memphis in the meantime baby

aubrey bought yet another stove on ebay...but its a beauty and we got to go to memphis to pick it up! it happened to be my birthday weekend so i requested a spa hotel, good sport that i am, and agreed to go along. we lodged in mississippi and dined in memphis, tennessee. the region is full of double consonants and more towns in one area than you can imagine that start with the letters Tu. Tupelo, Tuscogee, Tunica, and i'm sure i missed a few. we checked out the town of tunica simply b/c it had a casino with real live poker rooms for aubrey, the bellissimo spa for me, and it was $200 cheaper than the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. So much for the ducks, i mean they swim, they walk, we've all seen it right?
We easily popped in to Beale Street for dinner one night at the King's Palace, took in the cocktail hour sights at the Peabody, and bought Janie more Elvis paraphenalia to put in a glass case and not actually use. The stove fit nicely in the back of the chevy silverado that we rented for the trip. And I, refreshed from a half-day at the Bellissimo spa was happy to ride away the weekend on Hwy 78. Yes, the same one here in Athens, in fact runs from Myrtle Beach, SC east of us to Memphis, TN, west of us and then some. that wraps up september and a road trip every weekend, looking forward to staying home in October.

Fall in love with georgia

amicalola falls is known as tumbling waters in Cherokee lingo. it is indeed the tallest falls east of the Mississippi. this photo is only the top of the falls. we live only an hour and a half away and usually only go up for day trips. but recently, dear old friends from DC came to town from their new homes in salt lake city and winston salem for a conference in Atlanta and we kicked off the visit with a big chill weekend in the north georgia mountains. it was grand.
we rented a big 3BR cabin with screened in porch, and all the trimmings of a perfect never-leave-the-cabin weekend. well, we did wander out once to hike the falls, not all 600 steps though, since we had some toddlers with us. it was truly the first sign of fall for the southeast. temps cooled off, we donned long pants and gasp, even socks. we built a campfire in the evenings, played board games on the porch, cooked delicious group meals and reconnected. there was a huge pumpkin patch nearby with hayrides, cider, funny corn and all. they offered wheelbarrows to haul your beasts up to the cashier. tixie picked out a nice one. we lugged home a 100 pounder and aubrey later carved it. by the time halloween came, it was gruesome. perfect i said.