Here's part two! Ray and I didn't get a hotel in the Danville area. On Friday evening, we drove up to my parents' house from Illinois and commuted from there on Saturday morning to Danville and then returned to their house Saturday night. It was an hour and a half drive, so it was quite late when we got there. We decided to go to the service at West Bridge Church featuring the Dillards Sunday morning. Since that started at 9:00, we had to get up pretty early! But it was a beautiful morning and a pleasant drive. We were blessed by the service. Rodney and his wife Beverly both shared their testimonies, and Rodney spoke about the Mayberry values that are also biblical values. They played and sang several songs. Two of the band members are truly exceptional. George Giddons plays the fiddle and mandolin, and that guy is amazing. I am not exaggerating when I say that his playing nearly brought me to tears. Yeah, he's that good! Their newest band member is a young man who just turned eighteen (and has been homeschooled, by the way) but plays the banjo and guitar like someone who has been practicing for thirty years. I can't imagine how he's gotten that good at such a young age! I thought it said something that Maggie Peterson was there, even though she did not take part in the service. She was just one of the congregation that morning. We happened to be sitting behind her, so after the service I spoke to her. She is so very pleasant and friendly and always has a smile on her face. Ray took my picture with her. Rodney and Beverly had a stand with some CD's and pictures set up in the foyer, so we picked out a CD and a picture for Rodney to autograph. We chatted with him a bit, and Ray took my picture with him. George Giddons was standing by Rodney, so we struck up a conversation with him and wound up talking awhile. That man has a real passion for the Lord!
It was around 11:00 by this time, so we drove into town and found a place to park. There was no line yet in front of the Mayberry Café, so we decided to have lunch there. It was a great experience! The restaurant is decorated with all kinds of TAGS photos and related memorabilia, and there are TV's all over, all playing TAGS episodes continually. Plus, they have their own squad car that sits in front of the café. Well, that's enough of a reason to eat there, but the food is also wonderful, and the staff is very attentive. I highly recommend the Mayberry Café! We walked around the square afterwards and decided to visit the museum and museum annex. We spent a fair amount of time there because the displays were so interesting. The main museum was built in the 1860's as the combined jail and sheriff's residence. Though this is really about the history of Danville and Hendricks County, they did add some TAGS touches. For example, they set up one of the jail cells as Otis's cell! Then we went to the Royal Theater again to watch a couple more episodes of TAGS. The highlight of the afternoon was the Squad Car Nationals at Ellis Park. There were eight squad cars that participated. The drivers had to stop at several points along the way so the passenger could get out and perform various tasks such as Operation Pickle Switch, dipping out four bowls of white beans, mailing Barney's lucky letter, having a manicure, etc. Whenever the cars made a U-turn, Gomer was chasing after them shouting "Citizen's arrest!" Finally at 5:00 it was all over and time to go home. What a great weekend it was! The town of Danville did a great job putting on this event, and they say they plan to make it an annual one. Hooray! As a photographer, I had to take pictures of everything, and I came home with literally hundreds of them! I've been going through and editing them today, but it's going to take me some time to finish. I was hoping to meet some of the folks on the digest. I know some attended, but I never got to connect with them, which was disappointing. Maybe next year! Thelma Lou (Janet) _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list [email protected] http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
