MAGIC EVERY EVERYWHERE!

Just got home from North Carolina, I spent five days in Charlotte at the Christian Lifestyle Expo.
I had a GREAT time! I arrived last Thursday evening and spent the night at the home of Larry and Jean Bryan, my friend Wils mom and dad. Larry was the promoter of the Exposition. He used to do that sort of thing for a living. The coolest thing I noticed right away was this HUGE fish on the wall of their recreation room. Notice the lure hanging from the mouth of the beast!
The story goes something like this:
In 1985 0r 1986, Larry and Jean went to Hawii for their 15th wedding anniversary. They decided to go deep sea fishing and Lo and behold, Larry hooks into this beautiful Blue Marlin. He was using 80 pound test line and the fish took four hours to land! It weighed in at 935 1/2 pounds!!! Say that again! Nine Hundred and Thirty-Five and a half pounds! WOW! Talk about a whopper! (80 pound test line!)
They got the whole thing on video too! Talk about the right time and place. The thing cost about $3500.00 to send it back home. I heard that they won some contest by a local Charlotte radio station that picked up the tab on the shipping costs! SWEET!

FRIDAY:
Friday rolls in and we head to the Expo. I help pick up some plants and sod and generally make myself useful. The Expo opens at 5pm sharp. A slow night as can be expected for a Friday night. Also, the ACC basketball tournament was going on at the same time. I performed a nice magic set at about 6:30 pm. That's why I was there you know! All went well and everyone enjoyed the magic. A wonderful clown troupe was there as well. They were very gracious to me and let me use their sweet sound system! They are called, "In His Name Ministry."
Got to bed late Friday and set up for Saturday...

Saturday:
A full day planned, two performances and dinner with my wifes' cousin Stan and his wife Mary Lou. Stan and Mary Lou planned a full blown Irish dinner with corned beef and cabbage and potatoes. The cabbage was picked fresh that day from their own garden.
We enjoyed the time together.
As for the magic on Saturday,!
All went well but one little faux pas which this writer shall choose to ignore here, other than to learn from it. Ha!
I performed four shows, each included the cups and balls, and the torn and restored newspaper that Sterling Dietz and his family allowed me to perform. It was a smash hit with everyone!
My new friends Issabelle and Brayden!

Also included in my sets were the Acrobatic Knot, Linking rings, Cut and Restored Ropes, Professors Nightmare, Egg Bag, Lassoing a Card, Vanishing Bandanna, Chinese Sticks, Floating Card, and Ring, Rope, and Wand. I had enough material to make two or three different shows. I also spent a lot of time doing walk around magic for the other merchants. It was great to perform for them. They seemed to really enjoy the "break" in their day.

Sunday:
A traditional day of rest, but not this day. I got up early and went to church with Larry and Jean. They attend a large church with loud traditional music. The church service was full, well attended. That's to be expected in "the bible belt" of America. After church we headed to the expo. The last day of the Expo was the most crowded. I performed one set and later that evening Wil and I drove to Boone, North Carolina. Named after Daniel Boone, the famous American frontiersman.
Boone is a little college town where the Appalachian State University Mountaineers are located. It is a beautiful campus and the city is full of small shops and antique stores. Wil and I stayed up til about 2 a.m. sharing magic and stories.

Monday morning and Wil took me to breakfast, afterward we headed to The Bald Guy's coffee house.(http://www.baldguybrew.com) Outside the coffee house was the wonderful aroma of roasting coffee beans. Inside was the owner Don, known locally as the Bald Guy! He was roasting a fresh supply of coffee beans when we arrived.

After meeting him, Wil had to spend some time working in his own coffee house, known as the BeansTalk. It was hopping with customers all day. Wil supports the Bald Guy by buying and using his coffee in his own coffee house. I came home with two pounds of this wonderful coffee.
Since Wil had to work, he loaned me his ride and I went out and about on my own. I explored the Mountaineers campus and the city of Boone.
When Wil got off work he took me up to a neat lookout and rock climbing place above the city, it is called Howards Knob. This is the view of Boone from the Knob!after that he drove me back to his parents home so I could spend the night there and head home to Seattle the next morning. On the way to his parents house, the sun was setting and I snapped this picture from his speeding truck or the Blue ridge mountains, you can see why they are called Blue ridge!