SCOTTY McCREERY BROUGHT US TOGETHER AFTER 42 YEARS!
(TRIP TO GARNER, NORTH CAROLINA….PART I)

I will probably post a couple of blogs with lots of pictures of this experience. During this season’s American Idol Art and I were watching this cute, young man named Scotty on this popular tv show. As we watched him perform, I told Art that I thought he was very good and also had a sweet Southern charm about him. He said, “He’s from the town Garner, North Carolina. That’s where Annette and Bob live.” Annette and Bob were friends of ours 42 years ago when Art was stationed in Bad Ailbling, Germany while in the Army. We had just gotten married a year before and had three years to spend there without seeing our family, so our closest friends became our family while we were there. I took these pictures of our friends all those years ago. We had so much fun playing cards and spending time together. I was so young that when I had them over for dinner, I served CANDY APPLES for dessert! As you can see, we thoroughly enjoyed them. Annette is the beautiful auburn-haired girl and Bob is the one with the cigar. The blonde hunk is my Art.

(I was pregnant with Nikki in this picture)

This is a photo taken this month as we look now as we attended the CAROLINA OPRY in MYRTLE BEACH. What fun!



That night that we were watching Scotty on American Idol, I said, ‘Really…..Garner….?? Why don’t you just call them.” He picked up the phone right then and Bob answered. They were also watching Idol and Scotty. After telling Bob that we were coming through there in April to go to Myrtle Beach and we would like to stop in and take them out for dinner, they insisted we go with them to their beachfront condo for a week!!!!!!! Yeahhhhhhh! They have had a condo in Myrtle Beach about three hours away for years. That's fabulous, right? Okay….so some of you might think….”Crazy people! Going to stay with folks they haven’t seen in 42 years. Are they all nuts?” Well, turns out…..WE ARE!!!!! Art and I booked a flight out and away we flew to Garner. When we arrived in St. Louis to catch our flight, it was sleeting and a mess. My between-the-toe platforms and I did have a perilous flight! lol. Just getting to the airport was funny.
We were so excited to be getting away for 10 days, that the nasty weather wasn’t all that bad.

Annette and Bob picked us up at the airport and we had a glorious reunion. We arrived at their lovely home and to the most wonderful Southern hospitality that we have ever experienced. It was as though no time had passed and took up right where we left off….laughing, hugging and having a marvelous time together.



We took pictures of Garner at the grocery store where Scotty worked and here are a couple of those. They had “VOTE FOR SCOTTY” posters all over the store! We are so pleased that he is still IN IT TO WIN IT!




GO SCOTTY!!!! And THANK YOU FOR BRINGING US TOGETHER!!!!! I will post more pictures of our trip soon, so please stay tuned.
I am still playing catch-up. My folks were so glad for us to be back, but our granddaughter and our daughter took my place very nicely. Thanks you Nikki and Haley for taking such good care of them and Tigerlilly while we were gone.

AND….THANK YOU, MY SPARKIES, FOR MISSING ME!
Part 2 tonight….xxoo MaryAnn
Coming soon....MYRTLE BEACH PIC....
FAT HAROLDS
THE CAROLINA OPRY
MARGARITAVILLE
JOHNNY ROCKETS
HARD ROCK MYRTLE BEACH!!!!

THE LONGBRANCH IN RALEIGH