Camping, Coffee, and Mother's Day

Water lilies along the shoreline

As you all know, I've been away from Blogland for a while now - far too long for me! I'm taking a vacation as soon as I finish my current quilt and writing and blogging will be a big part of that. But, until I actually get there, I wanted to show you what we did this past Mother's Day weekend.

First, I put all of my shops on vacation. Then we packed up and went to the Gordonia-Alatamaha State Park here in Southeast Georgia, near Claxton. It was a wonderful park. It sits right on a lake with fishing docks and bench swings that face the water. The mornings were bright and beautiful replete with watching the sun rise over the lake and seeing the mists shroud it like a beautiful lace shawl. During the day, the park provides a nature trail, fishing and paddle boat rentals, and a splash pad. There is a playground and volley ball courts, group shelters, cabins, miniature golfing, and plenty of areas to cook and enjoy a day in nature.

We go tent camping, mostly because we haven't invested in a camper of any type and we can still get away with it fairly cheap! So our site was set down a little further than the others and a little closer to the water. I was nervous at first, because there are signs set along the docks that warn, "Do Not Feed the Alligators." Hmm...okay. So if you have pets and small children please DO NOT FEED THE ALLIGATORS! I did ask the campground host if they've had problems with the gators coming up to the camps. Of course, being in a tent I didn't feel we had much protection from a hungry gator. He said that they have never had any reports or problems with them. That made me feel a little better, although my inner smart alec wanted to ask if that was because they were eaten before they could report it. I didn't, but wanted to.

We did survive the gators, though, and our first morning my husband made a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and campfire coffee. If you've never had campfire coffee, you're missing out. We have a coffee pot that has been handed down from generation to generation. It is at least 25-30 years old and has this really awesome smoked patina to the metal. Anyway, it was delicious and one of the camping highlights.

Afterward, we went hiking on the nature trail. So much natural beauty surrounded us. Overhanging vines, Spanish Moss, and natural tree canopies shaded most of the walk. The trail winds around the lake, so there are some muddy areas where there is run-off. I say this because my 8-year-old was none too happy about stepping in some of it and getting her new shoes dirty. Apparently she is not much of a hiker. At trail's end there is an overlook, which according to my husband and older children does have a small risk of quicksand and swamp muck to get past and see. I did not venture in to see!

Afterward, we let the kids play down in the splash pad and get soaked for a while. We were serenaded by a man with a guitar that had a lovely singing voice. It was kind of like an island scene. Kind of. No island, no oceans, no leis or grass skirts, but kind of.

Singing Guitar Man

We ended our evening with lunch, fishing, dinner, and more fishing. The frogs sang
to us all night long and we awoke to another beautiful morning. I would have to say it has been one of the best and most relaxing Mother's Days I can recall. We're going back again soon. I hope you might try to take your family camping one day - or even get out on your own and just enjoy the peace and solitude of nature.

Baby Frog!