Georgia (and Grandkids) on Our Mind

With masks in hand and a picnic lunch to avoid contacts,

we ventured south for a long postponed reunion with 

Amanda, Stephen, Bri, and Hunter.

This was the welcome in our guest room.  G'ma and G'pa.

That's how I sign our e-mails.  How sweet!

Board games and conversation could have filled the 

whole trip, but the Talberts had some special treats in store.

Tuesday morning we all headed to a little known gem of 

Georgia parks (not a state park): Sprewell's Bluff.

This is a view of Georgia's Flint River. You can't see the middle
of its horseshoe, but you get the picture.

Never would I have imagined a river like this in Middle Georgia.
It was free-flowing and stony, and you felt like you were a
million miles from civilization.  Which is our kind of place!

Us with Bri and Hunter at the overlook at the park entrance.

Proof we were there.

Ach! Something stinks!

Help! I don't think he's a vegetarian!

Preview of a new Disney series-- Kid Zombies!

In spite of Judy's sweater and Amanda's ear muffs, the rest of us
didn't think it was cold. Just cool enough to keep you from sweating
on a hike. And we're off!

Don't fall in!

Look close and you'll see Stephen at the top of this rock formation.
He and the kids found a way up while we were posing.

There was an interesting assortment of rocky sand bars.

It's a long way down from this overlook.

Happy Wanderers.

Ah, let's explore this little nook.

Grim Reapers?  I think not.

If you look at this right, you may see a bear.
Shadows can play some sneaky tricks.

Here's some of that good ol' Georgia red clay I've known since
boyhood.  Fortunately, it had been fairly dry, and we had no issue
avoiding mud.

Someone who precded us had built a little rock dam which
created a perfect pool for play.

The kids were ready for this after the hike.

These kids take to water like ducks.  So I guess they're not zombies.

This was the best place for skipping rocks that I'd seen in years.
Stephen did some masterful instruction and both kids had success.
I skimmed a bunch myself, as there was no shortage of ammunition.
I was careful not to throw my camera in.

Here's Bri in action.  Success!

Here's Hunter's successful skip.

There was a nice little trading post. Nothing we needed, but we
found a few items to save for Hunter's birthday. The park has
quite a few cabins and campers can get some supplies here.

On the journey home we stopped at this historic covered bridge.

It was the longest covered bridge Judy and I had ever seen.

The next day Amanda took us to a local park with

beautiful boardwalks and greenway trails, plus a pond

and wetland. We saw all kinds of interesting sights.

Here are the most interesting sights I saw-- my FAMILY!

Let's explore!

This huge snapping turtle was the first item of note. Apparently
he is used to people feeding him, but we didn't.

Bri and Judy doing scientific observation.

Amanda had friends that had reported seeing copperheads in this
park, so we were ultra cautious, but didn't see any snakes at all.

From the second boardwalk I saw this beautiful patch of Royal Fern.

It's hard to tell, but this tree is overgrown with Resurrection Fern,
which is my absolute favorite.

I love the inscription at the bottom of this plaque.
I would aspire to have similar things said of me.
But NOT until I'm dead and gone and I hope that's a long time!

This wasn't primarily a "play" park, but this slide and another
were a great reward for the kids after our hike. They got quite
a workout climbing this hill over and over for the thrill of a slide.

We were so thankful to get this pic with the kids before we came
home the next day. If it looks like Bri has grown a lot, she has.
So has Hunter.  But a disclaimer: Look closely and you'll see
that Bri is on stilts!

This is our "staged" goodbye photo.
The Talberts and Loyds kept waving all the way through their
neighborhood until we were out of sight. 

We had another picnic lunch on the way home and

were back in North Carolina before supper time.

Masks and all!

Can't wait till we see the Talbert crew again!