I am hooked....

Kit and I went fishing last night and had so much fun, at least for awhile. I find it tranquil and relaxing to fish and throw the line in the water.

I have always enjoyed fishing ever since my Daddy would take me as a child. I love the thrill of the fight to get the fish in. I was fishing for Carp last night, but instead I caught a nice size turtle, poor thing had the hook stuck in his mouth. I was able to pick him up out of the water hoping not to have my hand bit in the process. I felt so bad for the little guy or girl.

Once freed, I put him back in the water and decided to change to a lure and go for bass or something that wouldn't attract my little friend. I pulled out my little cricket lure that I have had luck with in the past and had it tied on really well when I noticed I had my favorite shirt hooked. I was perturbed at this point and try as I might I couldn't get it loose. I was pretty mad and poor Kit thought I was mad at him.

 I got back to our little cabin and took off my shirt. I got the first set of tri hooks loose, but while working on loosening the second set I hooked my ring finger on my left hand. Oh my gosh it hurt and Kit immediately tugged hard on it to get it out, but to no avail. I pulled as hard as I could, but with no luck. My gosh the pain was intense and I have a high pain tolerance level. I ended up having to cut my favorite shirt anyways and if I had in the first place all the pain could have been completely avoided.

I had no choice, but to go to the hospital. When I was checked into triage my blood pressure was 190/88. They took me right back and the staff was so nice. The Physicians Assistant proceeded to numb my finger and I had to wait for it to take affect. Once the PA came back in, he cut away the other hooks and before I knew it, the hook was out. I only felt a slight tug and was so happy to have it out. Today my finger is still numb and I didn't realize how much one finger being injured can affect typing.

I have learned my lesson, once hooked cut the darn shirt. I put poor Kit through so much, he was so sweet and so worried. I don't ever want to go through hooking myself ever again.

Lesson learned,

Kat

Time well spent

We have been having so much fun exploring our area with the pups. We went out this past weekend to a different part of the park. The boardwalks are endless and the area we explored was even more wild and overgrown.

Our pups are enjoying all the new smells and new areas. It is fun to see their excitement and energy.

Sometimes we even come across wildlife on our hikes and the pups get even more excited.

Don't move little bunny or my pups will see you. 

Sunday we went fishing and relaxed for a better part of the day, it was so nice to finally have a break from the rain and actually sit back and fish.

I of course could not resist sitting there and snapping a few photos of all the beauty that surrounds us. The different varieties of dragonflies is amazing. 

I also came across a sweet little green friend who honored me with his presence for a few minutes. He sat on my blanket for a few and allowed me to pick him up. I didn't hold him for long because I was afraid of hurting him. 

There are 100's of these little green tree frogs in the trees here and I love it when we walk the dogs at night and they make their music.

While fishing yesterday, my hubby called me over to see the coolest turtle, not sure what kind he is, but I wouldn't get too close.  He is now our mascot and I enjoyed watching him eat some bread that I threw in the water. 

I remember the excitement that I felt as a kid when I would play outside in the woods and I feel the same now. I am loving being back in nature and exploring our gorgeous area. 

We are currently upgrading some things in our RV. We bought a new bed, since we missed our old memory foam mattress and we are both sleeping so much better. Kit installed a new shower head and it is so much nicer. We have been slowly upgrading our space and buying things to organize our small space. It is really nice to be free of all the clutter and stuff that was holding us back. 

Until next time, 

Kat 

First Field Trip

It is almost midway through July and finally we have our first non rain-drenched weekend day of the summer. So Kat and I were eager to go to a place of beauty for our first outing away from our base RV camp. As I mentioned before, we chose the RV park in Cumming, GA to stay the remaining 6 months of the year because it is withing 60 miles of all of the North Georgia state parks and other places of interest. The strategy is that we can leave our camper in place and drive to nearby destinations without putting the extra wear-and-tear on Hemi-Lou (our Dodge Ram 1500).

Kat loves waterfalls and wanted to try out some new photography techniques that she has learned. (You can see her photos here.)  So, we chose Amicalola Falls State Park as our first day trip away from base camp. This state park is 42 miles from our current location with parts of it climbing some moderate grades and some very steep grades once you enter the park to the campground area. I do not think I would be comfortable pulling our camper up and especially down such a grade. So having a nearby base camp will work for us very well.

Amicalola means “tumbling waters” in the Cherokee language and was a place held in high regard by those peoples. I can understand why. It is hard to stand in this place and not think about how our government forced the Cherokees out of this area into an unfamiliar land 1,000 miles west. It is definitely not a bright spot in our history.

Amicalola Falls State Park has a trail to Springer Mountain, the official starting point of the famous Appalachian Trail. With that in mind, we will definitely return a few more times while we are in the area to explore some of the vast hiking trails. We will especially love the hiking as the autumn arrives and the Blue Ridge Mountains transforms into reds, oranges and yellows that bring tourists from all over the world.

All in all, we are very pleased with our first day trip away from “home”. But what was really nice, was coming back to the camper and having the lake and beauty right outside our door. I know I was so taken in by the beauty of our surroundings and really liking the choices that we have made, but I needed validation from Kat. But before I could ask her how she was adjusting, she grabbed me and told me how much she loves our life now and was grateful for a man that shared her love of the outdoors. So, I guess I got my answer.

Until next time - Kit

Rain doesn't dampen our fun

It has been raining here almost every day since we have been here. The 4th of July it was pouring, but we were still in good spirits.  We have had wet dog smell in the house for the past week and a half, but it seems to have let up for now. We bought some rain slickers and took the dogs to the park this past weekend. We were tired of the rain holding us back from exploring.

We do have a tropical storm headed our way in the next few days, but for now we will enjoy the bright sunshine.

 Last night Ninja (my little squirt) jumped in the water after someone's lure thinking he could catch it. I was a little worried because my little fatty can't swim, fortunately he listened to me and got out of the water. I felt bad because the lady left and we disturbed her fishing, I don't think she was very happy with us. I hope to apologize next time I see her out there fishing and to keep little Ninja away from her.

On my morning walks with the pups, I have seen all sorts of birds, dragonflies, and fish. This morning I saw a 3 foot carp close to the shore. One day soon I need to put my pole in the water. This afternoon I took the pups for a very nice walk out to Willow (my name for the beautiful Willow tree).

I am looking forward to our afternoon walk in the park with Kit and the pups.

Until next time,

Kat

We are having so much fun!!

We had so much to wrap up on Saturday at our stick house before we handed over the keys. We finally got on the road and the pups seemed super excited. It was about an hour drive to get to our destination and then we got there it took about an hour to set up.

We put the pups out on their tie outs and proceeded to clear up a pathway to walk in our cabin. We let the pups in the cabin and relaxed for a few. Later that night Kit was diligently setting up our outdoor kitchen and organizing everything. I worked on getting the bathroom set up, then the kitchen. I was exhausted and didn't get everything done in the house on the first night there and Kit and I went to bed exhausted.

The first full day of being full timers was Sunday and oh what a glorious day it was. We still have way too much stuff and had to find a storage unit for our excess. Some of the stuff we have in storage is seasonal, our winter clothes and such. I do have quite a bit I want to send to my daughter yet, but was too busy to get it sent, so she has some stuff in there too. I will be weeding out some of my photography props and such, but I will save that for another day. We plan on getting a camper shell in the next month or so and then we will keep our excess in the back of our truck. We took the dogs to the dog park and they loved it. At the lake in the park we are staying in I found a little green tree frog and showed Kit, he was such a cool little frog. I proceeded to put him back, he turned his head and looked at me and jumped on my face, he stuck there for a moment. It would have been a hilarious event to catch on video tape. I screamed at first, but then afterwards I was laughing so hard.

Monday Kit had to work, so I worked around the house and walked the dogs as needed. Then in the evening we decided to take them back to the dog park even though it was a bit wet. They had fun and we decided to walk the path afterwards. We came to this big empty lacrosse field and decided to let the dogs play and they had so much fun. Nova and Zorro love to wrestle and play and they were doing great until Nova (our huntress) caught sight of a bird and took after it. We called for her to stop, but she was so focused and kept running and running. When she ran into some brush, I thought we would lose her and never see her again. Nova is my girl and my daughter (my sweet sunshine) and I worked really hard to save her when she was a pup and had Parvo. Needless to say we didn't get much sleep that first week we brought her home. We had to give Nova fluids under her skin and it was not an easy task. Nova is the sweetest dog and thanks us in her own way all the time. Nova also has a wild side and loves to hunt.

We stood there trying to coax her out of the brush and I think Nova became confused how to get up to us. While trying to call to her I stepped on a red ant mound and had probably 50 ants on me. I hate red ants and their bites. Gosh I was in agony and trying to brush them off me. Kit told me to go to the car, but even in agony I couldn't leave my girl. Ninja went in after her as well and we had to tell him to get out of the brush. Kit had to actually go in after her and carry her back up through thorns and who knows what else. I was really worried at this point that he might get bitten by a snake. Kit is my hero since I couldn't do much at that point. I guess not all adventures are fun.

When we got back to the cabin I took some benadryl and took a shower. My ankles were so swollen and in pain, so I went to bed early. It could have been so much worse, so I am thankful that we didn't lose Nova and Kit didn't get bitten. We were so focused on getting Nova out of the brush that we could have stepped on a rattle snake.

I will include some photos of the beauty that surrounds us and of our pups. It was a trying day yesterday, but just one of those things that can happen when you have a dog that gets so focused. Kit is going to train her to listen better, so hopefully something like that doesn't happen again. It will take awhile to get her trained enough for me to feel comfortable letting her go.

Until next time,

Kat

Our sweet escape artist Nova

Someone we met at the dog park, she just loves her pup.

making friends

It's not camping until you have roasted marshmallows.

Our camp site. 

Running with Kit. 

I thought this was cute, a couple sitting in the swing next to the lake. I hope I can find them to share this photo with them. 

Four happy tails