Our First Pig Killing Festival!

Okay, apparently the word is out... most of you know I love a festival. Just about any kind of festival. So when a friend told us that another friend wanted to invite us to his family's rural mountain home for a festival, we marked the calendar!

We asked around to see what type of soire that particular minority might be hosting on the date, no one knew... until one friend suggested,

"Oh! Maybe it's a PIG KILLING festival!"

Hmmm...

So on the designated morning we piled into a little van to head into the mountains. We had to stop several times before we ever left the city -- to buy gifts for the family, to fix a tire, and to let several wedding processions pass. Turns out weddings happen not on a particular day of the week or in certain common months, but on certain days that bode well according to the zodiac, the phases of the moon, etc. So this happened to be a "favorable" day and we saw several parades of wedding parties.

This rural group was headed in to town. People loaded into the back of a truck or tractor isn't out of the ordinary at all, but the red character in the window designates the happy couple! (Don't worry, the hotrod above is not our ride!)

Matt stopped for a potty break while the van was being jacked up for a tire patch
(with my girls and our friends IN it!)
Isn't it funny how short it is??

The beautiful mountainside scenery rolls on and on.

This is my friend from the roadside stand near the "tire shop." She had me sit down and we chatted... to the best of my ability!

Once on the road again, we realized our ETA was about 3 hours (and a whole lotta bends and curves!) off. We were told it wouldn't be curvy and that it would take half an hour... so we didn't use our precious Dramamine. BIG mistake. Poor Laney lost it, and most of the adults were pretty iffy, too.

Our friend's childhood pal was kind enough to let her move up front with him. She promptly fell asleep on his lap -- then woke up puking all over him! Poor baby (and poor guy)!

Can you make out the road in the background???

This remote mountain area was pristine and quiet.

Check out the massive basketball court!

The road crew, above, is working with a small cement mixer, a hoe and a pickaxe.

...Right above an excessively steep dropoff.

Quite a road, huh? It plummets down into the valley and then climbs back up -- just as all the mountain roads do again and again.

(You might have some idea why poor Laney got sick!)