A lot of businesses in the automotive industry shut down for the week of July 4th, so I had the entire last week off of work.
We started our vacation right when I got off of work last Friday. We drove to Waynesville, NC to meet up with Benjy’s parents, Bill and Susan. As soon as we reached the mountain air, I had my head sticking out of the car window like a panting dog. The cool and fresh air was such a relief from the hot and humid weather in Athens.
We were meeting Bill and Susan at Grandma Fry’s house. Grandma Fry passed away last November, and the family has been working hard to clean out the house and get it ready to sell. Benjy and I pitched in by helping to pull up carpet (revealing mostly beautiful hardwood floors) and clean out Grandma Fry’s art room. I think Grandma Fry was a very talented artist and I feel honored that we now have several of her paintings to hang in our home.
Saturday night, we drove from Waynesville, NC to the Fry’s home in Radford, VA. More cool mountain air! No air conditioning needed, it was lovely. During our stay in Radford we picnicked and kayaked at a lake with Benjy’s sister Jodi and our adorable niece, Maya. We also went to a fair/carnival with Jodi, Maya and Miles. We spent lots of time relaxing and visiting with Bill and Susan and really enjoyed our trip.
Doggie-withdrawal started to kick in and things around the house needed to get done, so we headed back to Athens on the 4th. No big fireworks for us, just some fun with sparklers. Thanks to the Fry family I acquired a new violin. Not “new” in condition, but new to me. The violin was found in Grandma Fry’s closet. The family believes it was a gift to Uncle Bob, but he never played it. It has a beautifully decorated tail piece and Bill had the fingerboard and bridge repaired. I was inspired to play when we got home and finally accomplished #7 on my Goals for 2007. Benjy brought home some wood carving tools from Grandma Fry’s house and he has spent a lot of time playing with those. He’s already made a tiny canoe and is starting something new as I type this entry.
Thursday we took a trip to Tallulah Gorge with Jessica (#5 on my Goals for 2007). I had hiked into Tallulah Gorge a time or two as a camper and counselor, but that was at least 6 years ago. On this trip we were told to take a “trail” that I had never taken before to get into the gorge. We walked 200+ stairs down, crossed a suspension bridge, walked another 300+ stairs down, crossed an intimidating section of river that required jumping very carefully from rock to rock, forged our way through an unmarked trail, butt-scooted on very steep rock to get around one of the waterfalls, forged through more unmarked trail, then finally made it to Bridal Veil Falls. At Bridal Veil Falls you can slide down the falls and splash into a very deep, cool and refreshing swimming hole. After playing on the gorge floor for a while we hiked out a different way than we hiked in, taking the very steep (45 degree) and very strenuous ”Sliding Rock” trail. Tallulah Gorge is not for wimps!
We spent Saturday watching movies and moaning about sore muscles.
Today we went to Helen with Jessica and her parents and tubed down the Chattahoochee River. It was a great day for floating on the water. I just wish we could find a less crowded river to go down next time.
We really enjoyed are week long vacation! More vacation photos to come when July photos are posted.
Poop! I don’t wanna go back to work. Hmph!
