SUPERHERO

 I found this in my front yard yesterday.

If this doesn't make you smile, nothing will.

EEEK!

This morning when I was walking through my garden to get to my car, I saw the tail of a small, grey snake under the rhododendrum.  Of course, it would be a morning when I had my hands full and the dog by her leash because I was taking her to the groomer.  So, I didn't get to take a picture.  I stood still for a moment and then he slithered away.  Since I am not a snake expert (or lover), I don't know what kind he was, all I know is he was grey.  I looked for a picture of a similar looking snake that I could post, but decided that if I put a picture of a real snake I would freak myself (and others) out everytime I saw it.  So, here is a picture of a fun snake, just for illustration puposes.  Blogs are much more fun with pictures, don't you think?

Getting Ely to the Appalachian Trail

Lee and I drove Ely to Blood Mountain, GA, so he could continue his trek on the AT. We drove up Saturday afternoon and stayed in a neat little cabin. It had a living room, kitchen, bath, bedroom and another loft bedroom. Nice deck off the back with a breathtaking view.

How cute is he?

We got in late and had to drive to Blairsville to find dinner. Luckily, we found a cool place called FATZ. People were friendly, service was good and so was the food. After dinner we went to a grocery store so Ely could get food for the next 6 days.

Lee and Ely on the front deck of our cabin Sunday morning before we dropped him off on the trail.

Ely had a problem with one of his walking poles, so he had to spend some time trying to fix it.

And he's off! What a remarkable guy. Today he plans to walk about 12 miles to the next shelter where he will spend the night.

WE HAVE A PROBLEM!

After we left saw Ely off, we went back to the cabin to pack up. Lee found one bag of Ely's food on the table and was quite upset thinking about Ely stopping for a meal later on only to discover he was missing half of his food. I tried to make him feel better by saying we knew he had some food with him and he would just have to get to a town and get some more sooner than he planned. As we were checking out, I mentioned it to the owner and he said that after Ely hiked 5 1/2 miles, he would come to a highway and that we could drive there and wait for him. So, we did. Ely was so surprised to see us. We he saw us, he yelled from the trail 'Ya'll get lost?' He didn't know he had forgotten his food until we told him and he was so glad we had brought it to him. He plans to hike for 6 days before stopping in a town, and he would not have been able to make it without this stuff.

Ely taking a break after he got his food.

Me and Ely on the AT before he takes off for the second time. See, I was actually on the Appalachian Trail

Lee and Ely on the trail.

Bye, Ely. Again. Hope he has a great trip.

Lee and I went to Helen, GA after we left Ely and wondered around a bit in the little shops. That place was packed with people. Lots of people tubing. On the way out of town we found an antique shop and a winery. We got some free samples of wine and bought a bottle for our next supper club. Next we went to Dahlonega, and looked around a bit. It was a neat little town, we walked around some and bought some candy. There was some gold mining museum that Lee was interested in but it was almost closing time, so we didn't go in. Our next stop was the outlet mall, but we were pretty disappointed in the prices. All we bought was some tongs to use for grilling. All in all it was a great weekend, that area of Georgia is beautiful.

CHATTANOOGA

Several weeks ago, Lee and I took Eamon to Chattanooga for the weekend while Amy and Ed went to Georgia for a wedding. We went to the Tennessee Aquarium and rode the Missionary Ridge train. I think Eamon's favorite event was riding the luggage cart at the hotel.








Eamon pointing to the sting rays.

Lee and Eamon (Eamon sampling the sea water).