Back to life, back to reality...

I've spent much of the last two weeks on Jekyll Island, GA. First, for a week of vacation with my family, and second, for a conference for the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.

The first week, my family and I spent on the beach side of Jekyll in a wonderful house right on the beach. It was wonderful to just spend time reading, eating and laying on the beach (under a tent of course.) We spent lots of time as a family walking on the beach, working puzzles, watching movies, and of course, eating. It was a wonderful vacation. Here are some pics...

Megan and Maddie goofing off at one of the "cottages"


Angel Oak in the historic district


Christ Church on St.Simon's Island


The family at dinner- we had a low country boil- YUM (the blog format cuts Megan off, click to see her!)


MamaCile


Me at dinner


Last week I spent three days at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel on the Intercoastal Waterway side of the island in the historic district. If you don't know the history of Jekyll Island, it was originally a "millionaires club" from 1887-1944. The wealthiest Americans such as the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Pulitzers, Morgans,etc, would spend the winters on Jekyll at their "clubhouse" (now the hotel.) They also built "cottages" a.k.a mansions around the clubhouse. It is a really neat experience to walk around the historic district amongst the cottages and angel oak trees covered with spanish moss and imagine yourself at the turn on the 20th Century. As my mom said, "I think I was born in the wrong time period and the wrong socio-economic status." I agree completely. If you ever get a chance to stay at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel, take it. It's like a Disney resort in the fact that every detail has been thought out and the customer service is amazing. It's different than a Disney resort because it's REAL. This place has real history and it oozes from every nook and cranny. I would highly recommend it.

Jekyll Island Club Hotel pics




Croquet court at Jekyll Island Club Hotel


Anyway, it's back to life... back to reality. It was nice pretending for a few days..

Now Time for VACATION...

Tomorrow this group is going on vacation to Jekyll Island, Georgia.

We've been on a schedule of going on "big" vacations every other year and then beaching it on the off years. Well, we've gone off our schedule and are beaching it two years in a row.

You see, in my opinion, there's a difference between vacations and traveling. While going to Great Britain and Italy are amazing adventures, they tend to leave you exhausted (not to mention, BROKE.) And, after much discussion, we decided we all just needed a vacation this year. It's been a hard year, and I just need to chill (cook) on the beach, read and eat delicious food cooked up by my chef father.

So, onto vacation...

Speaking of Staycations...

Social networking sites are taking the world AND the marketing world by storm. It's another great tool to connect with customers and get your message out. I recently stumbled across the Explore Georgia facebook page and I became a "fan." Now, I get recent news and events about tourism happenings in Georgia. Guess what was on there today?



An article in USA Today about the new "Allman Brothers Band Museum " set to open soon in Macon.












With all the new things to do, I may just be a "Ramblin' woMAN." (I know, super cheesy play on words.)

Staycation

With the economy down and family budgets tight, tourism officials have to be creative. Since I am in the tourism, I'm always researching and paying attention to what is happening in the industry. Recently, I have come across the term "Staycation." Meaning, it's summer vacation time and you may not have the money to "go" anywhere...why don't you look around your hometown or community and re-discover it?

Scott and I are staying in Georgia for vacation next week (Jekyll Island), but we are always discovering new and unique things to do in our local community. We've walked on the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail (river walk), visited the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the Ocmulgee Indian Mounds

view from top of the Indian Mound in Macon


and visited numerous nearby state parks and wildlife refuges, including High Falls State Park, Indian Springs State Park, Dauset Trails and Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge.




At High Falls State Park with Scott's family.

What do you guys do on your "Staycations?" Are you guys finding creative ways to save money AND have fun in your community? Please share!

I'm numb...

Literally. One half of my face is completely numb. I just got a cavity filled. That's what I get for not going to the dentist for 2.5 years. But I sure am grateful for dental insurance! Thank you Brookwood for providing for us!

Wow. Two posts in two days. It must be my loyal readers' lucky day. :) Here are some pics from my recent trip to Brasstown Valley for a conference. It was my first attempt at shooting waterfalls with a slow shutter speed. Probably not as sharp as they could be, but I didn't have a tripod (why is it that you always need a tripod when it's most inconvenient to use one- like on a hiking trip?) Enjoy!

(by the way, you can click on any of the pictures and it will take you to my flickr page- sometimes my pictures get cut off with my blog format.)

New roof and new pics...

We've had an exciting week over here. After some feedback after a home inspection, we decided to bite the bullet and put a new roof on the home. I think it looks pretty good, don't you? It's amazing how much money you can spend in one day. And those poor roofers, working in triple digits in Macon, GA...



In other news, here are some pictures from the last several weeks. First some home photos...

Basil from my garden


Hydrangeas from my garden



Dogs at the dog park...





In other news, I have lots of friends that are living in cities that are rated the "Best places to live" (i.e. Huntsville, AL, Auburn, AL) Well, Macon was recently selected as having the BEST tasting water in America. So there.

Crazy pills...

Does this look like the face of a crazy dog?


Probably not to you, but this little dog has some demons living inside her. They tend to rear their ugly heads when a) the neighbors are shooting their guns (yes, we live in middle Georgia) b) Scott is on the lawn mower c) we go to the dog park d) when we leave her and she doesn't want to be left. She will shake, drool, pant and run on doors or generally try to escape from where she is. She has some serious "separation anxiety."

First of all, we've been dealing with a lot of crazy scenarios lately. LONG story, but hopefully we can update you on what's going on in our lives soon. Well, we've been noticing that Anna (our lab mix) has been gaining weight, been more aggressive/moody and her hair has been falling out. I told Scott that I felt like she was insecure because he's been gone so much and she's basically his dog. Being a concerned owner, Scott self-diagnosed her online with a thyroid problem. We decided to take her to the vet and we brought Lexie with us (because we are afraid of what she will do to the house if we leave her alone-she's that crazy and destructive.)

Scott obviously should have been a vet because he was right about Anna's diagnosis. Now she is on a thyroid medicine AND some supplemental fatty acids. We love our dogs. :) While at the vet, I decided to ask her about Lexie and her separation anxiety. Did you know they make anti-anxiety pills for dogs? I didn't! The vet gave us a month's supply of Reconcile, a separation anxiety drug for dogs. The funniest part was when the vet brought us the literature for the drug and there's a sad looking beagle on the front next to a chewed up rug and torn up door. We laughed with the vet and said that most of our doors look just like that!

I'm excited to see what the results will be with Lexie! And with all the stuff going on with us, I may have to sneak a couple of those chewable, beef-flavored pills for myself.