Bolding Mill COE Campground, Gainesville, GA

Within an hour of our arrival, 3/5 of us were swimming in our private lagoon,
part of Lake Sidney Lanier. We stayed in Site 23.

Easy to get to, easy to drive through to our site, and amazing views of the lake.  Here we had our first family lake swimming experience (3 of us anyway), someone had their first marshmallow ever, and nature surrounded us in this, what felt like our own private getaway.  This was the perfect place for us to land after descending that mountain.  We only booked one night, but we decided we had to return.

My morning view.  We only stayed one night. Our outdoor setup is a work in progress.
But this was the best morning view yet, despite the wet clothes and styrofoam cooler (which the boys found in the woods).

Amicalola Falls State Park

My morning view at Amicalola Falls State Park - 4 mornings

Although the road to this site was more rough than we had imagined, we spent 4 nights at this mountaintop getaway.  This 4-night stay involved hiking, biking, clay-making, firefly catching, waterfall viewing, and other details I’ll write about at a later time. Suffice it to say that we will not be climbing too many more mountain roads like this one with our BG.

On the road. A.H. Stephens Historic State Park

Our morning view at A.H. Stephens Historic State Park, in Crawfordville, GA

While we stayed only one night here, on our way to the north Georgia mountains, we would go back. It was easy to get to, and we had the perfect first night on the road at this beautiful, well-kept campground east of Atlanta. We stayed in site 8.

We had hot dogs and burgers from the grill, roasted marshmallows, and sat by the fire. We felt the excitement of our first night camping as a family...finally our hard work was starting to pay off.

On our way to the campground, we stopped at our first backwoods country grocery store. It was fully stocked with everything some people might want, but it was far from what we were used to in northern Virginia or Florida. The most memorable item we bought was frozen country peas. When we ate them days later, the boys all went back for seconds and third of beans.

We prepared for months, sorting, donating, selling and paring down our possessions. We still own way too much. I’m embarrassed to say we moved in a 25 foot truck and filled it. I dream of going back to our storage unit one day with new perspective and getting rid of half or more of everything. But we were rushed toward the end. Or we didn’t keep our priorities in order. Of life just kept happening and then moving day came and we packed up what was left and put it away for safe keeping.

Saying goodbye again

It seems three years ago I wrote about saying goodbye to our friends in Monrovia, CA.  I was moved to tears today just re-reading the post, firstly because I still remember those special people and places and they hold a special place in my heart.  Secondly, we just moved again, away from more special people.  Let me take a moment to say how fortunate we have been to meet such adventurous and intelligent and kind and helpful and caring people in the towns where we have lived.

Tall trees

The house is silent, except for the intermittent heat clicking on and off. I think it's 30-something degrees outside.  I'm sitting alone drinking a cup of joe. And as I look out the large picture window, I think I may be on vacation. 

The trees are so, so, so tall. I can see the blue sky peaking around the branches with teeny tiny green buds.  This purple flower tree (I wish I were better about identifying trees!) is painted in front of the tall trees in the distance.  

The plentiful arrangement of tall trees, the almost-bare branches, the silent house, the space in time for noticing--this stuff happens on cabin vacations.  But I'm not on vacation! I'm sitting in my living room. 

Saying goodbye

This is our last night sleeping in this house that we have loved for 2-1/2 years.  Luke was in diapers when we arrived, and John was 3. We have made beautiful memories in this house, in our yard here, and in our neighborhood. I'm sad to say goodbye.  

We have been saying goodbyes all week, and the hardest ones seem to be coming last.  Yesterday we said goodbye to two boys with whom John and Luke spent almost 2 years riding bikes around town.  Today I said goodbye to a friend who I immediately liked the day we met, and we've gotten closer ever since.  Tomorrow we say goodbye to the boys' school and our special friends with whom  we have made so many memories and grown so much over the past couple of years.  Friday are the two hardest goodbyes. My heart hurts even thinking about it.