FEB 26: HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN, JIGGITY JIG....

Hi all. I know that little line in the title is part of a nursery rhyme, but for the life of me I can't recall the rest of it. Tee hee.

We headed north from Savannah, GA, knowing full well that we were headed into the cold. But, wait, there's more... We had a stop in Davidson, NC to visit some friends that we had met in Alaska. Almost every week, while in AK, we had dinner with Lauren and Suzanne. Sometimes we cooked, sometimes they did. Other times we ventured out looking for whatever little, local restaurant we could find within driving distance. So, when we knew we were going to Florida, I wrote them and we managed to do a zig, zag in our return trip to stop and visit them in North Carolina.

We took a delightful walk on their back woods, on some delightful trails they had cleared. Over the years they have spent many hours enjoying their little bit of wild country.

This is a close-by lake that we visited. It was definitely chillier here than it was in Florida. Reality of going north was beginning to sink in.

On our "nature walk" on Lauren & Suzanne's trails, we came upon many unexpected surprises. We know that the crocuses and dafodils in Waterloo are not out yet. Surprise! North Carolina spring is so much closer than ours.

This picture of Suzanne is most characteristic of Suzanne, as I remember her from Alaska. They were hosts on Redshirt Lake up there. They had to hike 3 miles in and out every week to their cabin, so that they could be caretakers of several state park public use cabins. They love nature so much and are continuously aware of their surroundings in that way.

In their little woods they found these wagon wheels, which now graces their yard.

Lauren & Suzanne have named all the trails....

....and here is the name-sake of that trail....

This vine climbs up the tree behind their home. Far be it from me to remember the name, but we are told that it has many blue flowers when it does bloom.

Another "found treasure" gracing a trail...

...and another....

Andd here is a beautiful view from the road on our return trek to Indiana. This is just a reminder of what a wonderful country we have. We are blessed. Every time we take another trip around this country, once again we become aware of the magnificence and rugged beauty of the United States. Yes, we are blessed.

We are home now. We had a wonderful stow-away for part of our trip: Chris' cousin CJ. I put some things on Facebook; and CJ "stowed-away" and traveled vicariously with us. She brought us lots of fun.

So, until we "connect" again...