Rambling Southern Style: Rambling for Bluegrass Southern Style

by Violet Rebecca Jones

I really feel kind of stupid. Yesterday was such a pretty day that I felt I just had to do something to celebrate this astonishing glimpse of the sun after so many days of terrible weather. The question was, "What momentous thing can I come up with to celebrate that will entice a friend to go along with me?" So, I got out my trusty little computer who ( yes, I said 'who' because it, I mean, 'she', always answers my every question), boot her up, and type in "Things to Do".Well, wouldn't you know, there popped up a Bluegrass concert in Brevard, NC.

Now, when it comes to Bluegrass, there is no stopping me. I absolutely love Bluegrass, but it is often hard to find concerts, so I convince a friend that this is the thing we should do, and off we go. It was a very pleasant drive up to Brevard. (We actually found a town for sale.) We were in good spirits because we anticipated a nice dinner followed by a relaxing bluegrass concert. Nah-dah, it didn't quite happen that way.

First of all, I forgot to write down the exact name of the venue, or even the directions. We drove around, looking, thinking there must be signs for something so big and fabulous, asked almost everyone we saw where this concert was taking place ( turns out there are a lot of new people in this town, and they know nothing about it or where anything is located). We even parked where a girl and guy were singing what sounded like bluegrass in front of a brewery. Actually they weren't too bad, and we even thought about sitting there listening to them and just pretending we had found our concert, but after an afternoon of searching, we were hungry, and the brewery only served brew and maybe a few hot dogs, so we left our concert and headed for greener pastures and a further search for our concert ( which we never found). However, we did do some awesome window shopping, picked up fantastic miniature pine cones along the sidewalk, and found a very interesting church ( more about that in a future installment). The town also has the sound of birds recorded that play over speakers every few minutes, so it feels like you are walking in a natural setting. There seemed to be interesting things around every corner. From a little bronze fox to a Kudzu moose, from a giant toy soldier to a vintage bike, from a CitiBloc train to a K'Nex ferris wheel, from Easter Bunnies and fantasy flowers to handcrafted purses, the quest for the elusive Bluegrass concert turned out to be a nice little adventure.

I am not sure how my friend felt about the afternoon, but I don't think it was a total "bust". We met a lot of interesting people, explored a town, eventually ate a good meal, and even had fun doing it. We ate a late dinner at a local steakhouse where they served the best cheese biscuits I have EVER tasted, so the day ended well. That is just how we sometimes ramble in the South.

Copyright 2014 Violet Rebecca Jones