Best present ever

I got the best present ever from Emerson on his Birthday. We were playing on the floor with his balloons and he came over all by himself and gave me a hug and a kiss.

It was a REALLY special moment.

Riding the train

So you need to read this post from the bottom up. We took the Blueridge train to its destination which is a town that straddles Tennessee and Georgia. Lots of great scenary along the way and since the train is only going 10-15 miles per hour you have plenty of time to enjoy it. Each of the cars is an original and refurbished. I think the one we were in was from the 1930's

This is a fish trap built by Native Americans that lived in the area. It is many hundreds of years old.

You can read all about the history of the train and its cars as well as the sights along the way in this little pamphlet that now belongs to Emerson's library. ;-)

Ah isn't he cute. Emerson's favorite game on this ride was to go between Bry and Kim's outstretched arms that kept him in our little 4 spot place on the train. He had a blast doing that.

So I guess I will just post this backwards. Kim, Bry and Emerson joined us in the mountains for a couple of days and I thought Emerson might like a ride on the Blueridge train.... maybe next year :-), but he did LOVE the little $1 train that was perfect 2 yr old hand size to play with. It is quite a lazy 10-15 mile an hour ride to the nearby towns of Mckaysville, GA and Copperhill, TN. Pretty scenary but a very slow way to go. Very relaxing actually.

Ft. Mountain part 2

There is a great little hike out to an outlook where you can see the valley and Chattsworth. Trouble for Petey is it involves lots of metal grate stairs. Or maybe I should say trouble for Wood because Petey will eagerly dance up to the stairs and then stop and no amount of encouraging will get him to put his little paws on those steps. He eagerly jumps into Wood's arms to be carried both down and then back up. We got him on one stair at the bottom but I think that is because it was mostly covered in leaves.

And here is the tower. I didn't get a very good shot of the rock wall but it is mostly a piled up bunch of rocks about 2 to 3 feet high about 200 to 300 ft away from this tower and kind of encircling it.... where it can.

Our new favorite- Fort Mountain State park

Petey is always ready for a hike and ever impatient if we stop in the journey. He is NOT a fan of metal grid stairs though as you will see in part 2 of this post.

Nice direct walk up to the rock wall and stone tower

Stopped to take a shot of this guy and he stopped mid crawl to say "what ch'you looking at lady?"

Conflicting legends about how the stone tower and wall came to be. Some ascribe them to some Welsh explorers and others to either a Native American tribe or some pale eyed folks.

Our annual fall visit to Black rock mountain

We had a beautiful day for our trip to Black Rock mtn state park. Very clear and just the right hiking temp, low 60's

Of course for some reason I just love to get mushroom shots. Not lots to choose from so far this year. Hard hike up to the top but at least since it was cooler I didn't feel like I had to drape myself over the marker at the top of the mountain this year. Boy am I glad we had our hiking sticks with us. Since it had rained a couple days before the trail was really slippery and muddy. Lots of moss covered rocks and roots to make the climb a wee bit slick. ;-)

This tree was just covered. I guess when there are this many mushrooms on a tree it is dying??? or at least not really healthy???

Blueridge day 1

The view from this year's cabin. It rained when we arrived and a bit on the next day. We were able to hike the next two days and now we have rain again today. It is very cozy here and a nice place to just sit, relax and listen to the rain.

Puerto Rico

Sunrise right from my hotel window. I had the best view. I could have stayed there weeks. It was a great hotel

I think this may be the lowest I ever saw the tide. What fun watching the surfers every morning before work- both board, boogie and body surfers.

Other than the mosquito bites I kept getting this was just the best work week. The people were great, my colleagues were very enjoyable AND we got stuff done.... all in this BEEEEAUTIFUL setting. Oh and I was introduced to DonQ Limon mmmmm tasty

pale gray hummer

I guess this may seem like my blog is turning into the nature center or something, but we see such interesting creatures. This little guy/gal had none of the usual hummer markings for the type of hummers we have here. Not sure if it was an albino or not but it spent the entire day tirelessly keeping all other hummingbirds away from all three feeders in the back yard. She was feroucious.

another lunch time discovery!!!

There I was just eating my pnut butter and jelly sandwich and trying to keep my fingers intact while Petey was eating some past its prime turkey and there is this little guy desperately trying to blend in with our posts on the back porch. I kept my fingers long enough to run into the house and grab my camera.

Pretty cool huh! You just never know what you are going to see at our house ;-)

My own Microcosmos

One of my most favorite movies of ALL TIME is Microcosmos and Lo and Behold what should I see when I go down the hill to get the mail at lunch time???? My own (very own) dung beetle struggling with his own (very own) ball of poop!!! I have never seen a dung beetle in action or known that I have ever seen one in Georgia. He/She was about as successful as the one in Microcosmos.

Such lunch time entertainment!!! and for sure the highlight of my day!

Emerson learning to plant one on Gertie

Emerson decided he would start out early practicing his wooing skills on Gertie. Notice how he has got the placing his hands on her neck and face (girls like that) And then the whole mouth kiss. Gertie is keeping an eye on this guy! :-)

Emerson's jabberwocky

Pine Mountain

the view down from just one of the many switch backs this hike is just a hop skip and a jump down the road Lots and lots of switch backs Petey loves to hike. The view from the top is just gorgeous.... in all directions

4th of July extravaganza

Sunday we hiked up to the top of Black Rock mountain state park. It was a gorgeous day for hiking and for viewing. We had wanted to see all the rhodendrons in bloom but missed them by a few weeks. There were still some stragglers left Anne came along and encouraged me up the climb (ooh we went to see Phantom of the Opera on Saturday night too-it was mahhhhvelous! Petey is quite the hiker. He and Wood zipped along this 'more difficult' trail as if it were nothing. Lots of folks there this time of the year. We usually go in the early fall when we are about the only ones on the trail

Knox's new helmet and gloves

Wood and Knox had just the best time yesterday, shopping for new stuff, tooling around North Georgia and going to the movies

cool dude huh?

Looks like he just fits and it seems like only yesterday his feet didn't reach the footboards

A visit from the guys

We ended up having the best time at the house, exploring and

eating ice cream and

eating more ice cream but we meant to go to the park and hang out on slides and swings but

we decided it was way too hot today

Wood and his machine

Wood has spent some time spiffying up his Harley and we took it out for another spin today

The Grove Park Inn

We stayed at the Grove Park Inn while in Asheville a couple of weekends ago. This shot is from one of the balconies overlooking the world famous spa (the glass roof top)- I got a massage... mmm mmm mmm good. We had the most perfect weather. Our room was in the newer wing and right on the golf course, out there at the end of that building to the left The Inn is undergoing some renovations. Next time we want to stay in the historic main part which has all original furnishings Outside the spa there is a stone fire ring where you can continue relaxing and sipping your... beverage. I love all the furnishings in the hallways and public areas Two huge fire places in the main entry way. Hard to tell but that wood ready to burn is about 5 feet long. Lots of pictures on the walls of famous visitors - check out the hall furnishings. I want them all- I love mission style This is one of the 'older' places to check in There are rocking chairs everywhere, inside and out, to enjoy the views and just relax. We broke out our computers and did a little work Sunday morning on a presentation while enjoying the views :-)- I love a little multitasking like that