Vacation Pros and Woes

I just got back from what I'm calling my Spring Break. We went to west Georgia. A friend of Dad's owns a cabin up there on around ten acres of land.




It's gorgeous up there; remote; surrounded by trees, with a small lake; hills to walk up and down, avoiding the trees all the while. It was quiet. At night, you could see the stars so clearly; during the day, the air feels clean and fresh and you can see for miles into the distance. You can't get cell phone reception without climbing to the top of a hill a quarter mile away; there's no internet, no cable, and almost no modern distractions. I say almost; the cabin has electricity, hot and cold running water, and a TV with VCR and DVD player. It was anything but boring.

We swam in the lake, hiked the trails, and went canoeing and fishing. We grilled out, made a fire and roasted apples and marshmallows. We did all the things you're supposed to do in the middle of (not quite) nowhere, including pulling ticks out of our flesh. Sorry, no pictures of that last activity. Maybe next time.

'WE' consists of Mom, Dad, my oldest sister Esther with her baby Jacob, my siblings Liza, Matthew, and Lydia, and my two little squirts - my brother Ben's kids, Theo and Naomie. Liza, Matthew, Theo, Naomie, and myself all slept in the loft. Theo talked in his sleep, loudly, right next to my ear, every single night of the four days we were there; outside of that, he was a perfect doll...if a doll asks "Why?" about everything.

Baby Jacob was a joy to have there. He didn't fuss unless he was hungry or ready for bed, and Dad put up a homemade baby gate on the steps of the front porch so the little chunky monkey could crawl around at will. This is my favorite picture of him, grinning through the railings of the porch.

Isn't he just adorable?

The weather was perfect. It was chilly, but by ten in the morning, you could take off your jacket and enjoy the breeze and sun. It's dry up there, not damp like here in Florida, so 60 degrees felt like 70 to us. We went out in the canoe a lot, even Mom.


Matthew was so daring out there that he went standing up.


I was a little less confident in my abilities, and a little more sure that I wanted to stay dry.


While we were out canoeing, the kids enjoyed the lake in a different way. No less fun, let me assure you.

Here's the dock after we fixed it.

It was the launching point! for many a grand adventure.

Fishing...

Liza's turning into a beautiful young lady. She turned 15 a couple weeks ago! I feel old...


Resting...Hi, Mom...There's Dad reading Louis L'Amour...


And more...







It was a wonderful time.


...I am so glad it's over!