Making Memories

From May 5-12,  George and I were out making more memories!!!!  We went on a Combo Beach and Waterfall trip, and had (as usual) a marvelous time.  We enjoy breaking up long trips in the car by hiking and finding new waterfalls.  First of all,  we visited 6 waterfalls not far from Helen, Georgia (an area which we had visited in February).  Out of the 6 falls,  there were five which were new to us.  The sixth one was Horse Trough Falls which we saw in February.  However,  with all of the spring leaves on the trees now,  this waterfall looked quite different.  The picture above is of us taken on 5/5/12 at Horse Trough Falls.

After spending the night in Simpsonville, South Carolina,  we headed to Ocean Isle Beach on the North Carolina coast on Sunday, getting there about 3 p.m.  Of course,  we checked in and then immediately changed clothes and took a long walk on the beach..   This picture above was taken on 5/6/12.   We were SO excited to get here.  AND--that evening we ate dinner at one of our favorite places,  Twin Lakes Restaurant near Sunset Beach.

The next three days (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) were spent just enjoying the beach --and enjoying the fabulous Calabash Seafood....  This picture was taken on a gorgeous Tuesday evening after we had returned from dinner at the wonderful Boundary House Restaurant in Calabash.

My friend accused us of just going to the beach to EAT... Well--she may be partially right,  but we also did miles and miles of walking this week --and just enjoyed being right there ON the beach soaking up the sun!!!!

This picture was taken on a rainy Wednesday (5/9) evening.   We had just returned from dinner at Ella's Restaurant in Calabash... Both George and I LOVE the big sea scallops --and on this night,  we had them sauteed.   YUM!!!!!  One thing about being at the beach is that each day is different from the next one   Overall we had a wonderful week and only had a little rain on this afternoon/evening.

Here's one more picture from the same area.   This was taken on Thursday night and we had just returned from our favorite restaurant,  the Dockside Restaurant in Calabash.   We love this restaurant so much that we ate there twice,  on Monday and Thursday nights. We both enjoyed a seafood plate consisting of shrimp and scallops... (Even though we both wear sun-block ---we did get some tan this past week... At least,  there were no sunburns this trip!)

Many people ask about our matching t-shirts... The tee which we have on in the picture above was probably the first matching t-shirts we bought.  We bought these in Sept of 2001 on our cruise to the South Caribbean.  AND--we've been buying matching tees ever since... I don't know how many we have now --but it's probably well over 35 sets..... ha

We left the Islander Inn at Ocean Isle Beach on Friday morning --and headed back to Simpsonville to spend the night.  However,  we managed to find SIX more new waterfalls on this day.  The picture above was taken at the Cedar Shoals area --where we saw three sets of waterfalls..   This is at the upper falls area --which is really a dam, but gorgeous.

We woke up early on Saturday morning and headed out to find more waterfalls... Can you believe that we saw NINE more new waterfalls on this day?????  Most of these were near the Cleveland, South Carolina area ---and sometime, we need to go back there since there are many more to see.   The picture above was taken at Middle Wildcat Falls.  This area was a gorgeous place to hike---with a great trail and lots of beautiful rhododendrons and laurels around.

And this one was taken also on Saturday (5/12).   We visited a little park called Pleasant Ridge ---and loved sitting by this little waterfall,  Pleasant Ridge Falls, after a short hike down into the gorge.

After hiking and seeing all of these waterfalls,  we headed home...  As much as I love traveling and going on vacations,  it's wonderful to get back home and sleep in our own bed!!!!!   We found things at home in good shape ---and LOTS of roses and lilies were blooming just for us!!!!!

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On another note,  today is my BABY's 41st birthday.  If you want to read more about Jeff,  click HERE .    Jeff hasn't had an easy life ---and life has thrown him some curves.  BUT--with his drive and ambition,  he is doing GREAT.  In fact, he is getting married in October to a wonderful girl...  I am SO happy for both of them... We'll be celebrating Jeff's birthday with Dawn and him tomorrow evening... Yeah!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart...  I thank God everyday for you and what you mean to me.  I am so so so so so  PROUD of you!!!!!  I love you very much!
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Hope all of you have had a great week and enjoyed Mother's Day.  My sweet Mama died in 1991 --at the age of 91,  and I still miss her very much.

Hugs to ALL,
Betsy

More from Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee

On April 21st,   George and I visited FALL CREEK FALLS STATE PARK here in Tennessee.   IF you missed seeing the blog post as to WHY we chose that particular day to go down there,   click HERE to find out!!!!!

Today I'll share with you more pictures from that cold, drizzly, foggy day!!!!  Above is the main waterfall in the park, Fall Creek Falls.  (There are 6 waterfalls there altogether.)   Fall Creek Falls is 256 feet high.  IF you want to read more information about this waterfall,  click HERE.

Here's a picture taken from the Fall Creek Falls overlook of the gorge.. You can see the fog around that day.

I took this picture of George at the overlook at Fall Creek Falls.  You can see part of the waterfall ---and also the fog.

Another waterfall at the park is named CANE CREEK FALLS.  The best place to get a picture of this one is after a hike on the other side of the gorge.  I took this picture from the overlook during our hike.

I got excited seeing some beautiful wildflowers blooming at the park.  Aren't these little guys just gorgeous?

Seeing the Mountain Laurels begin to bloom was also exciting to me.  I should go back next week  and see these beauties in full bloom...

After a delicious dinner at the lodge restaurant that afternoon,  we walked outside to check out the lake...  I thought of my youngest son and his son, my awesome grandson.  They would love to be here fishing on the pier nearby!  BUT--it was a little chilly out there ---or at least, the wind was cold!!!!

Finally,  this picture of us was taken at the CANE CREEK CASCADES when we first got to the park... After checking out this area and taking pictures,  we quickly put on our jackets... Did I mention that it was quite cold down there that day????? ha ha

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This past Wednesday,  we drove to McMinnville, Tennessee  to meet George's brother, Ken, and wife, Bonnie, along with  Dad Adams for lunch at Applebee's.   Ken and Bonnie have been visiting Dad this week in Tullahoma.   They live in Indiana --so we don't get to see them as often as we'd like.

This is a hard week for Dad (who will be 100 yrs. old in August).   Wednesday (when we met) would have been Mom's 92nd birthday. (She died last June--and he misses her terribly.)  Then Saturday, the 5th, would have been their 72nd wedding anniversary. BUT--Dad is still doing well,  and he definitely ate a good lunch!!!

George and I did something we NEVER do.... Can you believe that we both left our cameras at home????????   GADS!!!!   SO---the picture above of Dad,  Bonnie and Ken was taken last August at Cracker Barrel.    BUT--despite the fact that we didn't have our cameras,  we did have a great lunch and fellowship with all of them.  Ken is George's little brother ---being 2 yrs. younger.  Their sister, Janet, couldn't join us since she was at work.  She is 10 yrs. younger than George.

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George and I are going to take a BLOG BREAK.  We are SO SO busy --and there's SO much to do.. We just need to take a break for a short time.  We should be back to blogging between May 14 and 16...  Hope all of you have a great week!!!! 

Have a wonderful weekend  and week ahead.
Hugs,
Betsy