October was super busy. We had something going on every weekend.
October 2nd:
The annual Hanger B Ball, a charity event for Spartanburg Regional Hospital. Our dear friends Joy and Wayne graciously get us tickets every year. This year was the best ever. One of my favorite bands, The Little River Band, performed and we had a ball they are one of those bands from the 70's that had hit after hit and you can still sing along because you heard them so often you still have the lyrics in your mind. The food was great as usual. Some of our other friends from Church were there so we really enjoyed it.
October 3rd:
Alan Jackson Concert at the BiLo Center in Greenville. Alan put on a terrific concert as usual. He tries to sing as many of his hits as he can but there is no way in a two hour concert. Trace Atkins was there also. We're not fans of his. All in all, it was a great show and we had a great time.
October 4th:
Greer SC Oktoberfest: We had fun listening to Oomph music, drinking German beer and eating brats. It was all great. The funniest thing was a duo (two ladies) who sang and played the keyboard and accordion. It was like watching the Saturday Night Live skit Will Ferrel use to do. But they were serious. What a hoot.
October 6th:
This was our daughter Kristen's birthday. We did the traditional phone calls and send gift cards but since it was a work day, that's about all we could do. She is 29, the age we all want to be and remain at. Sorry daughter, you want be there but a year so hang on to it and enjoy it as much as you can while you're there.
October 11th:
Our Empty Nester Group at Church had their annual Oktoberfest at the home of Donnie and Ed Barnes. We had around 30 there and boy did we chow down on some great German food. This was a fun evening socializing with our Church buds. Never a dull moment with this crowd. Pictured above are friends MaryAnn and Fred in their German attire.
October 13th:
I was summoned for jury duty this week and the next. Luckily I wasn't chosen but it really messed up my week. It was a capital murder trial and I really struggled with the thought of having decide if someone would live or be put to death. Turns out the jury that was chosen did find him guilty and gave him the death penalty.
October 18th:
We had a party at our friends Jim and Mary. We played board games, ate lots of good food, and just laughed and talked while I stepped out every few minute to catch up on the USC (That's the University of South Caroline of course, not Southern Cal) and LSU game. We lost but it was a great game and we played well. Go Gamecocks now 7 and 3.
October 25th:
We attended a party at our friends Danny and MaryAnn. They had a great Halloween party. Susan and I went as a Monk and Nun. I won best male costume. Susan got beat out by a "Death by Chocolate" costume. It was a woman dressed as a Grim Reaper with chocolate bars attached to her. Very original I guess but Susan looked like a real nun. She wore it to work on Halloween day and she had several students and even a staff member asked her to bless them. Too funny.
October 27th:
We, once again, took the Main Street Trolley Ghost tour of Spartanburg. This was a great tour last year and we really enjoyed it so we had to do it again. Well, this year's tour was very different. I enjoyed last year's more but this year was interesting. They had members of the "Upstate Paranormal Society" leading the tour and they were more into bragging about all of there ghost hunting adventures than trying to make the tour exciting. We drove through the old Oakwood Cemetery and turned off all the lights. The guide gets out of the trolley and walks around in the grave yard with a wireless mic. It get very creepy during that part.
October 31st:
We ended October with Halloween of course. Susan stayed home and gave out treats to the neighborhood while I helped with the Trunks of Treats event at Church. The event was well attended. We had about 350 there and everyone had a great time. This is JOY's premier community outreach event each year. Susan said we had lots of cute kids come by and she and Zoey, in her bumble bee costume enjoyed the evening at home. Susan's friend Denise brought by her son Spenser (pictured above). Also, the little girls we babysit for sometimes came by.
November 1st:
We went to a barbecue and concert at the Carolina Country club with our oldest and dearest friends JOY and Wayne and Joy's sister Ann. This was a charity event for the daughter of an employee at the hospital where Wayne works. They had an auction and one of Spartanburg's local bands from the 60's and 70's Rob and the Mob. We had a great night and ate some good food. Thanks, Joy and Wayne, for a fun evening and for our tickets. Can't wait 'til the Gatlinburg weekend coming soon.
November 8th:
Our Empty Nester group from Church had our second annual wine tasting event. This was lots of fun and we got to try some really unusual wines. One of the members of our group is a real wine expert and he does a great job of setting up the event and leading us through the tasting.
