A Picture Perfect Day

 

Blairsville, GA – Rivers Edge Rv Park (high 82, low 62)

 

We had the most amazing day yesterday.  It wasn’t so much what we did, but the weather, which was absolutely perfect.

After spending our winter in the Keys, where it was getting pretty warm by the time we left, then two months in Tampa with high humidity and mid 90’s every day, we were ready for some cooler weather. Yesterday could not have been more perfect, although, I admit I was actually cold when I got up yesterday morning!   I was better prepared this morning though and had my heavy winter robe handy.  I’m sitting here with my robe on and a blanket covering my legs.  It’s 53 degrees!   Burrrrrr (not complaining)

It never got out of the mid 70’s yesterday, with very low humidity.  It was actually chilly in the shade.

We decided to take our friends,  Ralph and Terry for a little sightseeing trip.  They need a little motivation.  :)

We rode along the Richard B Russell Scenic highway stopping to take in a few scenic vistas.  Our ears started popping as we got up to 3400 feet elevation.

We finally ended up in the pretty little town of Hiawassee, which is on a beautiful lake made from a dam along the Hiawassee River.

This is a photo of the town that I borrowed from the internet.  It was taken from the top of Brasstown Bald Mountain, which is the highest point in Georgia and just a few miles from our place.

We stopped to eat at El Cancun Mexican restaurant which had an amazing view overlooking the lake and marina.  We chose to eat outside, and out of habit, opted for the shade.  We soon realized we should have sat in the sun because it was a little chilly.  Again, NOT complaining.

Some people were out paddleboarding, and we also saw several kayakers.

 

Ralph mentioned he would like to play some golf while they are here, so we went looking for a golf course.   It turns out Blairsville has a gorgeous golf course.  We spent a good hour admiring it.

The golf course sits on the top of a big hill.  You look down onto the course, and what a view there was.  This is Butternut Creek Golf Course.

It’s hard to see in the pictures, but the course is very hilly with some steep inclines and a deep valley in the middle.

Neither Al or I play golf.  I wonder if you could rent a golf cart and just drive around the course?   It’s so pretty, I would love to do that.  :)

Ralph checking out the course. That photo looks posed, but it really wasn’t. It cost $25 to play.

The photos don’t quite capture exactly how beautiful this course was or how steep the inclines are.

After we visited the golf course, we took a drive out to Track Rock, which is another pretty scenic drive.

We wanted to show Terry this pretty subdivision. Nice place, isn’t it?

 

Our next stop was back home to pick up some walking shoes and then on to Vogel State Park, which is just a 2-3 miles from our campground.   Terry and Ralph wimped out on us though and called it a day!   Party poopers!    :)

Vogel State Park is a pretty state park with 103 campsites and 35 cabins.  It has a pretty lake where you can swim, paddleboard, or kayak.

Our mission was to hike around the lake to the waterfall trail.  With the weather being so fabulous, everyone else seemed to have the same idea, so it was pretty crowded.  We’re thinking in a few weeks the kids will be back in school and the crowds will probably be smaller.  We hope.

The trail leads around the lake, which surprisingly was full of blooming rhododendrons.  We didn’t get here early enough last year and missed the bloom.

Last one.  I promise.

 

The trail around the lake, cuts off to go to the waterfall.  It’s just a short distance and an easy walk.

You can see the waterfall from the top, but the best view is from the bottom.  Unfortunately, there was a large group of extremely rude people that decided to sit down and rest in the middle of the stairs.  I got down okay, but Al missed the window of opportunity and had to wait until they got finished lounging. They didn’t seem to mind at all that there were people both on the top and the bottom waiting for them to get out of the way.

In this picture, the women finally starting to stand back up and  getting ready to move, although they were clearly in no hurry and didn’t seem to care that they were blocking people from going either up or down the stairs.    I stood at the bottom waiting to see what they were going to do.  You can see Al at the top with his arms folded.

Rude people!!!   No one was moving, as the women were still trying to get off of their butts.

Al finally got down and we looked at the waterfall a few minutes and then ended up behind that same group along the trail. Fortunately, they were moving slow enough we could pass them.

Once we got home, we went over to Terry and Ralphs, and had happy hour and visited for a while.  Then we went home, got Baxter and took him for a ride on the golf cart.  I forgot to get pictures, but I’m sure he will pose next time.

We weren’t quite ready to call it a day, so we sat outside and lit the campfire.  It was getting pretty chilly by the time the sun went down and the fire felt pretty good.  We considered getting into the hot tub, but it was so chilly, that we  wimped out.

Today’s another day.  It’s supposed to be a little warmer. I think our cold front is on the way out.  Hopefully, it won’t get too warm.