867 December 3-4, 2022 Stone Mountain Christmas

We left Lane Southern Orchards on Saturday morning.  We only had a short drive to Stone Mountain Campground just outside Atlanta.  We had planned to arrive on Monday…but we just couldn’t wait to see David and his family. 

Once we had settled into our campsite, we drove to go and see the kids.  They didn’t know we were coming and they were so incredibly happy!  We had a great visit and David made us dinner.

We went back to Stone Mountain for the night.  On Sunday afternoon, David and Dre and the boys came to visit us.  We had pumpkin chili for lunch and walked down to the lake. 

The best part of the day was our adventure at Stone Mountain Christmas. 

We took the Sky Ride to the top and looked at the view of Atlanta.

We played in the indoor playground and ropes course.  I had lots of fun climbing right along with the boys.  I did not take the slide down 3 stories but decided on the stairs!

We walked through the outdoor dinosaur park.

Then it was time for snacks.

We took the train around the mountain.

The lights were bright and colorful as we walked back through the park to the car.  It was a very fun day.

Tomorrow we are going to take the RV to a storage facility and then we will move into David’s until after the New Year.  I will take a break from publishing the blog until then.  May you have the happiest of holidays!

866 December 2, 2022 Lane Southern Orchards

We started the day with our usual exercise.  I walked more than 3 miles in and around the campground at Lake City.  It was 46 degrees and I had to put a sweatshirt on!  We actually had to use the furnace overnight.  We are in for a rude awakening!

Tim drove all morning; out of Florida and into Georgia.  We found a Harvest Host site in Fort Valley in Peach County.  Lane Southern Orchards is an extensive operation.  They are primarily peach and pecan growers. 

There are miles of orchards in the surrounding area. 

There is also a beautiful farm store with all sorts of preserves and dilly beans and pickled beets and syrups and nuts and too many other things to name.  As soon as you walk in the door you are met with the fragrance of sweet roasted pecans and your mouth begins to water.

We had a lot of fun shopping for all kinds of treats and gifts.

We rested for a short time and then I walked the property while Tim rode his bike. 

At dinnertime, we went back into the store and ordered pulled pork sandwiches.  It was nice enough to eat out on the porch.

One more walk as the sun set.

We really do enjoy these Harvest Host experiences.  We spend a lot of time in traditional campgrounds.  It is really fun to find a place that we would otherwise not even know about and to travel off the well-worn interstate to explore these treasures.

865 December 1, 2022 Lake City

I walked around the town of Frostproof this morning.  I walked all the way to Clinch Lake.

I saw sandhill cranes.

I saw a bald eagle flying overhead.

He then landed on the water tower where he sat for a long time.

We went in to see Mister Chris for a cup of coffee.  I had Brazilian which was smooth and rich.  Tim had Tanzanian coffee.  I know that it was stronger than our usual because my heart was pounding for awhile!

We enjoyed our short time in Frostproof. It is a quiet, gentle place.

Today was a driving day.  Tim drove more than 200 miles.  The first many miles were through a series of small towns.  Then past Legoland and Disney…someday I hope to bring the boys here.  Then we were on the turnpike with lots of traffic.  Finally onto 75N. It was here that we started to think about where we might spend the night. Campgrounds closer to Ocala and Gainesville were outrageously expensive.

We arrived in Lake City in midafternoon.  The campground is older but clean and well kept.  The laundry room was a great asset and I had all 4 machines going! 

I walked in the surrounding neighborhood between washing and drying.

We had a simple dinner; trying to clean out the freezer and the fridge.

We walked again after eating.

864 November 30, 2022 Frostproof

It was cool and breezy overnight.  It was so nice to sleep with the windows open and I even needed a blanket!

This morning, I walked one mile in the campground and then another almost three on the levee.  I had a  creeping companion on the trail.

We drove a couple of hours north on 27 through farmland, citrus orchards, and small towns.  We had found a Harvest Host site in Frostproof, Florida.  Mister Chris’ Coffee Gallery is in an old train depot that was constructed in 1912.  This labor of love houses an eclectic bunch of antiques and classic collectibles as well as fresh coffee.  We can’t drink coffee in the afternoon and so we settled on some coffee beans for the coffee connoisseurs in our lives.  We toured the seven rooms.  Each has a theme and is meant to be interactive if you are inclined. 

In the music room there are tons of vinyl albums and a record player just begging for use.  There are also board games and other fun things to do. 

When this was an operating depot, there were two ticket windows.  The window on the left was for colored people and the window on the right for whites.  The owner here wanted to preserve this part of history and designed his space so that the ticket windows remained intact.  They are part of the story of this place.

This was the crew of men who built the depot and worked on this portion of the Atlantic Coastline Railroad.

The building as it appeared in 1912.

The grounds here are lovely with several live oak trees that are more than 200 years ols.

There is a Native American Burial Site on the corner.

We rested during the hottest portion of the afternoon and then walked down to the dock on Reedy Lake.

We spent a lot of time on this porch swing. 

After dinner, we walked through town.  We love these quaint places…small town USA.  If not for Harvest Host, we wouldn’t have stopped here.  It was a pleasant way to spend the day.