Georgia on my Mind

Trip #1 of this summer was to Atlanta where I visited my daughter, Kristen, and her husband Ben. My daughter, Amanda, was able to come along, and we had a great time exploring some of the natural beauty in mid-Georgia, eating at food trucks, visiting an Australian bakery, and fixing up a bassinet for Kristen and Ben's little one due in December.

First up - Red Top State Park to the NW of Atlanta.

Amanda and Kristen

Kristen's dog, Tacy, is crazy about water

The next day we headed a bit south to a peach orchard where we picked several pecks of peaches along with some blackberries to bring home. As of this afternoon, my peaches are now all snugly in cans.

That afternoon we trekked up Kennesaw Mountain where 154 years earlier  (June 27, 1864) Sherman's army defeated the Confederates who stood in the way of the Union army taking Atlanta.

A photographer was taking pics here with this CSA uniform

And finally, we visited Sweetwater Creek State Park, just west of Atlanta.

The hiking here was especially gorgeous as we traveled alongside Sweetwater Creek and some smaller streams that fed it.

This warning sign did give me pause, but our hike was happily uneventful concerning reptile sightings.

Along the creek sits the ruins of The New Manchester Manufacturing Company, a cotton mill built in 1849, which was destroyed by Sherman's army as they marched through Georgia. 

The mill workers, all women and children, were captured and taken north to Louisville and then to towns in Indiana where refugees were already plentiful. Reports say that few ever made their way back south again.

While my girls and I were relaxing in the Georgia sunshine, Tim was back home re-doing our bedroom. I returned to newly refinished hardwood floors and a new wall color! (We hadn't painted our room since we moved in 23 years ago!)

Tim reassembling our bed's platform in our bedroom

Our youngest boys were in Chicago with the church youth on a service project. so Tim was rambling around our house alone. Concerned about how this would go, Amanda left him these instructions on our blackboard:

All in all, a wonderful first trip of the summer! Next up: family camping in Ohio!