2020…the Year of Limited Adventure

27 Tuesday Oct 2020

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Ahhh, 2020. There year we were supposed to go back to Cozumel, California, and possibly eastern Canada. The year we actually walked more hours than we drove and explored the world much closer to home.

This blog has been very quiet this year. Not that I intended it to be, but there just didn’t seem to be many adventures worth putting into words. As I looked back through photos from the past 10 months, I realized we’ve not exactly been doing nothing. Our adventures just look different this year than in the past.

We were scheduled to spend a week in Cozumel, Mexico in late March, two weeks after I began working from home. As the pandemic spiked in the US and across the world, we decided to postpone that trip until June…then September…now maybe 2021? The beach is my happy place, and being able to walk down 2 steps and into warm sand is heaven. Whenever that trip happens, I know it will be exactly what I need at exactly the right time.

Our explorations this year have been much closer to home, and many of them on foot. We’ve explored many trails and state parks in our local area. It was fun watching the leaves bud in March and April, followed by enjoying the shade of the leaf canopy through the summer months. Now we’re watching them turn color and float to the ground. I found a fun, easy app, AllTrails, that has provided us with an ever growing number of local hikes to check out.

Our local creek from the bridge overcrossing — Our first local hike

We did venture a little further to The Guideposts in rural northeast Georgia, (followed by a picnic and visits to two breweries in Athens, GA just because we could). The Guideposts are rather interesting, but not sure it’s somewhere we’ll venture to again or take visitors. It’s a bit of a drive for roughly 20 – 30 minutes to take in everything there is to see. It is near the Ty Cobb Museum for anyone who’s a fan of baseball.

In September we decided to do an out of town trip, and we hit Nashville for a long weekend. We did a bit of the Tennessee Whiskey Trail on our drive there, stopping at Chattanooga Whiskey and George Dickel Distilleries. We stayed at a hotel near Music Row and joined the crowd on Friday night to hear live music. We didn’t stay out long as it was getting crowded, and neither of us were feeling really comfortable. Saturday we opted to walk over toward Vanderbilt University and the Parthenon. Centennial Park, where the Parthenon is located, is undergoing a major renovation, and it appeared to be closed. We were rather happy to find as we walked around the last side of the building that it was open. And we beat the crowd for the day! The Parthenon is the only full size replica in the world, including the statue of Athena.

From there we walked back toward the hotel and explored Marathon Village. Nashville was once home to Marathon Motors Company. The building is now converted to a series of small shops, but old machinery from the factory is displayed along the hallways. Really worth checking out if you like nostalgia and old cars.

We may have driven to Nashville and home, but we walked everywhere until it was time to leave!

We’ve (mostly me) made several trips to east central Illinois to check in on Mom. Not sure these count as adventures, but it’s always a fun visit. We’ve ‘walked’ down memory lane many times during each visit. And I’m not sure whether it’s a good thing or not that I pretty much know every rest area between here and there on both sides of the highway. We’ll be taking one final trip north for 2020, then the weather will keep us home for a few months.

Here’s hoping the world becomes safer and saner, and travel becomes more possible in the coming year. I miss the open road and discovering new places along the way. Until then, I guess my feet will need to have to continue to help me explore new places close to home.

(And note to self, every now and then when you feel you haven’t done enough exploring, scroll through your photos for a reminder of all you have done in the craziness that is 2020.)

Posted by andreapw | Filed under Vacation2016

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Spur of the moment adventure!

05 Monday Sep 2016

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adventure, beach, Captain Woody's, excursion, Georgia, HIE, Hilton Head Island, Holiday Inn Express, IHG, Labor Day, South Carolina, travel with dogs, travel with pets

For those who don’t know me (or us) well, I am prone to last minute, sometimes late at night, flights of fancy which usually include some sort of local adventure. To say that I am blessed with a husband who sometimes encourages, but always indulges, in these crazy ideas is a complete and utter understatement. Today was just further proof of this.

We had a wonderful Saturday evening with friends, enjoyed some scrumptious BBQ and great conversation. We got the kitchen cleaned up and were sitting around relaxing. I hopped online just out of curiousity to see what options we might have if we decided to drive to the coast. (I may have been feeling just a little guilty that I will soon be spending 2 weeks in Hawaii on a girls trip, and the beach is a very special place for both of us.)

Whether it was Hurrican Hermine (downgraded to Tropical Storm Hermine by the time she hit the GA/SC coast) causing people to cancel reservations, or our guardian angels who knew how important and special a trip to the ocean would be for us, I managed to find an exceptionally reasonably priced hotel for Labor Day weekend that was pet friendly. (The cat is good at home on her own for an overnight trip. The dog, not so much. She needs to come with us, or be boarded.) She was clearly up for the adventure!

I have the hotel website up and ready to press the “reserve now” button…I verify one last and final time (after checking the weather forecast, storm damage and travel time) that he was willing to go along with my last minute excursion plans. It was probably less than a second from his “I’m in” response to the click of the button. (I don’t waste time when adventure calls and there is anything resembling agreeement to my shenanigans!)
We decided to shoot for a 9AM departure, with 9:30AM being our “drop dead” out the door time. We packed overnight bags, the dog, and lots of leftover snacks, and left the driveway at precisely 9:30AM. (The whole departure time negotiation is an entire post in and of itself. I was happy to be on the road by our final time of 9:30.)

The drive was easy and uneventful, just the way we like them. There wasn’t much traffic, and the weather was wonderful – sunny with just the right amount of clouds to keep the sun from overheating us.

We hit the GA/SC border about 1:30PM (we’d made a few stops along the way…breakfast, pitstop, lunch), so we were just a tad later than planned. We were checked in to our hotel, changed and headed to the beach by 3:15PM. If you aren’t a rewards/club member of your favorite hotel chain, you really should be. Not only did we get an awesome deal, we got a free upgrade to a suite for being members. I generally don’t give shout-outs/endorsements on here, but I have to make an exception for the Holiday Inn Express in Bluffton, SC. Their front desk staff are the tops – so knowledgeable, friendly and accomodating. We got great directions to the “local” beach that would be less touristy. It was an easy 20 minute drive, free parking, and an easy walk to the beach. On our way across the bridge to Hilton Head Island. my other half got to see a dolphin breach. I couldn’t see it, but I don’t doubt it given the look on his face!

We weren’t quite sure what the “rules” of the beach were, so we brought just the bare minimum. We’re already much better prepared for the next time…we got to swim a bit, sun a bit, and enjoy the people watching. It was fun watching the kites dance and weave further down the beach, and on our last trip into the water I almost stepped on a starfish! Unfortuantely I had left the camera back at our spot, so I wasn’t able to get a photo of him.

We headed back to the hotel and took a quick swim in the pool just to say we did. A wonderful recommendation from the front desk on a local restaurant for fresh seafood, and we were off for dinner. We ate on the upstairs deck bar at Captain Woody’s and had great food and live entertainment. We hit it at just the right time, too, as it filled up rather quickly shortly thereafter.
Our pooch was happy to see us when we finally returned for the evening. She looks like we feel, I think!

Tomorrow we’ll drive around the island a bit more before we head inland and back to reality. This was a very serendipitous trip, and I believe the first of many to this little stretch of heaven on earth!

Posted by andreapw | Filed under Vacation2016

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Exploring Our Own Backyard

29 Monday Aug 2016

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Atlanta, Georgia, hiking, Mableton

After our big trip this summer, we really had to spend some time unpacking and settling into our new location. That meant my weekend trips to somewhere new were on hold for a bit. But that hasn’t stopped me from venturing close to home and seeing what I might find!

We have this very small park about a mile from our house. I drive by it twice a day at a minimum, to and from work. I have always noticed the signs for a trail, and each time think, “We really need to explore that some day.” Well, someday was just recently, and I am glad I did!

The first visit I took the 4-legged companion with me. She’s always up for exploring, loves to walk, and is really good on her leash. We set off down the trail, and I was immediately in love with this place. You wind down a ways from the parking lot, then you come upon this incredible wooden boardwalk that takes you across the creek.

From the other side, the boardwalk ends, but the path continues to parallel the creek. The path is almost completely shaded, which was a plus because it was late afternoon both times I’ve visited. Every so often the tree canopy parts and you get a bit of sun, but you really don’t need to bring sunglasses on this walk. There were platforms where you could stop and watch the creek lazily roll by, a covered picnic table, and lots of nature to admire. I saw so many butterflies my first visit. Not a lot of wildlife on the ground (which was ok with me – I’m not really interested in meeting a local snake on my walk!) I can imagine during the mornings and at dusk in the fall and spring you might be lucky enough to spot a deer, however.

I went as far as I could with my 4-legged friend, and only had to carry her a little bit of the way home. It was about a 3 mile round-trip walk, so I cannot complain. She was a trooper, for sure! My second favorite sighting on the first visit was the bat houses. There are several built underneath the power lines. That explains why we can sit outside and not get bit all over. I was so happy to see the use of natural mosquito control over spraying. I have always wanted to put a bat house in my backyard. At least I know they are nearby!

A few days later I was lucky enough to take my other half out to show him my “discovery.” We walked quite a bit further and found even more “treasures.”

I think this tree trunk is the perfect hiding spot for fairies!

About a quarter mile further from where I turned around on my first trek, we came across these two buildings, or what used to be buildings. We’re not sure what they used to be. I think possibly a mill of some sort as it is right next to the creek? And there is a smaller foundation just up the hill from it which may have been the office? I love that the foundations and remaining structures have been reinforced with steel framing. This will ensure it doesn’t topple and injure someone, but also preserves a piece of local history.

Next time I go for a walk here I am going to check the map on the “visitor center” and see if it gives any information on these buildings. (It’s not manned, and is essentially the restrooms, but visitor center sounds so much better!)

We haven’t yet gone the full length of this trail, but we will keep at it until we do. It’s supposed to connect with the Silver Comet Trail, which is another local attraction I’m itching to explore. That will likely require a bicycle tune-up (or replacement) to do it justice. And fall is perfect for bike rides!

Posted by andreapw | Filed under Atlanta, bat house, creek, Exploring, Georgia, Heritage Park, hiking, Mableton, Nickajack Creek

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Double A Adventures

Tag Archives: Georgia

2020…the Year of Limited Adventure

Spur of the moment adventure!

Exploring Our Own Backyard