Autumn Leaves Festival

I finished midterms last Thursday, Hannah has learned to stand on her own, I've made friends with a crazy statistician who is analyzing my research results, and James is busier than ever with finals next week and daily recruiting events. So, needless to say, it was time to celebrate! Unfortunately, the rain ruined our exciting plans to go camping in central NC with some friends. But I was so determined to make it to the Autumn Leaves Festival in Mount Airy, NC, that I think the sky cleared just for me! We had a few hours and a little bit of nice weather, so we loaded up and headed to the festival. The drive was beautiful! The leaves are just starting to change--yellows and reds were dotting the side of the road the whole way! And Mount Airy is adorable; it is the hometown of Andy Griffith and the inspiration for Mayberry in the Andy Griffith Show. The festival was packed with people, smelled like kettle corn, and was set to the music of a live bluegrass band. Hannah had a blast--she was dancing the entire time! The drive home was perfect as well (so much fun that we're going on a picnic in a week with a friend from central NC when the leaves are at their peak change!).

The bluegrass band (take note of the awesome people dancing in the middle--I promise they're dancing, not just hunching over!)

Hannah dancing to the music
And being silly

I love that we live in a place where you drive out of town and find yourself surrounded by people that can just walk up to these instruments (which includes a string tied to a bucket!) and play an incredible song (which sounded a lot like "Praise to the Man"!). The best part is that the man walked out of the crowd and was wearing those overalls.

I love North Carolina!