By the time September came around, we were itching to get out and see some of the state.  There are about 20 places we really want to visit (that we know about now) and never enough time to get out and see them.  So, when a three day weekend came around, we were ready.  We packed up the kiddos and drove to Lake Rabun, about an hour and a half north from us.  They had quite a few campsites open and we took our time trying to find the best one we could.  Most of them were excellent, but there was a huge family group in the main area and other campers let us know that they had been howling (literally...it was weird) all night and day.  The other campers were not pleased, so we found our way up to the most remote site they had.  It was nearly perfect.  It did take about 5 minutes to hike down to the bathroom, but there wasn't another camper in sight.  

Camping at Lake Rabun Recreational Campground

Coming back from the bathroom trek.

The next morning we made our way to the first hike, which was could get to right from the campground.  Angel Falls is a lovely hike, not too hard for Jason, who didn't need any help, and still okay for Emmett, who only had to be carried a few times.  

We had told the little boys that we were Waterfall Hunters, and they weren't disappointed.  The entire hike is next to a stream.  The stream had a hundred small little tumbler falls, plus two good sized falls.  All of it was in the shade and the weather proved to be rather perfect.

Angel Falls

Our ragtag group.

Robert got ahold of the camera and I got about ten pictures of spider webs. :)

We also got a rare glimpse of the elusive Emmett Tree.  

Tallulah Falls

The next day we went off to the big hike.  Tallulah Falls at Tallulah Gorge park.  In order to get to the suspension bridge, you have to descend about a million steps.

 

There is Alaina all alone on the bridge.

After we made it back up those terrible stairs, we decided to take a couple of the side hikes.  One was up to the Dam and the other was along the ridge.

By the time we reached the Dam, Emmett was starting to lose steam.

All of his steam.

We ended up stopping for about a half an hour to refuel and reenergize, and then started our way back to the ridge.

When we finally got there, the view was worth it.

This view wasn't so bad either... :)  You see that tiny suspension bridge way out in the distance?  That was where we started our journey.

It really is quite the scenery.

The lookout where we stopped was the place where some guy named Karl Wallenda tightroped across the gorge in 1970.  He also managed to do two headstands in the middle of the walk.  (How's that for a little historical color?)

Here Robert is by the original metal contraption that held the wire.

We got someone to get us all in one picture.  We were almost all looking up.

The walk back was tough but we managed with a lot of pit stops.

And a little extra encouragement.

Minnehaha Falls

Our last day camping we packed up went out in search of this little waterfall that I had read about named Minnehaha Falls.  We had some vaguely written directions to it, and after getting lost for about 1/2 hour we finally found it.  It was along this teeny, windy road that only really allowed one car at a time.  It was paved, but not really well.  There were no markings, just a stairway leading up.  However, by the third day, we were trained Waterfall Hunters, and so we were determined to find it.

The small hike was worth it.  The big kids climbed all the way up to the top.

Ethan made it too, but I only caught a picture of the twins up there.

The little boys played in the small water at the bottom.  I was worried, since it was so slippery and there was another waterfall a little ways behind us.  We did have a couple of little falls but nothing too serous.  

When the kids got too cold, we hiked on back.

One the walk back to the car.

Lake Rabun

We spent our last few hours playing in Lake Rabun.  They had a dive deck out aways into the lake that the big kids enjoyed jumping off into.

I just thought Robert looked rather dashing in this photo, so it got in the post.

The little boys played in the shallows until they couldn't handle both the cold and the little fish swimming around them.  

Overall it was a wonderful break from our new busy schedule.  I always find the prep for camping is a lot of work, but the change of pace is always worth it.

Full Solar Eclipse!

August 21st 2017

Everyone had been talking about the eclipse for months.  In Sugar Hill, GA, we would be experiencing 98 percent eclipse.  The schools were taking an afternoon off and providing kids with glasses.  We thought we might as well just stay and avoid crowds during the eclipse.  Then, about one week before it was coming, Robert and I realized that since we are so close to being in the line of totality, we might as well travel to see it. 

First we had to find a place near us that was going to be sunny.  In South Carolina, for instance, there was going to be cloud cover.  That wasn't going to do.  We finally figured out that Tennessee was forecasted to be sunny.  I scoured the internet and found out that a town named Sweetwater was going to have Eclipse festivities.  It sounded good to us, so we planned on making the 3 hour drive.

Robert somehow secured glasses (it was nearly impossible to find them.  He somehow tracked enough down for all of us and picked up those way overpriced glasses.  Talk about price gouging!  

Next we piled in the car and drove off.  When we reached Sweetwater, we were underwhelmed.  Every driveway and every mom and pop store were charging to park in their driveways.  The walk to the downtown was going to be a killer.  And it was soooo crowded.  We caught a glimpse of the festivities and it was just a bunch of food trucks on the main drag and no where to really even sit down.  Since we arrived a couple hours in advance, we really didn't care to just hang around the street and crowds in the heat.  I had heard that a nearby farm was also hosting people for the eclipse, so we made our way down.  

What a difference!  The Dairy itself was set on the most picturesque land.  Parking was free.  We joined a couple hundred people spread out on the lawn with our lawn chairs, tent and cooler and just hung out.

They had a huge barn where they had bathrooms, some food trucks, including a snow-cone truck which we gladly purchased.  It was SO hot!

We ate our picnic lunch.  We visited the store and tried out all their cheese.  The little boys chased each other around the grass.  We watched the twins being silly.  

Every half an hour the owners of the farm would drive through the crowd on a golf cart and throw out cheese curd to the crowds.  It was hilarious.  Ethan was pretty proud of himself when he elbowed his way through the crowd to catch one.

Mostly we just hung out and watch the moon slowly cross over the sun.

We thought this was pretty awesome.  It was exciting to watch it happen and fun to be together as a family as it did.  It started to get a little dark, but even when the sun was three quarters of the way across the moon, it wasn't too dramatic of a change.  

You could see the sun slowly disappearing, but it wasn't until the total eclipse did things get crazy.  It suddenly got as dark as late dusk.  The mosquitoes appeared out of no-where and started buzzing around our heads.  It was such an amazing thing that the whole crowd around us burst into clapping and yelling.  We all jumped up to our feet and cheered along with the rest of them.  It's hard to explain how exciting it was...like God's own rock concert.  No one could look away or stop smiling.  I don't think I've ever experienced a natural phenomenon like it.  Our two minutes when by too fast.  

Here are Robert's pictures.  They turned out pretty awesome.

And then it was over.  As soon as the 2 minutes of totality ended, the sky lit up and the mosquitoes disappeared.  The heat returned immediately.  After seeing the real thing, no one was really interested in watching the moon slowly move away from the sun.  The crowd disappeared almost as fast as the mosquitoes.  

We stayed for some ice-cream.  (by the way...notice how Robert is holding two ice-cream cones?  I accidentally ordered one extra and he never told anyone.  He just quietly ate two.)

Then, at last, it was time to say farewell to our Sweetwater Farm.  Although, Robert and I decided we  could most certainly retire there.