Memorial Weekend

We had a fun holiday weekend.  First off, I would like to take a moment to honor the soldiers who have given their lives for this country--the real reason for the holiday.  I am so grateful to live in this beautiful land and to be a citizen of the United States.  So many have given their lives to protect the freedoms that I take for granted.
Thank You to all the soldiers--past, present and future!

On Saturday we hiked up to the top of the Amicalola Falls--which is in the northern part of Georgia--a little northwest of Atlanta.  It was a beautiful day--mid 80's with cloud cover.  We couldn't get a picture that accurately gave the scope of the falls, and there were basically four lookout points.  One at the base of the falls which had a lot of people fishing, one about midpoint--you will see pictures of that, one near the top, and one which overlooks the valley.  The hike was enjoyable, and we took a nice long circuitous route so we got to see completely new scenery the whole hike.

The closest town to the Amicalola Falls is Dahlonega, which is a pretty cool little town.  It was established in the year 1833 and was the site of the first US Gold Rush.  I didn't take any pictures but the main "town" still has the historic old-time feel.  For the holiday, there were markers set out with flags and the name of the soldier who gave his/her life and the war he/she fought.  The markers started about a mile outside of the city limit and continued throughout the city.  Many of the markers had flowers or notes or wreathes laid at the bottom.  It was really sobering to see how many men and women just in this part of the country (I am not sure if it was just for the county or state) have died serving this country. 

This was near the beginning of the markers.

Zuri was pretty funny on the hike.  She was Daddy's girl--wanted nothing to do with me.  She was also pretty impatient.  Whenever we would stop to take pictures or enjoy the view, she would tug us onward.  Near the top of the falls where it becomes very steep, there are two sets of stairs--one set is 175 stairs, and the second set is 425 stairs.  There is a sign that warns of the "strenuous" climb ahead, should you choose to continue onward.  Zuri climbed the majority of the stairs on her own.  She loved them and kept wanting to get down when we would pick her up.

A picture of the falls midpoint.  There is so much foliage that a full view is impossible, but the falls are huge.

The trees are so dense that a lot of them are warped from vying for sunlight.  This was one of the many examples that we saw.  It was amazing to see how the trees bent and twisted to get to the sun.

At the top.  The view was amazing.

On Monday we were all set to go to the parade, but it was raining too hard and Zuri was really fussy, so we decided to bag the parade.  The weather cleared for the afternoon, and then returned full force in the evening.  We were also going to go to the laser show at Stone Mountain, but it was canceled due to the rain. We still had a barbecue with J's boss and his family.  They have a dog and Zuri was completely enamored. We also hung out at the pool and J was able to play some tennis (didn't get pictures of J playing--I was with Zuri at the pool)! 

Funny thing about the pool, there was a leak in one of the pipes and part of the pool was partially drained.  The kid pool is attached to the adult pool so that was the first to drain out--they actually had to stick hoses in to get the water level up.  Consequently, the pool was open, but shallower than normal.  The kid pool should actually go to 1 1/2 feet, but it was probably half a foot at the deepest.  Nonetheless, the kids didn't seem to mind one bit! --Pictured is Zuri with Zach, who is three.

She was so worn out she fell asleep within two minutes after getting in the car!