Bald Ridge/ Lake Lanier

Tomorrow we will be leaving Georgia and the comfort of good friends.  We have had a great time renewing friendships, sitting around a campfire, swimming, and just hanging out together.    The park this weekend is alive with families, kids, dogs and bikes everywhere.   The lake has been busy with jet skis,  water sking, and being towed on knee boards.   Some were quite good jumping and turning in the air.  

Bald Ridge

This is our site here in the  COE park in Georgia.  As you can see there is water on three sides of us.  We couldn't ask for more.  Went swimming yesterday.   Will post more pictures later.  Have a good weekend.

U.S. Corps of Engineers Campgrounds

This Sunday we are going to Cumming, Georgia to meet up with two other couples at Lake Lanier.  I don't know if you all have visited any of the Corp of Engineer Parks ( COE) but they are usually the cleanest and best in the country.  The grounds are well kept and the sites are large, and  nicely spaced for privacy.  The last few times we have been here we had water front sites. We were not able to make reservations as all their reserve sites are filled already for Memorial Day.  By coming in Sunday, we're hoping to get unreserved sites. Recently many of the COE parks have been leased to the states or counties.  Often when this happens, we find an increase in fees and a decrease in quality of services offered, which includes the loss of  the park rangers for security.  We would like to see these facilities continue to be operated by the U.S. COE.  It was federal tax dollars which were used to build these parks. and we feel they should remain under federal control.   And now I will climb of the soap box.   I'll take some pictures for you, but not sure when they can be posted as there is no modem available there.

Short but happy life!

How would you like to be a Cicada?  Doesn't sound like a deal for me   They only come around every 17 years,  mate and die off.  Now I don't know if they mate just once or they have a wild sexual frenzy  with every Tom, Dick and Harry for 6 weeks..  They are kind of ugly  so maybe they lucky to mate just once or maybe they just put a bag over their head and play the field.   Any way, they won't bite us, sting us, or carry away our children.  They just here for a good time.
www.lunaparc.com/cicada.htm

We are now in Tenn.  Will catch you later.

You Never Ever Call Me by My Name.

  I had  such a nice weekend here in Indiana,  including Mother's Day.  We spent time with our youngest son Shawn and received  phone calls from friends wishing me a happy day.
 But today is  sad and  I'm boohooing saying good-bye to our son.  This is usual behavior for me when it comes time to leave.
We are currently driving through Ohio.  Did you know that the Cincinnati Airport is in Ohio?  I didn't, guess  that will be my learning for today.  We are traveling on I-75 straight to Kentucky where we will stay for a couple of nights at the Renfro Valley RV Park. 
Well, we made it here but have discovered one of our front tires is wearing on the outside.  First thing in the morning we  will have to hunt down someone who can do a tire alignment, I think that's what Bob said we need.     This RV park is a music complex, specializing in country, bluegrass and Gospel music.  There are shows and jamborees every night.   Tonight we took a walk over to the shopping village and found gift shops,  restaurants and sweet shops, my personal favorite. LOL

Happy Mothers Day

We are now in Indiana visiting with our youngest son.   This makes me one happy mother.  I received this email yesterday, hope you enjoy it.

 

This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf...laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's okay honey, Mommy's here."  Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted. This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse. This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes. This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors. And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football, hockey or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me, Mom?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it. This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens. This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies.  And for all the (grand)mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words. This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.. For all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon"  twice a night for a year.  And then read it again.   "Just one more time." This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead. This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot. This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home -- or even away at college. This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up right away. This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them. For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green. For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting. For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely. This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war. What makes a good Mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it in her heart?  Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?  The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M.  to put your hand on the chest of a sleeping baby? The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home? Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?   The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation... And mature mothers learning to let go.  For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.  Single mothers and married mothers..Mothers with money, mothers without. This is for you all.  For all of us.

Here is a card for all you Mothers.

E-cards and Web Cards by Jacquie Lawson, animated e-cards, Christmas cards

Parthenon

Nashville's Parthenon is the only full-scale replica of the Greek Parthenon in existence today.  Parthenon was the temple of the Greek goddess Athena, daughter of god Zeus, and also called the goddess of wisdom.

  The 42-foot  statue of Athena is the focus  of the Parthenon just as it was in ancient Greece. Originally built for Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition, this replica  serves as a monument to what is considered the pinnacle of classical architecture.

  The Cadillac Ranch, located along the tatters of historic Route 66, was built in 1974, brainchild of Stanley Marsh 3, the helium millionaire who owns the dusty wheat field where it stands. Marsh and The Ant Farm, a San Francisco art collective, assembled used Cadillacs representing the "Golden Age" of American Automobiles (1949 through 1963). The ten graffiti-covered cars are half-buried, nose-down, facing west "at the same angle as the Cheops'.

The cross  at 190 feet, it's hard to miss this structure as one crosses the Texas panhandle.  It's quite a sight.