My apologies for being absent from this space for longer than you are accustomed to, but we were on a trip. I absolutely should have found time to blog while we were gone, however, somehow it did not happen. Not because I didn't have the space/time to do so, but I got so hung up on being able to see the photographs I had taken that the writing thing just never got done.
I took my computer this time and with good reason. As some of you already know, this summer will be spent at a rented cottage in Murphy, NC. Maybe it was the construction noise, who knows, but I got on the VRBO site, for the first time ever I might add, and lo and behold, found what seemed to be an adorable option for the two of us. And so we packed up and checked it out in person. Where would my all important MAC go???
Naturally taking the back roads, our first stop for the day was in Milledgeville, GA. Leaving at 6 AM (!!!) the drive was just super with both perfect weather and masses of beautiful wildflowers lining the roads.
I was going crazy as you can well imagine. Why Milledgeville you ask? In part because I found a really special place to stay overnight, and in part because it is about 350 miles away which is about all we like to travel in a day. I know, others can go and go and go, but not these two!
Finding it on the Visit Georgia website, The Rockwell House was a sensory delight. When I called to make the reservation I learned that we were to be the only guests in the house that Sunday night which turned out to be fine by me because it left it wide open for exploring. Every room was lovingly decorated with a respectable job of restoration. The last part comes mostly from Bruce who looks at the construction details with a finer eye than myself. Built in 1831, it is just beautiful after a several year renovation by a couple who now live in Savannah. The one fellow was from the town and wanted to keep the local history alive through the building.
Let's do a tour, shall we?
This sitting area was adjacent to our room which looked like this:
When I saw this room on the second floor of the house I was going crazy for it, however, the idea of taking our bags up a very narrow staircase convinced me that we would do best on the ground floor.
Here is one of the ten fireplaces:
The grand staircase was beautiful! Can't you just imagine a bride coming down the steps?
Although there is a full kitchen with Viking appliances, we only used it to make tea and coffee.
Another living area equipped with a fireplace and grand piano.
There was plenty of space to spare in the dining room in spite of this being a 14 foot dining table!
The 12 foot ceilings and huge rooms were so great which sounds really sappy, but I don't know any other way of saying it! A person could wear themselves out just in the house by going from one huge room to another.
Once we were settled, we drove the few miles into the cute downtown and had a late lunch at the Local Yolkel where the service was good and the food delicious.
One of their main streets looks like this on a quiet Sunday afternoon:
Following our lunch we roamed a little bit on the city streets where we came across this in a window.
It is a little hard to see, but on the bottom right it reads: I love Milly, apparently the nickname for the town with the cumbersome name! It reminded me of when we were in Appalacicola and how the locals call it Apalach. As is so common in these small Georgia towns, there is either a county courthouse or a college. In this instance, there is a college with around 5,000 students, not a whole lot bigger than some of our local high schools.
And as is also a common theme in Georgia, the Civil War is a big part of their history.
Furthermore, Milledgeville is famous for this:
Unfortunately by the time we arrived the last tour of the day had already begun.
The mansion looks super interesting, but in lieu of seeing inside, we had to content ourselves with what we could see which included some fantastic blooming irises along the fence.
Florida State colors!!!
Returning to the car and with the iPad on my lap, I directed Bruce to the river running through town.
As we were meandering, Bruce spotted something very interesting under the bridge which I will tell you more about tomorrow. Would it surprise you to learn birds were involved?
Heading back to our
mansion for a night, I roamed the seven acres, well not all of it, but what I could! This is the back door where we entered,
which overlooks a small spring fed pond.
Remember how I mentioned it was a delight for the senses both inside and out? Look at the front step detail!
Super cool, right? I read how they did extensive research to discover what period color the house once was, which led to the mustard yellow exterior.
Birds, oh my goodness that was fun!! I am very pleased to present, and you might need to look carefully, my very first Cape May Warbler.
Shoot, I forgot to show you the bathroom....
The four upstairs bathrooms were created out of closets and do not have bathtubs, but are equally as spacious.
Do I sound like I am selling this place? You know me, when I am enthusiastic about something I totally want you to be too!
After a good night's sleep we were back on the road to Murphy. Our darling youngest son Jonathan turned 40 on Monday. He is a super sweet young, well not so young anymore man who would probably do the same thing as his Dad did when a turtle was crossing the road in front of our car.
One day in, six more to go!! As a sneak preview I will say that our purpose was fulfilled which you will soon learn more about. Before I go here's something funny. During our absence I completely forgot about the upstairs renovation! A good thing right? So much for that.....scraping and grinding above. I will say it is not NEARLY as unbearable as two weeks ago.
Can I get a hallelujah and amen???
your friend,
Gail
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