Across the Country and Back - Pt 3

Fort White, Florida

Before leaving Carol's to go to Ft. White while checking the weather I saw that river flooding was happening in the area of Fred and Leah's cabin. We decided that we would plan to meet there anyway and if the water was a problem then we would eat dinner and then just head to their house in Georgia.

The funniest thing about the day is that we agreed to eat at a place in town where we met and ate when Clarence and I went there the first time. Why was it funny? Because it wasn't good and after we ate we all admitted that we didn't like it the last time we ate there either. Needless to say, if anyone suggests it next time someone will speak up and remind the others.

When we got to the cabin the river was way up but not enough to keep us from staying and having a good time visiting, catching up and enjoying the natural beauty of the area.

The actual river is at the very back of the picture!

It was a peaceful couple of relaxing days with good friends and that was the only beginning of a few days together because after we left the cabin we drove to their home in Folkston, Georgia for a few more days.

Need some Cheetos before going back in the water!

The only negative at the river was the bugs. While I didn't feel them when they were biting me they tore my feet up. I even wound up having to soak my left foot in the leftover beer ice to try to get the swelling down.

We had a nice fire the last night at the cabin and then spent the next morning cleaning up and trying to keep the dogs out of the water for the drive home.

Folkston, Georgia

We didn't get off the water when we got to their house in Georgia. We unloaded the car, put the dogs in the yard, filled a cooler and headed to the dock just down the road from their house where their friend Matt picked us up in his speed boat and took us to "Red Neck Beach" where their daughter and her family were hanging out. We stayed there until late afternoon and then went back to the house for a cookout. I told Fred and Leah that, "I hope you realize that you live in a vacation". Don't get me wrong, they work hard with "projects" going on all the time but there is plenty of time to relax and to play.

The next morning started like every morning I have spent in Folkston with coffee on the porch. They have a lot of bird feeders and bird houses so there are always a lot of birds to watch and hear. They had a bluebird house with five babies among many other types. Also the next morning after my shower I discovered that I had picked up a hitchhiker somewhere along the way. With all the years I have spent hiking, rafting and camping it was my first tick! The irony is that my daughter found one on my grandson in Missouri the same day.

I spent the day supervising while Fred painted trim on the pool house that he built and then we had some chicken wings, drove around looking at some property a friend of theirs had bought and the work that had been done on the lake since I was last there and finished the night off with another BBQ. The next morning I took Fred and Leah to breakfast at a place in town that turned out to be so inexpensive it was unreal and then I headed northwest to Athens, Georgia to spend some time with Clarence.