101 New Things Update

 

It's time for a quick update on my quest to do 101 new things this year. As of the last update I was up to 27 things. Here are my new things to add to the list. The last 11 items were added on a recent vacation to North and South Carolina and Georgia. We had a great time and did many other new things, such as dining places, that I did not add to the list as I want the list to be "bigger" new things. I did add another coffee shop because I do enjoy the experience of a new coffee shop and I added one restaurant because it is well know and more of a tourist attraction too. 

28. CJ's Coffee shop

29. Rattlesnake Roundup Okeene, OK

30. Spiro Mounds exhibit at Western Heritage Museum

31. Drove part of Blue Ridge Parkway including 2 tunnels

32. North Carolina Arboretum

33. Tour of Biltmore Estate- Asheville, NC

34. Hilton Head Island Beach

35. Lady & Sons Restaurant (Paula Deen)- Savannah, GA

36. Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Savannah, GA

37. Prohibition Museum in Savannah, GA

38. Slave Mart museum in Charleston, SC

39. Ghost Tour in Charleston, SC

40. Ft Sumter

41. Boone Plantation in Charleston, SC

42. Bennington Civil War Battlefield

Now a few notes. I do not like snakes at all. I went to the rattlesnake roundup because it definitely  would be a new thing and "you never know 'til you go". When we got there the vendors were few and were just setting up. We made a quick pass around the vendors and then went to the Den of Death. As we waited outside a small livestock barn to pay our $5 entry fee at a desk, we could hear the loud rattle sound of many, many, many snakes. I had chills just thinking about what was around the corner in this building. We entered and at the far end was a plexiglass corral set up and full of rattlesnakes. Two handlers were inside pushing the snakes around and talking to the idiots like me paying to look at this Den of Death. All those snakes creeped me out! After taking a few photos we noticed an older man, maybe early to mid 70's enter the den with the two other handlers in their 30's. He began kicking at a few snakes and then used a metal hook to separate one from the bunch. I'm guessing from the respect that the other two handlers were giving him, he must have been the expert that has been doing this for 50 plus years. He put the hook on the snake's head about 3 times while putting his boot on the snake's body. But each time he began to reach down the snake would shake it's head loose from the metal hook. On the fourth or fifth try, the man reached down to grab the snake behind the head with his hand. I already noticed the man had a little shake to his hand and thought to myself, "should he really be doing this at his age". He reached down, the snake wiggled and the next thing I see is the man jumping back and shaking his hand. I heard "He got me" as he put his hook down and walked to the door out of the den. Then we see the workers finding someone to take him to the hospital. 

                            Me defying death!  He is much closer than it looks!  

The above story demonstrates several of my posts including Taking Risks in Retirement and Everyday Life, You Never Know 'Til You Go, and most importantly I Think I Can. I hope the gentleman got the anti-venom and everything worked out for him. And you know his wife had a thing or two to say to him. One thing I was amazed at is that you could register to hunt rattlesnakes by buying a $10 lifetime hunting license. I asked the lady, "So, anyone can pay $10 and just head out to hunt rattlesnakes?" She said "Yes". You pay your $10, plus you could rent a snare and then they give you a map to a local ranch and you could hunt on several, 1 mile sections. That is just bonkers! You pay $10, get a snare and off you go! "Good luck, I hope you catch the biggest one"! You have got to be kidding me. To me, I think you need a 2 year apprenticeship before you go off after deadly vipers. 

We had a great vacation. I got to see a few cannon along the way. I got to see Ft. Sumter, the first battle of the Civil War and stumbled upon the Bennington Battlefield which was one of the last few battles of the war. The Biltmore Estate was unbelievable and is a must see for everyone. Savannah and Charleston are charming old cities but with a disturbing history. My wife has been wanting to go on a ghost tour for sometime, so she can scratch that one off her list. She even caught a few photos with blue orbs in them. The tour guide had explained that spirits in that area come up as blue orbs! I'll take orbs over rattlesnakes any day!!

Biltmore Estate

Cathedral in Savannah

Ft Sumter