11-25-17  North to Dahlonega for a Hicks's photoshoot and lights at town square:

Heading north to Dahlonega to see the Christmas lights and take  family and couples' pictures of the Hicks's.
Lake Lanier along our way.

 another rural scene

11-4-17  back to Gibb's Garden with the guys:

Angie and I enjoyed our trip to Gibb's so much a couple days ago that we wanted to make---I mean let---the guys enjoy it, too.  So Sat. we headed back there.  It was another beautiful Fall day---again near 80.  More clouds today so the lighting for pictures was trickier, but it was still great.
Heading in

 seemed a lot more leaves had fallen since Thurs.

11-3-17  Helton Creek Falls:

Since we still had a couple hours of daylight after leaving Brasstown Bald, we decided to hit up one of the nearby waterfalls.  We had been here before, but I don't mind going to them over and over again---especially the ones that are a short walk.  So we drove to Helton Creek Falls.  The ride there ends up on some rather narrow dusty roads. 

 But we only passed one car coming towards us.  They pulled over and let us by.

11-3-17 Helen to Brasstown Bald:

From Helen we took the scenic byway up to Brasstown Bald.  It is definitely a scenic byway! 

 the trees here looked like they still had a lot of leaves

11-3-17  to Helen, Ga:

After going to Gibb's Gardens with Angie yesterday, I was more anxious then ever to get up to the mountains to check out the colorful leaves.  It looked like it may be past peak already, although it seemed like a lot of trees just lost their leaves before they could change colors.  We were told later that when tropical storm Irma came through, it blew the leaves off a lot of trees, thus the bare trees now.  But it was still pretty,  I know in a couple weeks the rest of the leaves will be gone.  With our busy schedule, today was the best day to get up there.  Our destination----Brasstown Bald (the highest point in Ga.).  But a stop in Helen for lunch was in order along our way.
I guess the first destination was actually the ride to the mountains.  It was about an hour drive with a good part of that on highway 985.
Beautiful views along hwy 985

 At one area along hwy 985, you can see School Bus Graveyard.  I bet it would be interesting to wander around in here, but I understand it's private property and the owner charges something like $20/person to get in and only on certain days.  So I shot these photos as we were driving by at highway speeds.

11-2-17 Gibbs gardens with Angie:

For awhile Angie and I have been talking about getting back up to Gibbs to see the Fall colors.  With time running out for this year, we finally decided on going today.   I've been getting emails from the gardens about the fall festivals going on now and the wild flowers and colors in the Japanese Gardens.  So I was anxious to go.
Heading in!

 one of the many statues in the gardens.

10-24-17  on our way to Knoxville---Amicalola:

Heading on up to Knoxville again.  This time we'll be watching Tim and Faith's pets while they go off to Kansas City for Faith's brother's wedding.  So we're heading up to Knoxville a couple days early so we can visit for a couple days with them, too.
With Knoxville being fairly close, we often take our time and head up through the mountains on state highways.  Sometimes I map out a place to stop, but today we just jumped in the car and took off.  Saw a few interesting sites along the way---

 Love how they decorate for Fall on farmlands!

10-21-17  a trip to Cineta Winery with the guys:

Every since Angie and I went here to view the eclipse, we've talked about going back.  It is such a beautiful place and who doesn't like a good picnic---complete with wine?!  So we finally made it back!  We even had beautiful weather---70's and low humidity.

Angie packed up a bunch of snacks, and we bought a couple bottles of wine.  We even had a visitor---Buddy.  Apparently he's made this place his home since we were here for the eclipse.  Such a good dog!

 We sat and enjoyed the views and refreshments for a couple hours.

10-19-17  Georgia State Botanical Gardens in Athens:


Today is Thurs---pickleball day.  I told Ken if he takes me to the mountains or to the botanical gardens in Athens, I'll forego pickleball today.  My knee is still pretty sore.  I hope to not have to give it up, but figure I'll let it heal more, then try to work back into sports at a less intense level.  Hopefully that'll work.  I hate to think I'm done with sports!
Anyway----we went to Athens to the free state botanical garden there.  Hadn't been since tulip season, so it was about time we got back there!
We even stopped for breakfast along the way---gotta love Huddle House!  Looks like someone loved it so much they tried to make it a drive through.

 It's a really pretty ride from Buford to Athens.  Most of it is through the countryside.   More barns to photograph.

10-17-17  breakfast with our overnight guests and off to Atl Botanical Gardens with Angie:

Ken's brother Rick and his wife, Sue, made it here about 6 pm last night.  Just in time to meet up with Angie and Josh at Universal Joint for dinner.  Dinner and visiting was great.  Until we  went to drive away.  Ken noticed the side mirror was bent in, but didn't think too much about it.  He fixed it and we started to leave when a lady came over waving her arms.  Turned out she had backed into our car and left about a 5" long shallow dent in the drivers door.  We were in the 2009 Taurus instead of our new Edge only because Rick and Sue had parked behind the Edge.  Glad they did! She wants to pay to have it fixed and had someone she recommended.

 (We did take the car to the guy she recommended.  He said it would be over $350 and suggested having a paintless dent removal person look at it since he said the pearl paint is hard to match.  So we took it to a PDR place and was told because of where the dent is, he couldn't fix it.  Ultimately we called the gal back and thanked her for staying and telling us about the dent and we weren't going to have it fixed.  We suggested that if she wanted, she could make a donation to her favorite charity in whatever amount she wants.  Nice to know there are still people out there who take responsibility for their actions!  If it was our new car, it would be a different outcome, but fortunately we were in our 2009 Taurus that night).

Anyway----
Today we headed to Sugarhill Diner for breakfast with Rick and Sue.  They still had a 10 hour trip to get back to their place in Washington, Mo., so we visited over breakfast, then they took off from there.

 I took off shortly after that to play an hour of pickleball, then over to Angie's to head to South of Atlanta with her.  She won an auction for a piece of furniture and had to go there to pick it up.  Only problem was---the "buffet" was too large to fit into her Explorer!  (So she rented a van the next day and Ken went with her to pick it up.)

8-3-17  3rd of 3 waterfalls today---Toccoa Falls!

The couple I chatted with at the first falls we went to today, Minnehaha Falls , told me about  Panther Falls and Toccoa Falls.  I hadn't read about either of them, so I'm glad they told me about them.  We did have a bit of trouble trying to find Toccoa Falls!  We were told it was on the college grounds, so you would think our car's navigator system would be able to find Toccoa College!  Wrong---instead we ended up on another goose chase.  We were told to turn down a couple dirt roads that actually happened to be gated off.  And, of course, we were out of data range, so I couldn't look for it on my phone.  Somehow, though, we did find it.  And it was worth it!!!
It was also a really short walk to the falls---maybe .1 miles?  Even Ken went to see this one.  This is the river right by the parking lot.

 This is the path to the falls.

 As soon as you turn the corner---bam---there's the falls!

8-3-17  On to Panther Falls:

Earlier when we were at Minnehaha Falls, a couple told us about another nearby waterfall by the National Parks camp ground they're staying in.  So when we came to the park, we decided to check it out.   This was another .5 mile, or so, walk to the falls.  Don't know why, but it did seem a lot more humid on this walk!   This is actually a hike to 2 waterfalls---Panther Falls and about .5 miles further, Angel Falls.   The couple who told me about the falls said Angel Falls wasn't that great, but Panther was worth it.  So that's as far as I went.

 It started off going up

8-3-17 heading to Minnehaha waterfall!

Been awhile since we've been to the North Georgia mountains, so I suggested we go check out another waterfall.  Minnehaha seemed to be an easy walk from the parking area and the drive to it looked pretty direct, so we headed up I-985 to North Georgia.
 The clouds today were incredible!

 It was a nice ride.

7-15-17 a trip to Athens:

A day in Greece!  OK, maybe not, but Athens, Georgia, isn't so bad.  Angie and Josh had talked about heading up to a waterfall, but it was so hot, they decided to go check out Athens instead.  So they invited us along---for our first ride in their new vehicle---their brand new 2017 Ford Explorer.

  The trip started out a bit horrifying!  Shortly after we got on I-85 northbound, we witness an SUV veer left, then over correct to the right, sending it into a spin in the grass along the Interstate, then what seemed like slow motion, it rolled 1 1/2 times landing upside down in a water filled ditch.  We were only about 3 cars behind it, so we pulled over right away.  By the time we got out, there was a young woman and young man smashing the heck out of the windows of the overturned SUV and calling out to the passengers.  By now another couple cars had stopped and we were all on our phones trying to get 911.  After it rang about 30 times, I hung up.  Never having called 911 before, I didn't know the phone would stay in emergency mode.  A few minutes later a dispatcher called me back---about the same time everyone else was called back.  In the mean time, we chatted a bit with the young woman who busted out some of the windows.  I mentioned to her that it looked like she'd done that before.  She said more then she'd like to admit.  Turned out she and the young man were off duty policemen on their way to a pool party!  It was amazing watching them take control of the situation!  They were on the vehicle in less then a minute working on getting the occupants out.     Miraculously all 5 passengers were able to crawl out of the overturned car and even walk around.  At highway speeds, I would have thought there would be more serious injuries then a few bumps and bruises.  After all was under control, even the police woman was shaking.   Not sure what any of us would have done if they weren't there.  I've only been around an accident similar to this once before.  That time the lone passenger was thrown from the car and laying face down in a puddle of cold water.  My Dad and I covered her and called for help.  Fortunately a First Responder happened upon the accident right after we did and took care of the lady.  It's stuff like this you never hear about on the news!  All the media wants to report is how evil police are.

 After hanging around the accident scene for about 20 minutes, the fire department arrived.  Figured the police were soon to follow.  Figured we should get on our way and out of the way.
First thing we did when we got to Athens was get brunch.  We went to a place that is a customer of the company Josh works for.  Angie and I shared an egg biscuit (with Tillimook cheese), oven potatoes, and double chocolate pancakes.  It was excellent!  I wouldn't hesitate to go here again!

 Oh yeah---the name of the place---Heirloom.  Certainly not fancy or very big, but great things sometimes come in small packages.

6-8-17  our Golden Finch birdies and a picnic and sunset at West Bank on Lake Lanier.

The golden finches don't come to our feeder often, so when they do, I will run to get my camera.  This guy was up there with a House finch.

 another view of the gold finch.

5-31-17 Old Federal Park sunset:

Time to get back to the lake and check out the water levels.  It is up quite a bit, but according to the news it's still down about 7'.  Pretty obvious with how the swimming area is still all beach.

 A bunch of these cute little guys were flitting around in the trees.

5-30-17 Marietta Town Square:

When Angie said she had a Dr. appointment in Marietta, I asked her if she'd like me to ride along with her.  I know it's about 45 minutes away.  She accepted my offer and suggested I go check out the Town Square while she's at her appointment.  So I did.  I had never been to Marietta before, so didn't have any idea of what to expect.  I was actually thinking she was sending me to a mall.  I was pleasantly surprised to find a cute little town square like so many little town squares, but this one was bustling with restaurants, specialty shops, and even a park in the center of the square.   So I parked the car and walked around.

5-26-17  a walk through George Pierce:

We finally found another restaurant that we might include in our regulars---Hammerheads Seafood Bar and Grill.  Another advantage to it is it's near one of the Gwinnett parks that I like---George Pierce.  So after dinner, we went to the park.  Ken dropped me off at one part of the park, and parked about a mile away.  I walked the paved and boardwalk trail to where he parked.  One night, we even went to the softball fields and watched some adult softball.  It was fun watching some sports again.  Now if only I could get back into some!!!
Photos from my walk:

4-28-17 up to the Gwinnett County Environmental and Heritage Center and a stroll through George Pierce Park:

I actually found a photography club to go to last night and they mentioned the Environmental Center right by our apartments is looking for photography items to sell in their gift shop.  I've been wanting to go check it out (I've only seen the center from the outside), so I decided to walk up there today.  It's only about 3/4 miles walk from our apartment, through part of the Ivy Creek Greenway.
Lots to see there right now.  I think this is a tulip tree? 

I think these are wild rhodies.

4-15-17 back to Amicalola Falls!

Any chance I get, I'm ready to head up into the mountains.  So after having brunch with the kids in Chattanooga, Ken and I took the long way home by way of Amicalola FAlls.  We had been there about a month ago when we were leaving from our weekend in the cabin with Angie and Josh and his folks.  But it was still winter then and quite cold and cloudy that day.  Now it's Spring and getting quite green.  It was also a beautiful day with white puffy clouds and lots of blue sky.
Since we were coming from Chattanooga instead of Buford, we got to see some different areas in North Georgia along our way.
Although this was right along I-75 before we got off onto a state highway.

 This was the rest stop where you first enter Georgia on I-75 South bound.