Very Happy Mother's Day at the Bull Hole in Cooleemee, NC

My boys took me to the Bull Hole in Cooleemee, North Carolina today for Mother's Day. We didn't load up and carry the grill. After all, it's Mother's Day, and Mom grills a lot. So, grilling would not be a break and a special treat.

Instead, the guys got Bojangles chicken for a picnic. If you've never had Bojangles chicken, then you are missing out. While I can't tell you it's healthy, it's sure yummy Southern chicken and spicy.

My youngest son loves Bojangles so much that he set his GPS to show him the closest one when he's driving. No gas stations. No hospitals. Just Bojangles. We know his priorities.




The Bull Hole is a park in Cooleemee, NC. I think it was a dam used to power the mills back when Cooleemee was a mill town. I know, for sure, that it was a favorite hang out in the 70s for local teens. That probably (almost surely) was not legal. But, now they have turned it into a park.

The Bull Hole is still generally one of those off the beaten track places that not many people know about and visit. But, it sure is pretty, and it's fun. The atmosphere is rustic, to be sure, and you do not want to wear your nice clothes. It's the rare person who goes to the Bull Hole and doesn't fall in at some point.



The tailgate special at Bojangles is a good bet if you do not want to take the time to pack up the grill and prepare the food. The price is good too. Hit the drive through and be sure to ask for plates and sporks. And cups with ice for the great sweet tea. Then, you are all set.



I managed to cross over to the center at the Bull Hole without falling in. This may be a first. The bottom is really slick. We saw a lot of people who did wipe out including one girl who lost her cell phone. Leave valuables on the side before wading in the river. Otherwise, you may lose your stuff or get it wet.



We always meet new buddies at the Bull Hole. This is a Southern friendly kind of place.

For more photos, check out the Bull Hole Photo Album at Facebook.

Can you be a barbeque master and skinny too?

We had a church luncheon today--soup and salad with mega desserts. If I can't be at a barbecue, then a southern pot luck is the next best thing.

I went over to say "hi" to one of the dear church ladies. The first thing she says is, "Have you put on a lot of weight lately?" Hum. Is she searching for a conversation topic or spoiling for a fight? I kind of mumble, "Yeah probably." Really, what can you say in such a situation? This should end the topic I'd think, but she continues with more commentary. "Yeah. I looked over and thought, 'She sure has gained some weight,' then you stood up, and I thought, 'Not really.' I think your face is just puffy." This, of course, made me feel ever so much better.

In the south, folks are typically polite to a fault EXCEPT when it comes to weight. I have, in fact, added some pounds in the last 4 or 5 years, and it's rare to go out without someone making this keen observation. These are people who would probably never dream of telling you that you had broccoli stuck between your teeth or toilet paper caught on the bottom of your shoe. But, put on some weight and they sure like to talk about that and not behind your back.

It's not like I'm at risk of breaking the scales which I refuse to have in the house. I wear a 11 or 13 in Levi's and usually need a 14 in shirts due to being busty as they call it around here. Of course, the weight loss commercial today featured a woman who was so thrilled to have gone from an apparently gross size 10 to a 4 and was feeling absolutely fabulous. All I can say is that it's a good thing Marilyn Monroe didn't come of age in this era of anorexia as normal. I think she was a size 12 or 14, and she didn't have to apologize for it either.

I love to cook, and I love to eat. There would be something a bit suspect about someone who wrote about grilling and smoking and wouldn't eat the goods and was skinny as a bone. A body would have to wonder if she (or he) really did cook up good grub.

Then again, it's not much fun to deal with the "comments" when you're not the same size you were in 7th grade. I'm tempted to say that I have some terminal disease and the medications make me swell when someone asks about my weight. Might make them squirm a bit. But, then I'd probably get something terminal for telling fibs. So, I'm still just saying, "Yeah. Uh-huh" and then trying to redirect the conversation.

I told my guys not to bring me anything back from BoJangles today. Now, that's some good fast food eating. If you've never tried BoJangles, then you've got to check them out--spicy fried chicken, fluffy mashed potatoes, zippy dirty rice. Yum. The fellows wanted to know if I was feeling sick or something. When I finally confessed that I'd been called a fatso at church, they said to ignore it and enjoy my food and the ballgame. Apparently it would put a damper on their meal for me to skip. So, I had a wing and some sides and called it good.

Maybe I'll look at some lower calorie, lower fat recipes for the grill. Maybe not. I guess it depends on how many people tell me I look fat tomorrow.