Thursday, October 28, 2010

Wandering With The Willoughbys, Country Style

Mr. Willoughby and I had an opportunity to do some wandering on Wednesday afternoon while the kids were in school. We started out by heading to the nearby town of Romeo. There are some great stores, cafes and restaurants in the older, quaint downtown area.  There is a newer section of town with chain stores and fast food restaurants a few miles up the road, but we didn't go there.

You may not have heard of Romeo, but I'll bet you've heard of one it's more famous citizens, Bob Richie. No? Maybe you know him by his stage name, Kid Rock. I'll bet you thought he was from Detroit. Nope, he's a country boy from this charming little town.

Courtesy Google Images
We didn't see Bob, I mean Kid Rock, while we were wandering and window shopping, but I did snap some pictures of some other sights.

 The red brick of the church against the brilliant blue sky is striking, isn't it?

 I'm not sure if this is still a hardware store, but I love the old sign painted directly on the brick.


 This time capsule is buried in a small community park.  It is scheduled to be opened in 2060.


 If they had been open, we might have been tempted to stop in for some ice cream.


 I wonder if Bob eats here when he comes back home?  We didn't go in, but it sure
did smell delicious when we walked by!


 This Thai restaurant is so new that it isn't even open yet. 
The owner is a friend of Mr. Willoughby's
so I'm sure we'll be back.  

 If you're thinking of visiting, you can fly right into Romeo.  It's one of the smallest airports I've ever seen.  Remember the airport on the show Wings?  Romeo airport is even smaller.  I would have taken
a picture of the terminal, but it's a half mile down the road, past the
hangers and runways.


After we left Romeo, we took the back roads home, where there are dozens of farms.  I never get tired of looking at barns.  

 I'm not sure that this old barn would still be standing if it weren't for all the trees growing in, around and through it.  I think they are actually holding it up.


 I wonder what they grow at this farm?  They have several huge barns and lots of silos. 
As you can see, the field has already been cut down.


 I don't know what this is called, but they were filling it when we drove by.  I think that's corn 
inside it. 


This road leads back into the town we live in.  I snapped this picture because I was amazed at the
cloud formations.  It reminds me of ocean waves crashing into the shore.

If only we were having a party....


Growing up in the suburbs, I never ran across a sign for deer processing. 
Around here there seems to be one on every corner.

 
Back at home, we did a little wandering through the yard.  We were surprised to find
this cayenne pepper still growing.


When the wind blows, the leaves on this sumac look almost like flames.


Another little pop of color.  This spiderwort is still blooming among the fall leaves.

After the kids got home from school, the sky started to get dark.  We had to hurry out to get
our pumpkins for Halloween. 


We ended up at a roadside stand where pumpkins were $3.00 each.  Our daughter put
the money in the "honor box". 


Our wandering nearly complete, we came across this place.  Against the gray sky and the bare tree it looks a little like a scary, haunted house, doesn't it?  
It isn't, it's just......





Willoughby



7 comments:

ChristineM said...

Beautiful pics! I actually had heard of Romeo before (yes, it was some show about Bob/Kid!) and it sounds like a nice town! Sounds like you had a nice day!

Holly Lefevre said...

That was a delightful trip through town with you. I enjoyed wandering with the Willoughby's. I just adore small towns like that...the heart of America!

Unknown said...

What a wonderful romp through your part of the world. I love barns, too. I still have cayenne growing as well. A local farmer sells his tomatoes, squash and cucumber by the "honor" system as well. And I would love to come by for a visit and say "Hi" to your ghosty friends too!

As Holly said: this was delightful!

Purple Flowers said...

A wonderful post to take us through little town America. I love those small towns. And I like your photos!!

Matty said...

Thanks for the tour. It seems to have that quaint, small town feel to it. And I do know someone famous from that town.....YOU.

Betty Manousos said...

What a great small town!
Thanks for this lovely pictorial tour through this place.

Beautiful photos too!

Big hugs!

B xx

Joanna Jenkins said...

And "honor box"! How perfect is that.

Looks like a really beautiful and charming tour. It reminds me a lot of my hometown.

Happy Halloween, jj