Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Thursday, March 17, 2011

A Birthday AND A View

If you have been reading my blog the past couple of weeks,   you know that my Sweetheart had a birthday last week!!  In order to celebrate his birthday,  I took him on a 'surprise' trip to the Amicalola  Falls State Park in Georgia.

We stayed in their gorgeous lodge---so today,  I will share some pictures of the view we had from our 4th floor window, of the surrounding mountains.   BUT--before that, here are a few pictures of our little 'private' birthday party in our lodge room... Above is a picture of the cake.  It was a delicious carrot cake from Walmart.... Below are more!!





Here is the Birthday Boy....Think he can blow out ALL of those 69    5 candles????? ha ha... (Sorry about the lighting in these pictures.. Our room was dark --so we moved the lamp closer to the table... Didn't work well!!!)





And he HUFFED and he PUFFED and he blew them all out!!!!!  (Too bad I didn't buy some of those candles which you can't blow out!!!! ha ha )





After blowing out the candles and cutting the cake,  George read all of his cards.  He got some funny ones and some really nice ones.   Thanks again for those of you who went to his blog to wish him a Happy Birthday --and to those who sent cards... Cards are very special to us... The picture above shows him after reading one from his Wifey!!!!!




+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

These next three pictures were taken from inside our big picture window in the room.  We didn't take pictures the first afternoon when we arrived --but we should have... After that day,  the rains came,  and many of our views were nothing but fog!!!!! Hope you enjoy the ones we did get.

The picture above is looking to the right.  This was after most of the fog had lifted. You can see the road to the lodge coming up that mountain if you look closely.





This is looking toward the left..  Dahlonega, Georgia is southeast of where we were --about 19 miles I think.   The big waterfall is in front of us (out of view) --as it travels down the mountain..





And finally,  this is what we saw much of the time (except those times which we were totally fogged in)...  I love the layers of mountains in this picture.

Amicalola Falls State Park is a great place.  The lodge and restaurant are fabulous, but if you'd rather have a cabin,  several are available---in addition to a campground.  We felt blessed to be in such a beautiful setting.

Thanks again for all of the birthday wishes for my Honey.
Hugs,

P.S.  I hope all of you are watching the nesting Eagles shown by a camera  near their nest in Iowa.  Watching them is so fascinating ---and I have been watching  ALOT this week.  Last night,  Papa Eagle came to the nest and brought Mama some dinner. I don't know what  it was --but she gobbled it up!!!!  There are three eggs in the nest ---so I hope to see them when they hatch... SO neat!!!!   Mama Eagle is larger and is on the nest most of the time.  BUT--Papa gives her a break ever so often. Click HERE to see the nesting Eagles.

61 comments:

Darla said...

What a great time ya'll had...incredible view!

Darla said...

I'll be dipped in peanut butter!! I was first?!!!

Beth said...

Carrot cake is one of my favorites.

Sounds like a wonderful time---how could it not be with all those wonderful mountains there?! The glimpse of the road puts into perspective the size of the mountain. I always get a bit of a rush when I'm on a mountain road.
I'll check out the Eagles and Darla's blog. Have a great day!

Big Dude said...

Looks like another great trip - I really like the use you make of state parks and we should be doing it as well. Thanks for the eagle link.

Elettra said...

It's always nice to celebrate the birthday and sorry but I took a piece of cake. AH Ah, ah!
Best regards Elettra

Mr. Bill said...

What a fun Day!!

Kathy W said...

Wow what a beautiful place you all visited. George looks very happy with the cake. Thank you for posting the link to the nesting eagle.

Ruth Hiebert said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ruth Hiebert said...

Looks like you treated your Sweetheart to a beautiful Birthday surprise.Too. Ad the fog rolled in,but the sights were still beautiful.I will be checking the eagles and if all goes well,I'll be heading out to see some real live eagles in migration.
Ruth

Arkansas Patti said...

Georges biggest smile was from wifey's card.
Hay, snuggling in on a rainy day with your sweetie is a wonderful way to spend the day.
I'll check out that eagles nest. Just hope he doesn't bring home something I recognize.

From the Kitchen said...

You know I'm enjoying those foggy mountain photos! And seeing George enjoy his birthday treats too.

Best,
Bonnie

MadSnapper said...

wow, wow and wow again on the view from the window. gorgeous!!! BD boy looks really happy with his cards and cake and it is good you did not get those will not blow out candles, he might have huffed and puffed until he blew the hotel down

mamahasspoken said...

What a wonderful time you had, rain and all.

novita darmawan said...

beautiful scenery, aunt...
oh yes... happy belated birthday to uncle...
wishing all the best for him and all of your family...
God Bless.. ^^

Catherine said...

I bet that cake tasted yummy ~ it looks so pretty! I'm so glad you and George had a such a lovely time. And what a terrific view you had.

Happy Thursday Betsy!
xo Catherine

Fred Alton said...

Thanks, Betsy, for sharing the tour of Amicalola Falls. So beautiful. You are blessed to be able to enjoy each other's interests like that. And thanks too for sharing the link to the Eagles nest. I will try it as soon as I finish reading the blogs i follow. Have a great day!

diane b said...

What a man and what a view, even in the fog. I can feel the love of life in your posts.

amelia said...

You are so lucky having such beautiful countryside where you live and all around you!
George must have really enjoyed that cake! Did you eat the whole thing?

Anonymous said...

You captured very nice photographs of the cake and George. I'm happy that he had such a great birthday celebration.

What a lovely view you had from the place you stayed atop of that mountain. I like seeing what seems to be endless ridges of mountains.

I've seen mention of the eagle nest video from several friends. I finally visited the site, using your link. What a great live feed!

Anonymous said...

A beautiful place to celebrate a birthday. I think the rain and fog made for some unique and interesting photos. The view from your room was the best! So glad you had a nice time.

Pat - Arkansas said...

What wonderful views you had (George and the mountains)!

Thanks for the link to the Decorah Eagles. Fascinating!

Karin said...

So glad George had a fabulous birthday, what with all the cake and cards and a lovely trip! My mom always loved cards - that way she said, she could look at them over and over and remember! She had collected quite a few cards - going to have to see who can use them for crafts now!

Such awesome views - love the mountains in the fog!

Thanks for the Eagles camera! I'll go see it later on - off to work and some boring meetings!

Have a great day you two!

Small City Scenes said...

I am so glad you all had a wonderful time. You are so special to each other. happiness oozes out of both of your. Lovely setting and nice pictures. MB

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

That is such a beautiful place. Some day, we're going to have to expand our frame of reference beyond our beloved Smoky Mountain National Park and go see this place.

Anonymous said...

Good to hear ya'll had a great birthday celebration & the view is BEAUTIFUL! Very cool! =)

Rose said...

Oh, Betsy, I could just sit and drink in those views forever....

Barbara said...

It looks like he had a wonderful birthday, I am sure you made it very special for him, beautiful photos of my wonderful state of GA, one of the prettiest of all,
have a very blessed day my friend, Hugs Barbara

Lady Di Tn said...

Looks like the birthday boy had a really neat birthday. Nice photos of the view. Thanks for sharing the nesting site. Peace

Tripthi Battapadi said...

:)
Belated birthday wishes! :)

What a great celebration...!

Pedaling said...

what a fun birthday celebration.

i like cards too.

mmm carrot cake.

Ginny Hartzler said...

I love the pictures of George, and especially the last mountain picture!! Thanks for the eagle link, I have watched before, but nothng is ever going on when I do! I will be checking, though!!

Hidden Haven Homestead said...

What a wonderful birthday trip you gave George!! You have me hooked on the eagles, I watch them every time I sit down for a minute. LOL

Shug said...

I would say that you treated George to a pretty nice Birthday celebration...He looks super happy!
The view is Beautiful...What a wonderful get-a-way.
Thanks for all your help...I think I have that part down..Will see tomorrow!
Hugs Betsy!
Shug
Oh, and have a lovely St. Patrick's day!

Connie said...

Sounds like it was a lovely birthday celebration! Carrot cake--yum! :D

happyone said...

Hi, I'm over here from George's blog. I've been reading his blog for quite a while and feel like I already know you. :-)
Your photos are all beautiful.
You and George are lucky to have each other.

Becca's Dirt said...

Such a beautiful place. Too bad it was foggy most of the time. Glad to hear George had a good birthday.

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Hi Betsy! Looks like George had a wonderful birthday! Great! A yummy cake, beautiful views and his lovely wife to share it with...did you remind him how lucky he is? :D

Thanks for the link to the eagles. I'll be tuning in to watch from time to time. Interesting!

Have a great day!
Hugs, Cheryl

Regina said...

Happy Birthday belated George!
wishing you all the best!
Such yummy cake.
So sweet of you Betsy.

xo

imac said...

George is a lucky man Betsy,
A very happy couple full of love.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Betsy: What a fun place to visit.

Jo said...

What a yummy looking cake. And I love the card you gave George. Your view was spectacular, Betsy. So glad you had such a lovely trip and celebration. Blessings and (((hugs))) Jo

Janie said...

That cake looks so delicious, I want some!
Great views from your lodge room. Glad you had such a fun trip.

Ann said...

yum, carrot cake. that is one amazing view you had.

Tracy said...

Betsy,
I hope he can blow out many many more candles in the years to come!
May you both continue to have such special times together!
Thinking of you...
Love and hugs~

Anonymous said...

Betsy, looks good to me. I would guess it was a wonderful spot for the birthday boy. He looks happy. I also enjoy the link to the eagle nest and I watched the hummingbird video while I was there.

Anonymous said...

Hi Betsy, What a wonderful birthday present for your husband! I love the pictures of the celebration and the scenery. Have a great day & enjoy our gorgeous spring weather!

Diane said...

Lovely birthday for George Betsy. I think that cake looks wonderful. He looks like he's enjoying the celebration. Blessings, Diane

JDS said...

These pictures confirm it...I gotta go to Amicalola!

LV said...

You need to talk to Walmart about George's cake. I DO BELIEVE THEY MADE A MISTAKE ON HIS CANDLES.

Wendy said...

Happy Birthday George! He sure looks like one happy camper! It's wonderful to celebrate the way you two do.

Lovely pics. You must have had a great time.

Unknown said...

The cake looks delicious! And the views in the other photos are beautiful!!! That's a lovely way to celebrate a birthday.

Velvet Over Steel said...

Awww.. what a sweet birtday celebration!! The view from your stay was beautiful too!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Betsy & George!!!
Hugs,
Coreen xoxoxo

amy @ Life in Pink Hi-Tops said...

The cake looks great. I love the pictures of the fog lifting from the mountains....beautiful! So glad you guys had a great b-day celebration.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Delicious cake, happy husband, wonderful view -- what more could anyone ask for?

Happy St. Patrcik's Day!

We are still waiting ...:)

Dar said...

I'm always in awe at the beautiful mountain and falls scenes you show us. It looks like George was a happy honey with all that carrot cake waiting to be dove into. One of my favorites., so did it have cream cheese frosting?
Sy and I just looked at Mama Eagle and she had her eyes open when we first looked and then she went to sleep, drooping off eyes, open, closed, open, and finally sound asleep. How cool. Will be watching with you.
And YES, Darcie went back yesterday and got that cute blue chair. I'm jealous.
BlessYourHearts

SquirrelQueen said...

The mountains of Georgia were a great place for a birthday celebration, that's a yummy looking cake.

The eagles webcam is one I watch but the main one is the baby fox squirrels, they are adorable: http://sportsmansparadiseonline.com/Squirrel_Nest.html

Acutally I love all the webcams.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Perfect place to celebrate his B'day. Lovely place!

D said...

A happy belated birthday wish to George. Betsy, those photos of the landscape are incredible... great views, an photographer.

The Retired One said...

I am so glad you both had such a great time.
I can only imagine how beautiful those mountains are in the spring and fall!

Loren said...

Looks like such a wonderful time....The Joy on George's face is just precious! I love it that you all surprise one another for your birthdays!! Your Love for one another just shows in all you do!!

KathyA said...

Love seeing the cake, the view, the birthday boy, AND the eagles!!