outdoors
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Countryside Bike Ride
Last Wednesday, I joined two of my running friends for a bike ride through the countryside about 30 minutes from my house. I’ve always liked to bike having learned to ride in our little village in France. We usually rent bikes at the beach in Florida for a day or more and I just love combining exercise with a fun sight seeing adventure. I enjoy biking more than running as it is more of a leisure activity and you can cover more ground so I was excited to join my friends. We bought some nice bikes a few years ago and have enjoyed them mostly in the fall when it…
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Fun at a Small Airport: Dekalb Peachtree Airport
A couple of weekends, ago, we were invited to a birthday party at the Dekalb Peachtree Aiport in Atlanta. I use to meet up with friends there when I lived in Stone Mountain, but it had been years since I had been. I took the 2 youngest as I knew they would enjoy the birthday party (for a 5 year old) and the location. I wasn’t sure whether there would be a few or many planes since it was a Sunday afternoon and boy, were we surprised and impressed by the number and variety of airplanes landing and taking off. This little airport is a great location for a party…
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Water, Sky and Reflections
I have asked my oldest to share some of his pictures for a couple blog posts this month and gave him a deadline so I am hoping to share those with you this month. For today, though I am sharing some shots from a walk/run last week while my son was at soccer practice. While I do not enjoy soccer practice time, I do enjoy the opportunity to walk around the 2.5 mile trail as it offers pretty views and some exercise. On this particular day, it has just rained so the sky and the puddles (large puddles) drew my eye. This is my favorite shot of the evening! Look…
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The Advantages of Living in a Small Town
We’ve lived in our town for almost 6 years and I have loved living here. From past blog posts, you know that we are within 15-20 minutes of different places where we can hike, there are some historical places to visit and there are pretty spots for blog pictures. The park, the Indian mounds, a couple ponds are some of the spots I like to take pictures when I do not want to use my house and backyard as a backdrop. I’ve taken pictures a few times downtown but now as often as I should (it is only a 10 minute drive). So earlier this week, I took about 2o…
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Lavender Farm on a Summer Day
Lavender! Sunflowers! Those are two of my favorites and this year as I searched for a local blueberry farm, I came across a local lavender farm! I was excited and told the boys, we would have a little field trip one morning. Thankfully the weather was agreeable and we planned to arrive to beat the crowds and the heat. I was very impressed with the property: the lavender was plentiful, the area picturesque and the owners very friendly. The family bought the property this winter, and this was their first year hosting an event. The lavender was part of the property when they bought it so this was their first…
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Lake Chatuge, Hiawassee, GA
One of our favorite vacation days was the day we rented a pontoon and spent half a day on Lake Chatuge in Hiawassee. We packed some snacks, wore our bathing suits and made sure we had our sunscreen on. It had been quite a few years since we had been on a lake and probably 17 years or more since we actually rented a pontoon ourselves (we typically visit my husband’s uncle who has a lake house in Alabama). At first the boys were not sure their dad could drive a boat, but they soon realized they were safe. We also rented a tube and my oldest had a blast…
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High Shoals Falls, GA
The same day we visited Hamilton Gardens in Hiawassee, GA, we drove about 20 minutes away to visit High Shoals Falls. We had seen pictures of the pretty falls so we knew we would enjoy the hike. The dirt road up to the fall hike trailhead was very manageable and there several parking spaces. Since the first week in June was still fairly cool for Georgia and the hike had lots of tree coverage, it was a very pleasant hike. Hiking with children ages 5 to 16 also insures that we are not walking too fast. The hike is 2.6 miles total (in and out) and starts high up going…
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Hamilton Gardens in Hiawassee, GA
Hiawassee is just 15 minutes or so from Hayesville, GA and home to a beautiful lake, Lake Chatuge. We first caught a glimpse of the lake on our way to Hamilton Gardens. The gardens are free except during the Rhododendron festival which had actually just ended a couple weeks before our visit. Sadly, most of the blooms were gone but the views were still beautiful and we did find a few bushes with colorful blooms. The garden has several trails that loop and we made sure to follow one that went all of the way down to the lake. On the way, we stopped to admire the sights and relax.…
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Fire Creek Falls and Recreation Area
Our Airbnb host had emailed me a list of activities nearby before our trip and this spot caught my eye as she said we could tube down a natural water slide. In anticipation of this possibility, I had packed some river tubes we had, as well as our pump which could be plugged in the car to inflate the tubes quickly and effortlessly. We also packed water shoes for everyone. Fire Creek Falls was about 20 minutes from our rental and we enjoyed it so much the first time, we returned for a second afternoon of fun. To get a decent view of the falls, you must cross the river…
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Corra Harris House, Etowah Valley Historic Society
Last week, our local running group met up at the Corra Harris House for a run, a tour and dinner! This was a trial run for a possible race here to spread the word about this beautiful place that hopes to host limited event venues as well as teach others about who Corra Harris was. Most of us did not know about Corra Harris and this beautiful spot, and enjoyed every minute of our visit. The property is 57 acres and we started our run up the hill, past the spring house and through the barn. There are some trails on the property and our run took us through one…