective sit-ins...now home of the International Civil Rights
Center and Museum

Alas, it was a cold, wet, blustery day, and we didn't
get to see much; have to go back...

At McKay's used books in Greensboro (a game aisle); among the 
reasons for the trip was selling some of our unwanted books and LPs
here...the death cleaning continues

Lastly, at the Antique Marketplace, viewing the scores of shops 
and booths; great trip! thanks, Rebecca!

Seeing Silver Springs

One of Florida's legendary tourist attractions is Silver Springs. "See Silver Springs" was on bumper stickers, billboards, and everything else that could carry a message in the mid-20th century. And the glass-bottom boats, whereby one saw the silver springs, were world famous, at least in Florida. Of course it was all eclipsed by Disney, as was everything else, declined, but finally was purchased by the state to become a state park, nature preserve, and historical site. Vicki visited it with her family when she was 10, and I am sure I was there with my mother and father on one of our "Florida" vacations in the 50s. It was an activity on Friday at Vicki's mini-reunion in Ocala, and we were there. Admission was a mere $2, the emphasis was on things natural and historical, and on the history of Florida tourism, and we were very glad we went.

Old-timey entrance preserved

And the glass-bottomed boats

Which take you perhaps a quarter mile down the river to see a
score of the springs and various wildlife and other features

Local bird, an anhinga

And now we are underway, marveling at the ultra-
clear spring water through the glass bottom

Tons of protected fish, turtles and other critters

The springs come up through the limestone, clearing out the 
sandy areas...some hundreds of millions of gallons from the Florida
aquifer

Remains of an ancient native American dug-out canoe; so it was
said

A number of movies were filmed at Silver Springs, most notably,
for me, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and its sequels, which
gave me nightmares as a child and probably explains my reluctance
to step into any body of water that is less than 3% chlorine; that, and
Jaws

Another anhinga, drying its wings

Among the many turtles, probably 15 inch-wide shells

Ashore, a member of our party, Janice, who visited us in Paris in 2014

And Cookie, now enjoying a post-career as a photographer

An alligator, not a small one, lurks nearby; alas, we did not see
any of the manatees

38 feet down, one of the larger springs

Gratuities left for the boat captain/guide, whose narration was nearly
as good as Disney's Jungle Cruise

Now we are promenading ashore, being enlightened
by the excellent signage

Statue of Osceola, leader of the unconquered Seminole
tribe

No swimming, currently, although the state has agreed
to restore a swimming area; people were kayaking and
paddle-boarding all over the river when we were there 

Artsy-fartsy shot of the springs and reflected clouds above

Love the old tourism posters

Exploring down one of the side creeks

Fooling around, as usual

Nice historical attention

Giant cypresses all over; nice place, we recommend
especially for the Florida nostalgia

Nova Class of '66

Members of Vicki's high school class always thought of themselves as special--the first class to enter and graduate from an experimental and progressive public high school in Fort Lauderdale--and now, well beyond their 50th reunion, they continue to gather informally every few years. And so, for us, it was another road trip and gathering, this time in Ocala, Florida. Mostly it was meal-time conversations and catching up and also in the evenings around the pool. There was also a day-time excursion to Silver Springs, which will be the subject of the next post.

Another rental car, with all the new-to-us safety features; after several
years of such rentals I am now getting comfortable with said features,
even relying on them

Appropriate road music

Moon and star aligned just right for a 5AM departure

Very weird cloud formations above Ocala; sink-holes in the sky?

Driving around Ocala, we encountered this and
chased down the driver and his companion...both
20 or less, with no idea of the family name nor
history (except that it is nearly always mispronounced);
part of the Ebenezer (GA) Sherouse clan migrated
to central Florida in the 19th century, my part to
Fort Myers, other parts to northern Florida; the driver's
family has been in the plastering business in Alachua
county for more than a century; just FYI; you saw it 
first here

Nova Titans and Titanettes, 2023

And just 1,256 miles later, we are back at the Raleigh shopping center
to return the car

Getting our steps and marveling at the fashions while
awaiting Rebecca's arrival to take us back home

Among the clever things seen