Today I headed out to check out Sprewell Bluff Park in Thomaston, Georgia. I stopped to take some photos at the lookout (located right across from the store and before the gate where you pay your parking fee).
I went down to the Flint River for a while and just relaxed with my feet in the water.
Did a little hiking along the river before I had to head to the car…thunder claps warned me just in time. The rain started before I even got out of the park.
The sky was phenomenal though, before, during and after the rain. On my way home I stopped by Auchumpkee Creek Covered Bridge to take advantage of the clouds and blue skies…it was a quick stop as the rain couldn’t make up its mind and would start and stop at a moments notice.
I did however get plenty of time cruising with the top down and got some exercise in with beautiful scenery.
It was a nice day to get out of the house and explore.
Get out there! Explore until your heart is content.
I sit back and “listen” to people complaining on social media about this stay at home order, schools going online, missing out on events. Now isn’t the time to be angry, irritated or mad…it’s time to look at it with some new eyes. You have been given an opportunity to spend quality time with your family. It’s perspective! You are not stuck at home, you are safe at home. If you are healthy, be thankful!
If you are a frontline worker, I appreciate everything you are doing in the fight to end COVID-19. Thank you for caring for the sick. Also a big thank you for keeping the groceries stocked, so we can provide to our families and truck drivers who get the goods from distributer to grocery stores.
I have realized that this too, is an opportunity…to put a spin on making the ordinary, extraordinary. Think about everyday, how you can make a difference in your family. Read together, do crafts, play games, or just laugh and talk. These will be the stories you tell your grandkids and great grandkids in years to come. The death toll will be there and that I believe was acted on too late here to minimize the death toll by government leaders. But as we battle COVID-19 by staying at home and helping flatten the curve, it’s time to make history, make your family’s history! Teach your children life lessons; how to cook, organize, exercise, how to be consistent. Show them your silly side, because yes, this being inside all the time is uncharted territory for me and at times I feel a little loopy. I can be crying one second seeing the death toll and laughing a few moments later over something that only seems funny to me…but tears come at all kinds of times. This is the time for your immediate family to unite and build those memories. Protect your family and stay at home except for essentials! Food and medicine!
Find a way to help, if you can. I know a lot of people are without jobs…and they are stretched thin to take care of themselves and their family. But if the ones who have jobs still don’t help, our community could never be the same. Support your local businesses. Eat local, curbside pickup or delivery only! Make sure to attend “virtual” painting parties and yoga. Donate to a cause.
Check on your friends and family. Make sure they are ok. Mental health issues are on the rise. I believe it will only get worse. Reach out to make sure they know things are going to be ok…we will come out of this stronger, we just have to get out! So stay home and don’t let this beat us!
For years, I wished for working from home everyday…well I got it. For years, I wished I just didn’t have to work any longer. But now that COVID-19 has me working from home, I can honestly say, I am ready to go back into the office. I also hope I never think I want to be a housewife again. I miss my human interaction and conversations with my co-workers. I miss being able to chat about things we are working on and bounce ideas around. Calls and Instant Messages just aren’t the same and a lot is lost that way.
We are all in a place that we have never been. Its kinda like an exploration all in its own. Exploring yourself, taking a deep look at who you are. I do wish I could get out and explore, but realize with the pandemic and the extreme number of cases and deaths, I need to stay home. Right now, I was scheduled to be in California, but due to COVID-19, we had to cancel our trip. Instead its working on puzzles, cooking new recipes, and trying to keep our sanity.
As of today, there have been over 40 deaths in Georgia due to COVID-19…with one being in central Georiga. I didn’t know the man, but it is hitting alittle more close to heart now that there is a name and face attached to the COVID-19 death. Until this point, I had never really known a name or seen a person’s face that had died from COVID-19. It seems way more personal now. I see friends on facebook that are possibly infected and are waiting on tests to come back. It is getting too close for comfort. By no means am I panicking, but I honestly think the only way to end this is to make everyone stay at home.
Mental health is a huge concern too. People who are isolating and having no human touch/interaaction are going to be affected; this can be devastating to one’s mental health. The uncertainty, is very concerning. I believe that everyone is going to be affected by COVID-19 whether it be physical or mental.
Just a few of my thoughts. I hope you are all well and hanging in there!
It’s been two weeks since I’ve done any decent exploring, so I have been
chomping at the bit to get out. We have had what seems like 2 weeks of rain
and it has been almost impossible to do anything. This weekend like many
others is a volleyball weekend for us. It also is my mother in law’s and
niece’s birthday; on the way to the hotel Friday, we decided to meet up with
the rest of the family to celebrate their birthdays. Mami loves Lake Oconee,
so we scoped out a restaurant on the lake for her. We chose The National
Tavern at Reynolds Lake Oconee. Located at 1145 National Dr, Greensboro, GA.
Hubby and I met my mother in law and sister in law and her family there Friday
night for dinner. Dinner was pretty good, but they were really busy, so the service was a little slow. We just enjoyed our time together!
After dinner, we headed the rest of the way to Suwannee, where we stayed for
the night. We were quite tuckered after about 4 hours of driving to make our trek to dinner and the hotel.
Hubby had to be at volleyball at the crack of dawn, so I dropped him off and
left out on my adventure. First planned stop was Anna Ruby Falls in Helen. I arrived before opening, as usual, but this time it kinda bit me; normally State Parks will let you in the gates and you just put your payment in the box, but this is separate from the State Park, so I guess they have different rules. There are gates and you can’t even get to the parking area before the gates open. So I drove around Unicoi State Park for about 15 minutes to see if there were any must sees and then headed back to Anna Ruby Falls.
There are fees for Unicoi State Park and Anna Ruby Falls. If you are not
parking at Unicoi, you can drive through to get to Anna Ruby Falls without
paying the State Park parking fee. There is a $5 parking fee at Unicoi and a
$3 per person fee to visit Anna Ruby. There were quite a few people that arrived to the parking area when I did, so I grabbed my gear and headed in to the shop to pay my entry fee (the gate guard wasn’t even at the post when I arrived). There was a couple that headed out on the trail before me, but they stopped quite a bit to take photos, so I was able to pass them and make it to the Falls and have a 10 minutes to photograph the falls before anyone else arrived there. Anna Ruby Falls is a .9 mile hike (round trip) on a paved trail. Some areas are a little steep, but overall it was a pretty easy hike. I carried my tripod and camera in to make sure to get some beautiful long exposures of the falls. There are two falls there; one is a 153 feet drop from the Curtis Creek and the York Creek falls have a 50 feet drop. The water at the bottom of the falls is considered to be Smith Creek, which flows into Smith Lake in Unicoi State Park.
After Anna Ruby Falls, I headed to Toccoa Falls. From Anna Ruby, Toccoa Falls
was about an hour away. Toccoa Falls has a vertical drop of 186 feet. 107
Kincaid Dr, Toccoa Falls, GA. It is $2 per adult to get in; be sure to ask
for senior, military, group, and children’s rates. The falls are only about 100 yards from the visitor’s center/bookstore. There is a gravel path to the falls. There were a ton of people there climbing on rocks, so I just patiently hung out enjoying the scenery until I was able to get some clear shots of the falls.
Next up, I headed to the UGA State Botanical Garden at 2450 Milledge Ave, Athens, GA. It is free to visit the gardens, but there is a donation box. There are trails and nature
areas, Children’s Garden, Flower Garden, Heritage Garden, Horticulture
Greenhouses, Hummingbird Trail, International Garden, Tropical Conservatory,
Herb, and Physic Garden, and Shade and Native Flora Gardens. There is plenty
of variety here to suit everyone’s enjoyment. Because of the great weather, there were quite a bit of people out, so I explored and saw the beautiful blooms of Spring; it was a little too peopley for me, so I headed to get some lunch.
After the gardens, I grabbed a quick bite to eat and the time came to get back to make sure I was at the volleyball venue before the tournament was over.
Hubby’s team won the Silver Bracket, so it was a good volleyball day. Afterwards, we were starving and headed to try to find somewhere that wasn’t packed on Saturday at 8 pm in Atlanta. We found an amazing little Italian restaurant called Trattoria One • 41. We were quite underdressed and they were busy, but we managed to get a seat at the bar within 10 minutes. The bartender was great and the food was amazing. Seemed very authentic, but I will be able to judge on how authentic it really was soon, as the Europe trip will be here before we know it. After dinner, it was almost 10pm, so we decided we would find a hotel and stay one more night, because we were exhausted once again.
Have 2 pretty big trips left for March…so ready to be exploring for more than a day!
