Rambling Southern Style: Hunting and Fishing Wonderland Comes to the City

by Violet Rebecca Jones

In the South, we sometimes get excited about mundane things that other parts of the country take for granted. Take this week,for example. The local TV news programs have been broadcasting live pictures of the grand opening of +Cabella's new store, and actually devoting huge segments of air time to the interior and all its features.

They showed pictures of the interior like it was +Disney's latest theme park. Well, wouldn't you know, I had to see this place. I got "sucked" in like all the rest. The only difference is that I waited until the record-breaking crowds slowed down, and one could actually find a parking place. There apparently were close to thirty-five hundred people there on opening day! I waited two days, and the crowds had definitely dwindled to only a thousand, or so, people.

I have to admit that I didn't tour the entire store. My leg was hurting ( an old injury and surgery), so I looked at part of it and then found myself a nice wooden bench, and then a nice leather chair by the fireplace ( yes, there was a fire even though it was 83 degrees outside) to sit in while friends continued their perusal of this wonderland for hunting and fishing enthusiasts. Unfortunately, they said I missed the best part--the cafe and fudge-making shops! Oh well, I definitely did not need any more food and certainly not any fudge! However, I did smell the wonderful aroma of the fudge which filled the entire store. It was heavenly.

I did enjoy the aquarium, but the stuffed animals were a little sad. I kept thinking how much they had probably enjoyed roaming free in the wild. However, one mounted wild boar looked really vicious, so I didn't feel all that sorry for him. On the strange side, one deer had a very weird antler with one "prong" that curled backwards only on one side. Puzzling...!

There was an indoor archery range which people were lined up to use, and it brought to mind +Hunger Games or Daryl on TV's +The Walking Dead. I would have liked to try it out, but the line was far too long.

They did have a nice camping section which I liked. I used to love camping when I was younger, and the tents and equipment brought back pleasant memories. They even had a campfire burning. I could almost taste the S'mores.

Children really loved this place. From climbing onto all the four-wheelers, to having their picture taken with the suited mascots of animals, to the trout-fishing tank and the child size archery range, they were excited about it all. When one little guy caught a trout in the children's fishing pond, the entire crowd cheered. His smile was a mile wide.

One woman came in wearing a beaded evening gown. I guess she saw me looking at her ( I know, you are not supposed to stare, but who could help it?) . She came over to me and explained that they were in a wedding earlier in the day. Another wanted me to watch for her elderly husband who had left her purse in a shopping cart while he went to the restroom. She wanted me to tell him she found her purse, and had checked out...I hope he made it home okay. Actually, I hope she really was his wife! He looked a little worried when he saw the purse was gone.

I guess today's "rambling" was a little unusual, but it was better than watching reruns on TV.

Copyright 2014 Violet Rebecca Jones