April 17, Tuesday – One More Checked Off The Bucket List

One more place checked off our bucket list.  But first, some people say that they have a black cloud following them.  That’s not us.  What’s following us, though, I believe is an arctic cold front which has hitched a ride on our back bumper.  Maybe it’s me but wherever we have gone recently a cold front is just around the corner.  Proof?  We woke this morning with the temperature hovering around 47 degrees!  This is getting down right ridiculous.  Warm weather, spring weather where, oh where ,are you?

Well, anyway, a few short steps and we were in a warm house after waking up this morning.  We were on a mission this morning, to check off another place on our bucket list.  We were going to the whirligig park in Wilson, North Carolina.  It was going to be a long ride but so what we have nothing but time on our hands.

But before I get into that.  Some say that I get all the toys for Graybeard and that poor Barbara never gets a thing.  Well, as we know yesterday she finally got the cherry red pots she’s had her eye on for some time.  Today, she got another I would really like to have item.  This time it was a patio mat for outside our front door.  A good way to add some

class to future sites we’ll stay at and an even better way to keep from tracking dirt inside.

Now for that place we checked off our bucket list today.  It is known today as the Vollis 

Simpson Whirligig Park in Wilson, North Carolina.  Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park and Museum is part of a public/private partnership that includes the City of Wilson, Wilson Downtown Properties, Wilson Downtown Development Corporation, and others.

The so-called artist behind the creations in the park was a man known as Vollis Simpson.

 

Now Vollis Simpson never called himself an artist.  He began making gigantic kinetic sculptures at his family farm in Wilson County when he was nearing retirement age. He kept making his “whirligigs”–seven days a week–until about six months before he died at the age of 94 in May of 2013. When he died in 2013, the New York Times described Simpson as “a visionary artist of the junkyard…who made metal scraps into magnificent things that twirled and jangled and clattered when he set them out on his land.”

The field of these “whirligigs” soon began attracting the attention of local people, and after the rise of the Internet, visitors from out-of-state. Without any official advertising, Simpson’s farm became one of Wilson County’s top tourism destinations.

The Whirligigs incorporate highway and road signs, HVAC fans, bicycles, ceiling fans, mirrors, stovepipes, I-beams, pipe, textile mill rollers, ball bearings, aluminum sheeting, various woods, steel rods, rings, pans, milkshake mixers and many more such materials form the support and moving parts.

Simpson cut decrepit road signs into one-inch and larger squares so that the whirligigs would be reflective at night.

Images inside the whirligigs are farm animals and people; references to Simpson’s experiences, such as the many WWII era airplanes; lumberjacks sawing wood; and a guitar player based on Simpson’s son.

As Simpson’s health declined he wasn’t able to grease or paint the 40′-50′ tall sculptures that were made from recycled industrial parts and endured rain, sun, and hurricanes for thirty years. It became clear that without intervention, Wilson’s number one attraction would soon disappear. In 2010, a plan was announced to create the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in Historic Downtown Wilson. Simpson was delighted that his work would survive and continue to delight people for generations to come.

Today the park is a reality.  30 of his original creations are now at the park restored and persevered for future generations.  And here they are for you to see and marvel at.  We hope you enjoy them as much as we did when we were there today.

So there you have them.  Much more impressive when you see them first hand all in motion.  We are definitely glad we made the time to go to the park knowing we may never have the chance again.

Back home again we settled in for the afternoon.  Picking up on the I’m retired theme I promptly took my afternoon nap.  After that I did a few odds and ends around Graybeard, Barbara continued to attack our laundry.  Can you imagine how much she would have had if I changed my t-shirts every day instead of every week!  I do my part to make life easy for her.

By the way someone asked since I’m always talking about the two of us traveling down the road side by side, singing our song – what is your song?  I guess the words from the Willie Nelson song best fit us:

On the road again
Just can’t wait to get on the road again
Goin’ places that we’ve never been
Seein’ things that we may never see again And we can’t wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We’re the best of friends
Insisting that the world keep turning our way

Now for supper.  I’ve been waiting for this since we got here.  German potato pancakes, pot roast, and chocolate eclair cake for dessert.  Thanks mom for making one of my favorite meals.  I do believe Graybeard is going to be a bit down on the left front by the time we leave here.

So the day is done.  It has been one super day all around.  A day spent together, enjoying life to the fullest.  Hope you enjoyed your day as well.  If only everyone could have as much fun as we are I believe the world would be so much better.

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.  Thanks again for sharing our day with us.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

 

 

Read more: Willie Nelson – On The Road Again Lyrics | MetroLyrics