Looking Forward, Looking Back

But of course we are looking forward, and can you blame us? At this time next Monday we will be nearing Murphy, NC where we plan to spend the next few months. I can't say that I am not just a wee bit nervous because I am. Only a tiny bit though. This morning, playing some great games with wonderful strangers who have become friends, it occurred to me that we will be the new kids on the block, whereas here we made ourselves THE kids on the block. At least that has been our intention. Being, what in the old days was called, the Welcome Wagon. You have to be of a certain age to remember that organization that still is in existence today. That link will take you to the history should you be the curious type. Anyway, here's hoping that there are folks in Murphy who will take us under their wing!

So that's a bit forward, but in the here and now, when we woke up on Saturday morning I asked Bruce did he want to go to the beach for the last time before we went to the mountains? Sure enough, he did. We jumped in the car and were at Jetty Park in no time at all. Setting up our chairs and umbrellas it also wasn't long before it began raining and I don't mean just a few sprinkles!

I was on the right side and let's just say that it was not nearly as dry as the left side! Some people stood out in it as you can see, but they were already wet whereas we had just arrived. I can't tell you how long it rained, but it was not only more than a few minutes,  it was hard as well. The minute it stopped I pulled off my sopping wet dress and headed for the water which felt warm because the rain had dropped the air temperature considerably. Who doesn't love to walk in the water?

My white feet!! Brown legs up to a point! All sorts of age spots??? Then again, looking back this morning before we went to play, I re-read the posts about having pneumonia last year and I am darn lucky to be able to walk in the water with age spotted legs!! Should you have not been a reader back then, click here and read the sad tale for yourself. To date, I have made it for six months of this year without a health calamity and here's hoping that good luck will hold true for the next six months!

Yup, more storm clouds rolled in prompting a hasty retreat to the car after only a few hours. Poured on once was enough for this old couple.

Looking back, once again, there is a lot about our May trip that I do not want to forget, so bear with me, there's a bunch coming. 

I can't remember who told me but evidently not everyone is a fan of wild roses as they are hard to get rid of. Nevertheless, I love both the look of these tiny flowers, and their fragrance!

Awesome to see were the birds at Frank and Lynn's beautiful home. As I mentioned, we barely left because there was so much entertainment in the form of nature that who wanted to go into town? Not these two! Hearing lots of commotion in the trees I was delighted to spot a Cedar Waxwing!

Across the pond from us I was stunned to spot a Green Heron, a bird I see very rarely.

and these two shorebirds that I cannot identify positively.

The first afternoon I saw a Canada Goose that stayed so still I almost thought it was a decoy! Next day though there was some action that was super fun to witness!

A few flew in and left as quickly as they came.

Okay it is here that I have to say I am super proud of the above image. Proud is a bit strong, but I will say I was delighted when I saw it on my computer! So that goose was flying and this goose was sitting on her nest, well hidden I might add.

One of the things that struck me on that trip were the many shades of green that I was seeing. Try as I might, most of the photographs fall short in sharing that experience with you. Except maybe this one?

Before I move on to the great fishing experience Bruce had, one more little cutie.

Yes indeed the fish were biting. Fishing has not been on Bruce's radar of late, in part because of pickleball and in part because he has been pursuing his dream of becoming an elderly body builder. It's working should you be wondering. But on these two days, it was all about fishing. Multiple Bass were caught,

as well as like ten Blue Gill, all of which he promptly put back into the water!

Our food ran out so we did go into Ellijay for lunch and a tiny bit of shopping. Saying that our lunch server was not ideal is putting it mildly. Food was good though!! We popped into a shop called Misty Hollow where I was very much tempted by this display.

Somehow I resisted the temptation to add to my salt and pepper collection, opting instead for an excellent dish towel. Practical, that is me! The fellow in front of Bruce was from Winter Garden and the proprietor was from, of all places, Chuluota. Aside from a girl I went to x-ray school with, some fifty plus years ago, I have never met anyone from there! That said, like all places Central Florida, I hear it is growing.

Returning to the, well I don't know what to call a four bedroom, four level house with wrap around deck, huge stone outdoor fireplace...you get the picture, an awesome place! In spite of the rain, Mr. Peck could not resist the allure of fishing.

Afterwards, we cuddled up on the couch in front of the fireplace, wishing we didn't have to leave the next morning, but leave we did. We could not begin to thank our friends enough for allowing us to have this fantastic experience.

Heading South, our first stop was a dam that I saw on the map that I thought why not see what we could see?

While the dam was super interesting, my favorite part was seeing a beautiful Tree Swallow.

Aren't they so cute?? 

Wildflower city my friends!!!

They added so much excitement to the drive. A month later, I suspect we won't be blessed to see the likes of this.

Our destination was Thomasville, GA for the night so onward we trekked, stopping in Warm Springs for this lunch. 

Adjacent to the restaurant was this sweet little alley that led to nowhere.

Talking with the proprietor of the restaurant, Bruce learned that the pandemic was not kind to Warm Springs, GA. Not enough workers now, that sort of thing. 

Well, the drive was so good that we actually ended in Lake City, Florida where we stayed in a Best Western near the interstate. A far cry from where we started the day. For sure. The area has grown so much that at first Bruce was unsure if this was the restaurant he built ten years ago. He had a little chat with the manager who then went into her office and took photographs of the documents that Bruce put up with his name of them. "Is this you", she asked?  How fun was that? Turns out she has been there since the beginning which I detailed in this post from 2013.

Isn't that just awesome??? Working for Darden Restaurants all those years definitely had its challenges, but what construction projects don't? In spite of how hard it was, we thank God every day for his employment with them. Who knows where we would be today had I not seen that newspaper ad all those years ago?

We should do a Bruce built this or that road trip! It would take us to 40+states!  

I've looked forward, I have looked backward, and now forward again to this windowsill. I will be looking at this just next week. Holy cow!

Sounds fun, doesn't it?

your friend,

Gail

Lunch in Lake City

You might assume that I was all driven-out following the camping trip, however, I was not. Monday morning, bright and early--oh wait, not so bright at this time of the year. I digress. Early, the Pilot hit the road once again, this time headed to Lake City with Gail behind the wheel, and Bruce behind the mobile phone. :)

Our mission: to check off the punch list before the Olive Garden opened to the public.
Timing: Well, it's everything, isn't it?

So, it was that just after 9 that we pulled into the empty parking lot. Me, I noticed the banner hanging stating they were opening for lunch rather than the 4 PM Bruce was expecting. The good news is the list was short, so perhaps it would work after all.

As we got out of the car, a funky green VW Bug pulled in adjacent to our parking spot.

After using their facilities, I left Bruce to his thing, and headed to the car to figure out how to spend two hours in Lake City. On my way out I ran into the occupants of the Bug sitting on the little front porch, or whatever you call it, just outside the doors to the restaurant. Well, you know me, I had to have a little chat, which worked out perfectly, because they were definitely up for a chat! And a photo!

Here's how it went:

Me: I guess you want to be the first to eat at the Olive Garden?

Lady in blue: That's our plan!

Me: You are here pretty early.

Lady in blue: You bet! I've waited 22 years for an Olive Garden to come to Lake City!

Me: Wow!

Lady in blue: I even took my Korean exchange student out of school so we could be the first!

Me: Wow! 

What doesn't show up very well in the photograph are the two dachshunds waiting in the car for the OG to open as well. Pondering this interesting experience, I took off for downtown. Not much there, except for the creative sign, or at least an attempt at one, on the side of the building housing the cafe I visited last trip to Lake City.

Do you see it on the left? Espress Who U R, indeed.

What next? The Lake City Mall, all dressed up for Easter:

Sad to see no folks along with many closed up shops. As I made my way through the Belk store, I remembered how much our Mom liked working for the retailer, however, in those days, and I may be wrong about this, but seems to me the merchandise was better. Now what? Keds, my friends, Keds. Passing a shoe store, I saw a window advertisement for Keds, and decided to check them out. Didn't take me long to say yes to a new pair of navy blue Keds.

Attempting to pay for them with my credit card for convenience sake, the young clerk apologized for the delay saying they were on DIAL UP!! Get a SQUARE folks! Cash is king in that store.

Still not 11, my appointed time to meet Bruce, but with nothing left to do, I went back to the parking lot and found this:

As I sat there, more and more folks lined up, coming from every direction. I have to say, seeing this made me very happy. Closer to 11, Bruce and his superintendent, Jim, came out of the restaurant and we lined up with the customers, a first for Bruce. Twenty years, and many, many Olive Gardens later, he's never once eaten the first meal served at one of "his" new restaurants. Seated by the manager in the bar area, we joined the other happy patrons enjoying a delicious early lunch. Say what you will about OG, but from this experience, I glean that there are still small cities all over the country that are wishing, and hoping, an OG would come to their town. Otherwise, they probably have to eat out at places like the sad litte cafe where they invite you to Espress Who UR! Following our meal,  I noticed the green bug still parked in the lot--they were making the most of their visit!

Let's take the scenic route home, shall we? 

Just outside downtown, instead of heading North on 44, I went South, and what a lovely drive it was. No real traffic to speak of, wildflowers along the highway, and sights like this one:

I pulled off the road to take this, running across the street and once there, stepping right in the middle of an ANT bed!!! Jumping and slapping at my feet (in their new Keds, I might add), I managed to get out of there with only minor bites, and a few blurry pictures! 

Our next stop was O'Leno State Park, a lovely heavily wooded park, filled with all manner of trees and loads of blooming dogwoods. What a treat it has been to go to North Florida this year and see the dogwoods!

The most interesting feature of this park is the Sante Fe River which, if you can believe this, runs along nicely only to disappear underground and resurface about three miles away!!! The suspension bridge, built by the CCC, was off limits as they were repairing part of it.

Following the path adjacent to the river took us through an area where a controlled burn was still smoldering:

Soon we came to this:

And that was that. The river just plain stopped. This looks kind of eerie, and to tell you the truth, it was. Here's a little close-up of the top left of the algae covered water:

Yup--a gator and a turtle! Although there is a swimming area, after seeing this, I'm not so inclined to want to do so.

Onward to our next stop--Ginnie Springs, just outside High Springs. Long ago, along with some other folks, we camped alongside the Sante Fe River at this private park. Here, the river is lovely and wide with some brave folks tubing on what I'm certain is very cold water:

Much prettier, right? There are over 2,000 camp sites! During our short visit I saw loads of them filled with yellow wildflowers.

Plus, no gravel--a very good sign! We're definitely going to return for a longer visit soon.

Are you tired of these little travel posts? I'm not. I want to go more and more places to see what there is to see! Bruce left early Tuesday morning for California. As you might expect, I had loads of chores to do, a bicycle to ride, shopping, ordering, and so on. The Santa Monica Seasons 52 is finally just about done, however, a few snags popped up yesterday, forcing Bruce to stay another day. Now, after all the misery that project has given him, it only seems right that he should eat their first meal served to the public, don't you think? Last night, a final hurdle was crossed at his Century City Seasons. A long- delayed, and I mean long, water feature is finally doing it's thing; Bruce and cohorts ate dinner there to see it in action. Whew--another thing to cross of his list.

Me, I'm thinking of going out to see the Bay Hill Golf Tournament today courtesy of our son Bill. I'd better get moving....