Hanging out on the river with Morgan and the gators.

Leaving the spring.

See the gator in the background!

We were stuck and Morgan had to get out and pull. Thanks Morgan!

Playing on the River. I wish my "kids" were here!

Mogan jumped out of the boat after counting 7 gators along the way!!! Little gators for the most part but, sometimes I wonder about him..... This is a picture of the river reflecting the sky and trees.

Tarzan...... I mean Morgan.

Happy Brithday Party for Jennifer.

Happy 40th Birthday baby sister! Brian, Katy, Jen, Morgan, Mom, Cinda, and Steve.

Mom, Jen, Morgan, me, Katy, Cinda, and Steve

Steve and Cinda at the river.

Mom, Katy, and Jen looking cool.

Grandma and Katy

Catfish Pad with Mom and Cinda. We missed you Jen.

Mission San Luis

Mom by a 300 year old oak tree at the Mission San Luis. This was the site of a Spanish Mission to the Aplachee Indians of Florida. It was destroyed in 1704.

Mom inside the council house.

Me outside.

Can't imagine cooking in the summer!

Jennifer and Katy

Tallulah Gorge

I stopped to see Tallulah Gorge but my pictures do not do it justice. It is the deepest canyon this side of the Mississippi River. I saw some beautiful pictures at the Georgia State Parks Website.

Back at Mom's

Saying Goodbye to Jenny and Brad

Jenny became a math teacher a few months after me. We had plan time together and bonded as we endured the evils of the math department that first few years. She met and married her Prince Charming and they are living happily on top of a beautiful hill in a lovely valley in North Carolina.

I'm so glad I stayed to see you two. I loved visiting with you and thanks again for the stay at your place. Can't wait to read and discuss some of those books. I just remembered I have a $25 gift certificate at Barnes and Nobles. :)

Hanging out at Jenny and Brad's

Saw 3 ROUS's, Rodents of Unusual Size on the hill out back. Jenny said they are groundhogs. Funny!

I think I finally started to unwind. It feels good. I just hung out at the house today with all the windows open. It rained all day and I had to get a blanket to feel comfortable, it was chilly. They have so many books!! Amazing books! I'm reading several:

Brian McClaren- The Story We Find Ourselves In.

Frederick Buechner- Beyond Words
God and friends - The Bible

Donald Miller- Blue Like Jazz

And a book on Prophecy that Lon gave me, I can't remember the author or exact title at this moment.

Enjoying this, I'm plan to leave here with a list of titles. I may not add anything until I get back to Tallahassee, FL. I'm off to the grocery store and then back up to the top of the hill (mountain?)to enjoy the last few days here.

Brad and Jenny's garden

Smells better than chocolate chip cookies. Yum, I'm having a salad from here tonight. :)

Back to NC

Not sure which dam this is.

These two pictures are of Fontana Dam.

Driving to and from Eagle Rock I drove on the Tail of the Dragon, US highway 129. That section of road is about 11 miles long and has 318 curves. It was beautiful and pretty fun. I had to go around 18- 20 miles per hour. From Sylva to Tallassee was 80 miles, mapquest said it would take 2 hours and 3 minutes and it did. I passed 100+ motorcyles and a few sports cars. There were four photographers along the way taking pictures that you can by on line.

Bye Lon and Bebe, you're the best. Hope to see you soon.

How many larks can you see? I also saw a beautiful deep blue bird.

View from the lodge.

Don't fall Bebe. There is a swing here that swings out but the friends were out of town and had dismantled it. I think that was a good thing!!

Very smoky mountains, aptly named.

Out to lunch at Sister Cats. Yum!

The cutest place with tiny perfect muffins and the best chicken salad ever!

Me and Bebe

From the deck at Eagle Rock

Lon and Bebe's

Sitting here with a cup of coffee looking at this! Can't get much better!

Wonderful to see my neighbors of 30 something years ago. We lived beside each other for five years on Magnolia Ave in Winter Park. When we first met Bebe was pregant with Jonathan. I loved being their neighbor. They were the first people I ever met that loved God with abandon. I haven't been up here since around 1995. Wow have things changed! I'm going to take some pictures but Bo has created an awesome website http://www.eaglerockcamp.com/, check it out! I'm feeling very loved and I could not be in a more beautiful place. I've never seen a nicer retreat center.

Deep Creek

Tiny exquisite beauty.

Deep Creek

I spent several hours walking along side Deep Creek in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. There is a campsight on the other side of the creek. Let's go camping next year!!

Brad and Jenny's

Sat drinking coffee and looking at the beautiful view from the window. It was great. I'm off to Tallassee, TN tomorrow to see Bebe and Lon. :) Today I'm going to deep creek for a swim and some sun.

Trying to slow down

It is definitely hard to slow myself down. I never realized it but even relaxing usually has time limits and expectations. (Hurry up and relax!) I went driving through the mountains and saw some pretty waterfalls. My favorite thing though was the drive through the National Forest. Will write more later, I'm at the library and only get an hour. I'm glad though, I wonder how much time I'd be spending on the computer otherwise!!