No, wait, that was Old Virginny.
Speaking of old, my stepbrother and his wife drove into town from Texas one day last week. It was the first time we have seen each other in eight years. They had decided to take an autumn vacation and drive around the southeastern U.S. for a few weeks and we were their first stop. Well, their second, really, because they spent their first night in Meridian, Mississippi.
On Friday, as much of the family as we could get together on short notice went out for dinner at a very nice restaurant in Kennesaw.
On Saturday, we went up to Big Canoe in the mountains to spend some time with my oldest son’s family. We went to a place called Burt’s Pumpkin Patch in Dawsonville where people were pushing around wheelbarrows full of pumpkins and gourds and Indian corn and butternut squash and acorn squash and lots of other things. We also went to Amicalola Falls, the highest waterfall in Georgia at 729 feet (222 m). We had planned a picnic and a trip to some apple orchards in Ellijay as well, but Mother Nature decided to give our area some much-needed rain, so we cut short the gadding about and returned to Big Canoe for the afternoon.
On Sunday, our visitors departed for their next stop, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. They also plan to visit North Carolina’s Outer Banks and Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park/Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway before heading across Kentucky and Tennessee back to good old Big D.
Here is part of Amicalola Falls:
and here is part of Burt’s Pumpkin Patch:
I hope it is not another eight years until we see them again.
Until then, we’ll just have to be satisfied with singing “Big D, Little a, Double L, A, S” along with Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews at Carnegie Hall (5:45)
What an amazing display of pumpkins, the colour is so vibrant! And it's a fine photograph of you four good folks too. Hubby is as impressed as I. At the pumpkins. Not that you are not impressive as a group. I'm sure you get me *smiles. Thank you for the music too.
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredible contrast between the falls and the pumpkins! Lovely images, and so nice to see you all standing there amongst them. I guess people buy them to carve - what a waste most Kiwis would say. I can't think of anything as tasty as a sweet, dry (not mushy) piece of pumpkin that's been slow-roasted with spuds and parsnips in the oven, YUM!
ReplyDeleteAll Consuming (Michelle), glad you and your Hubby liked today's visual and aural stimulation from Georgia.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, yes, at this time of year a great many pumpkins are carved, and a great many more are made into pumpkin pies along with great amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, vanilla, sugar, and eggs. I never ever before heard of anyone roasting pumpkins with spuds and parsnips, though. Until now.
Oh pumpkin pies are delicious, but RAOST pumpkin is nicer!
ReplyDeleteyou look older and fatter in that picture<><>,.just saying<><><>i guess i could have said something nice and i would have still been saying, just saying
ReplyDeleteRWP, I am seeing many images of orange pumpkins through my blog feeds. The colours are incredible of which we don't see here. I am glad to read you well enough to get out and about with family. That is a lovely photo of the four of you.
ReplyDeletePutz (David), I have decided to be magnanimous and not say anything unkind about poor spellers who live in desert places. Actually there is nothing wrong with your spelling in that comment, just with your capitalization and a decided lack of ending punctuation.
ReplyDeleteCarol (Carol), four of us? There were four of us? I'm just kidding. And regarding the colo(u)rs, you have those marvelous birds that we do not.
Love, love, love the pumpkins. Like Katherine I think a piece of roast pumpkin is a joy. With or without the spuds and parsnips.
ReplyDeleteThe falls are a delight too. But the happy portrait tops the bill for me today. Thank you.
Such a beautiful country we have, I'm excited for them to be seeing Autumn in so many places! Lovely family photo; thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI must say that I enjoyed this post - ordinary American life in late October and you have a nice smile on your face. It's good to spend time with our families and eight years was much too long. Planned your trip back to Mansfield TX yet?
ReplyDeleteElephant's Child, LightExpectations, and Yorkshire Pudding, thanks to each of you for your kind words and compliments. They make blogging worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of roasted pumpkin? RWP you aven't lived till you've had roast pumpkin with your Sunday roast beef or lamb. Staple food of Aussies and Kiwis too it seems.
ReplyDeleteYou look like you have recovered well from your recent illness??
Up to now, roasting has been my favourite way of consuming squash of all sorts I'd say. Brings out the sweetness just so. I like them with sweet potatoes like that too. Soup is second. I still haven't made the pie, however I am grateful for the list of ingredients there, I'll substitute something suitable for egg, which is rarely a problem.
ReplyDeleteYou look neither older nor fatter, but do have a lovely smile. Putz must be in a very grumpy mood to say such a thing methinks, so no pumpkin pie for him this week tsk.
Helsie, based on the responses to this post, half the world seems to be eating roasted pumpkin! I would say I am still recovering (thank you for asking) as my hemoglobin has risen to 9.0 (normal around 14) and I have also started taking iron pills. Another blood test is scheduled in a couple of weeks, and I'm hoping my numbers will have improved by then.
ReplyDeleteAll Consuming, I may look neither older nor fatter to you (thank you very much and please schedule an appointment with your ophthalmologist at your earliest opportunity), but I am definitely BALDER than that picture in the sidebar taken three short years ago indicates. Time marches on!