Ray City Trip
My mom and I recently made a trip to South Georgia together under some pretty awful circumstances. My Great Aunt Katie passed away. The trip gave me and my mom a chance to connect and talk a while. The trip also gave us the chance to see her childhood town because that is where my Aunt Katie was buried.
Ray City, Georgia is not a big place. To give you an idea of the “economic development” in that area let me just say this. Growing up I remember passing through there and it used to have a flashing caution light. When we visited this past Thursday, I don’t remember seeing one. There is now a four-way stop. The caution light could be a figment of my childhood imagination because it’s been a long time since my last visit.
Here is a collection of pictures from our trip. Not real sure the tell a story to anyone but my mother and me.
The two headstones are pictures I snapped when we visited my Granny’s grave and my Grandpa’s grave on the way. They are buried at Riverside Baptist Church off of highway 135.
The rotting wood pictures are from my mom’s old middle school, Ray City Middle School “The Home of the Beavers”.
I did see my mom’s childhood home and the place where her stepfather’s service station and cafe. It was right behind the house they lived in.
The town is an amazing testament to the 1950′s. You almost feel like you are driving through black and white photos because nothing has changed since then. Well, nothing has changed except as the buildings get older no one seems to repair them.
The graveside service was at the First Baptist Church of Ray City. There are some headstones from God knows when that I took a picture of too. I took a picture because the spellings were so off that they caught my attention. “Willem and Loes Kirkland” . Notice the direction of the “N’s” and the spelling of William and Louise.
Great trip with my mom. We had a lot of great conversation. (especially when we drove 15 miles away to eat at a Sonic).
Happy Birthday Mom – Lake Rabun 2011
Happy Birthday Mom – Rabun Beach Campground 2011
(picture gallery at the bottom of the post)
Do you remember your first family camping trip? Camping has always been a part of our family. That’s why I couldn’t wait to get my kids out in the woods exploring nature on their first overnight trip. When you have kids that are almost 6 and almost 2 it is challenging. Not just challenging once you get there and start setting up a tent with a 2-year-old stealing tent pegs. I mean challenging from the planning stage on…
This year we celebrated my Mom’s Birthday with a family camping trip at Rabun Beach at Lake Rabun Georgia. Ole Phyl had a great time. In fact, Friday she, Evan, and I drove up to the campground 1st to claim a great campsite. Once we got there it did take a few minutes to decide because each of the sites had it’s own unique reason to choose it. I won’t post which one we chose, because I can’t give away all of my secrets, but they all were very good.
Mom spent the afternoon following Evan around and laughing at him. The wonder in his eyes, the amazement in his face, and the craziness coming out of his mouth. I don’t know if I have every heard her laugh as much as she did that afternoon.
The rest of the weekend was amazing too. Amber, Andria, Bradley, and Gabby arrived that night (after dark). There was an incident with Daddy Long-Legs (read below) but for the most part a great trip.
Lake Rabun and Rabun Beach
The campground at Rabun Beach is very well kept. There is a “host” that (I think) lives on site. The rental fees are $14 per night for tent campers and $22 per night for RV’s. There are trails running throughout, several bath houses (with hot water), and hiking trails that take you to Angel Falls and Panther Falls. The falls are very beautiful and well worth the walk.
From the trail head, the walk is only about 1/2 mile to Panther Falls and then another 1/4 mile or so to Angel Falls.
We did see a copperhead snake on our way down, so be watchful.
The Kids
Our camping trip was a great experience. When Gabby, Amber, Andria, and Bradley first arrived, Amber took Gabby to the bath house. Gabby freaked out because there were Daddy Longleg Spiders everywhere. I suppose I would freak out too if I hadn’t seen that many of them before and there were 20 of them all in one place!
By the end of the weekend, Gabby was practically picking them up and laughing about it.
Evan was a trip the whole time. His little eyes were amazed by everything he saw. He didn’t want to go to sleep. In fact, he went kicking and screaming to bed each night because he wanted to stay up and have fun.
Amber was apprehensive about going camping. I don’t know why, because she grew up going in California and loved it. Maybe it had something to do with having to small kids in the woods! Anyway, she did great too. Whether she admits it or not, you could tell she had a good time too.
Camping Question:
So. Do you remember your first family camping trip? Tell us about it in a comment.
Picture Gallery
Columbia County House Watch Program
House Watch Program
What is it?
Ever heard of Neighborhood Watch? The House Watch Program is like that only on steriods.
Living in Columbia County Georgia is great for many reasons. No way to go into all of them here, however there is one HUGE reason and I will name it. The House Watch Program.
Here in CoCo the Sheriffs Office set up a program to keep our county safe and to give people peace-of-mind while they are away from their homes on vacation or for any reason.
We will use this every time we go out of town now.
Thank you COCO.
How does it work?
Basically, you call the Sheriff’s Office, answer a few questions about you and your trip, and they visit your home each day while you are gone to deter or report any foul play.
Seriously? Yes, seriously.
How much does it cost?
This is the best part… IT’S FREE!
Here are the details of how to use the service:
House Watch Program
Just in case the link gets busted… Here’s and excerpt from their site:
House Watch Program
The House Watch Program was set up over 10 years ago to help protect the homes of people who are going to be gone for an extended period of time. This free Service was designed to allow people living in Columbia County to have peace of mind while on vacation or away. In order to be placed on the House Watch program, contact Columbia County Sheriff’s Office dispatch at (706) 541-2800 at least 24 hours prior to departure. You will be asked a series of question including, but not limited to:
Home Phone Number Address Emergency Telephone Number If you have an Alarm Company and who If you have any pets Are there going to be any lights on Any vehicles in the driveway Is there anyone Authorized to be there A contact number for a person with a key An Emergency Contact Number Leaving Time and Date Returning Time and Date Once the information is entered into the system, our deputies will check on the houses periodically during the day and night. If you find that you will be away longer than expected, call dispatch and tell them about the change and they will be happy to adjust the times.
Remembering Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Many people have begun to re-explore (I know I made the word up) Central and South America. A little over 10 years ago, my Pop and I were two of those people.
Now my dad is an Ernest Hemingway or Robert Ruark type guy. He enjoys the hunt and understands the balance of man and nature. I, on the other hand, am Read the rest of this entry »
Little River – Spend Your Saturday Outside
Gabby is adventurous. Her imagination is and amazing thing. That’s why when I passed the Little River on my way home from a Leaders Retreat I got the idea to take her canoeing.
Part of my Life’s Manifesto is to “Never Spend Saturday Inside“. Does that mean I spend every Saturday outside for the sake of not being inside? No. Of course not. In fact, this canoe trip was on a Sunday. It means don’t let the days you have available to PLAY slip through your fingers.
For that reason I planned a little trip for Gabby and me. Just a little Daddy and Daughter time. She was excited and a little apprehensive at first. I think she thought she was going to get eaten or something.
The cool, quiet morning. The stillness of the water when it’s early. The animals letting us pass through. I love all of that. Gabby loves it too now. We did see a lot of animals, including 3 wild turkeys, Egrets, Blue Herrons, Huge Fish Jumping, a 4′ Alligator, a Beaver, and lots of Turtles.
As we were leaving there was a fisherman getting ready to spend the afternoon out there. We chatted about the river for a minute and his fishing. The last thing he said to me was, “Better than spending the day in front of the T.V. ain’t it?”
So… GO SPEND YOUR SATURDAY OUTSIDE!
Grabbing Some Gear
It’s very difficult to get Evan to sit still. To sit still to take a picture… very, very hard. To sit still while wearing a hat… impossible.
So take a hard long look at this picture because it is almost a miracle.
April snapped this pic at Tsunami Surf Shop shortly after a MONSOON at BoardWalk on the Beach in Myrtle Beach.
Rainy Vacations
Pawley’s Island 2011 started off pretty rocky. With 3 rainy days to start it off, the kids (and us) were all getting pretty cranky.
This picture was taken on the way back to the condo after spending a very wet, rainy afternoon at Broadway on the Beach in Myrtle Beach.
Dear Kids | The Columbia Zoo
Dear Gabby and Evan,
Several weeks ago I decided to live up to my stance against Saturdays spent inside watching TV. I bought tickets for the Zoo and your mother and I planned a little trip to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia. Just like any other trip we “plan” to go on, I “planned” to leave an hour before we actually need to so we could leave on time (shhhh….that’s our little secret). We grabbed a little Mickey D’s on the way out of town and adventure was ours.
We did encounter several problems. One in particular was what I refer to as the “ATM Situation”. The Zoo brochure brags about 2 ATMs on site so I didn’t stop and get cash. Yes, I know. I am a banker and I didn’t get cash before coming home. Tisk. Tisk. Anyway, when we arrived we found that ALL ATMs were out of order and the cashiers in the gift shops don’t allow cash back on purchases. Normally, not a problem, but the zoo also only accepts cash for their highly popular Merry Go Round and Rock Climbing Wall. Luckily there was a nice “older gentleman” that was not of “Generation teXt” that understood what I needed. He guided me to the theater where I could buy tickets for you to climb that Rock Wall, Gabby and for both of you to ride the Merry Go Round.
You both may have been learning about animals that day, but I wrote this because I wanted you to know what I learned from you that day.
Gabby,
The way you approached climbing that Rock Wall showed me how to approach the adversities in life. You took on that wall with child-like innocence, dogged expectation, and the pure belief that you belonged at the top. That is what got you there. You didn’t get to the top and then believe you belonged there. You did it how God intended. Believe, Do, Have. Thank You.
Evan,
The way you looked at strange animals and then looked back at me for an answer to “what is that” before forming your own opinion reminded me of how to approach new things in life. I should turn to my Father in Heaven first and then form my opinion with his guidance. Thank you, Son.
The day turned out Amazing. Not just because your mother and I pulled off a Zoo Adventure, but because we all relaxed and enjoyed the time provided for us to make powerful memories.
Love,
Daddy
Gabby’s First Round of Golf
Gabby and I went out for her first round of golf. A few weeks ago, I had the afternoon off so I picked Gabby up from school early. It was a “just Gabby and Daddy” day I told her.
We went to Bartram Trail and I was going to let her just putt some balls around. Gabby brought her putter we got her a while back. She is a natural.
We decided to play 9. I didn’t think she’d last much more than that. The pace of play was pretty slow due to Bartram Trail switching their tee boxes around. That gave us a chance to let her hit while we waited on the folks in front of us to get out of the way.
She did surprisingly well. She had fun too. She even got to drive!
Recent Comment
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April Maas:
Said on 2012/05/15
My nephew is out of control!
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Said on 2012/05/14
Omg thanks a lot Ryan for making me cry! Punkie Brewster your Auntie and Uncle...
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Ryan McKinney:
Said on 2012/05/08
Forgot to mention Bible Study is tonight. Andria Corral officiating!
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Said on 2012/05/04
Gabby is a good motivator.
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Said on 2012/04/29
YOU WIN! You are the proud winner of a chicken dinner ;)