This is the beginning of a new phase. Molli has to be at work this morning and we wil still be using only one car. Four of us to get ready at the same time. Still dark out. Wish us luck.

Yesterday we went to the 11:00 service, even though we were not involved. We sat together in the congregation. The pews were packed and a man with a walker (George) had to get up so we could squeeze in. At one point, Elisa reported, Ray and I were both dozing. Hmm.

After the service was the Men's Lunch. All the food was brought by men, although I happen to know of at least one case where the wife did the actual cooking of the brownies!

After the lunch, I had to lead the Leadership Council meeting. There were only a few people there, but it went well.

By two, we were on the road to Greenville, SC. It was less than two hours and went smoothly. (I did not fall asleep, fortunately, since I was driving while Ray worked on his quiz.) We got to the Greenville Zoo about 4:00, paid $20 for the three of us, and spent an hour seeing everything. That was actually enough time, because it was very cold and we didn't want to spend more time than that outside. Lions, leopards, many primates (who made a racket), and Elisa's favorite, alligators. The reptile house was popular because it was warm!

Then we had an hour and a half to kill. We drove through a historic neighborhood, where all the houses looked like the one I moved to when I was 10, except in better condition. We parked downtown (for free!) and spent some time at the Mast General Store--a really fun and quite inexpensive store that has everything. Kitchen items, clothes, games...

The first restaurant I picked out was closed on Sundays. The second was a pub--in fact, a Belgian gastropub! We ordered something to drink and looked at the menu and enjoyed the ambiance. At 6:30, Ray strolled next door to the bus station. They were back in no time. Molli was happy to have something to eat!

three mousses

The menu was wonderful--so many interesting things. In fact, they have six different kinds of mussels with French fries (ok, Belgian fries) and sauces. She had coq au vin, Ray had sausages, Elisa beef stew (with fries) and I had a seafood dish I had never heard of before: waterzooi, a sort of Belgian ratatouille, served with crusty bread for soaking up the broth. We also had cheese croquettes while we waited for Molli (and I had an old-fashioned, not like my mother used to make--for one thing, there was no fruit in it!). Ray had a big salad and we all had dessert. There were too many that we wanted: waffles for Elisa, mousse for me (three kinds), waffle balls for Molli, and cherry crepes for Ray.

We were back on the road a little after 8 and home by 10, quite a satisfactory adventure. Riding in the car seems to be the worst for my back, though, possibly compounded by walking around in the cold.