Tom and I settled in on Lake Sinclair in Milledgeville, Georgia, for several days of visiting with our Georgia cousins. We stayed at Little River Campground & Marina, which was just about 20 minutes from their house in nearby Eatonton. It was a nice little park – mostly full with seasonal residents who spend their weekends at the park – so it was busy on the weekend, but still pretty quiet overall.
It’s a very popular lake for fishing and watersports, but it’s a little early in the season for that yet.
Quiet morning on the lake.
Tom and I did a little bit of exploring Milledgeville one day.
It was a cute little town, with nice shops and quite a few restaurants.
Most of our time, though, was spent visiting with the cousins – Andrea, John and Emily. We try to catch up with them whenever we pass through, or close to, Georgia, but this was our first extended visit. We covered a full range of topics – family, school, church, retirement, work, finances . . . and on and on! It was great getting all caught up . . . and we got to hear about Emily’s wedding and law school plans!
They visited us in the motorhome (their first time seeing it) and we ate at several restaurants in the area, including a really good “food truck” turned restaurant, Copperwood Pizza.
It was really good!
Our pizza dinner was followed by music and beer at the Oconee Brewery.
It was a really nice evening, and we sat outside on the patio enjoying our beers. I even had one – coffee saison – it was pretty good! I got the best deal . . . a half pint was half price, but the bartender was pretty heavy handed, and I got closer to a 3/4 pint!
On Saturday, Andrea and Emily had plans to attend the Georgia Steeplechase in Rome, GA with some friends. They had extra tickets available, so invited Tom and I to go with them. It was predicted to be cold and rainy on Saturday, but we proceeded with the plan. On Saturday morning, the forecast changed abruptly, and no longer called for rain – just cold and wind! That’s why we don’t adjust plans based on what the weatherman says!
It was chilly and windy, but a fun day!
We were set up in the center of the track, along the finish line, and it was like a big tailgate party. Some groups went all-out with their fancy dresses and hats, and seersucker suits for the guys . . .
but our group was a little more practical (most of them are educators), and we were dressed for the weather!
Before the races started, we were visited by some dressage horses and riders.
We had a little extra excitement, too. Parking spaces along the fence are purchased and assigned, and we had three of them, but somebody had parked in one of our spaces and the one next to it. It was reported to the Event Coordinators, and they made multiple announcements of the license plate #s and telling the owners to move the vehicles, or be towed. Nobody responded to the announcements, and eventually a tow truck showed up (they were serious!).
A crowd gathered, with people shouting “Tow it!” as the tow truck driver prepared to tow the vehicles. Suddenly, the vehicle owners showed up – claiming that they didn’t know they were parked in the wrong place (they did not have reserved parking permits), and that they had not heard the multiple announcements over the loud speaker!
They gave them a break and let them move their vehicles, but the crowd was disappointed – they wanted to see a tow!
With that show over, it was time for the real action, and the first race started! We each put in $1 per race and drew a number from a bag, which would be the horse we had in that race. Since there were 12 of us, and 6 horses in each race, we had 2 of each number and 2 winners who split the prize each time.
Beginner’s Luck was in our favor, and Tom had the winning horse in the first race! Woo Hoo!
Unfortunately, that #3 horse was ready to take the lead but he fell coming off that jump! It was scary, but luckily nobody (horse or jockey) was hurt!
It was my turn for beginner's luck in the 3rd race when #5, “Go Get Some Basil” took the lead and won the race!
In the final race of the day, we doubled the pot ($2 per person), and Tom and I both ended up with horse #4 (Hmm . . . not a good situation!)
As it turned out, though, #4 was very lucky for us!
“Barnacle Bill” was in the middle of the pack when he came around in the first lap,
but when he came back around on lap 2, he had taken over the lead!
He won! So Tom & I both won! That was a pretty good case of beginner’s luck!
It was a fun day, but we were all pretty frozen, so we quickly packed everything up and headed back home – with a quick stop for coffee on the way!
On Sunday, Tom and I went to church in Milledgeville, and then got stuff ready for moving day on Monday. Afterwards, we went to Andrea & John’s house for one more dinner with the three of them before saying our good-byes. It was a great few days, and we were really glad we were able to spend the time together.
Back at the campground, we were having a beautiful sunset as we got Casey out for a walk.
A beautiful evening!
Meanwhile up in Michigan . . . Bryce had his first experience on the sidelines during the MSU Football Spring Game . . . and they were freezing!
We may have been chilly here in Georgia, but it wasn’t that cold!!
One last memory from Florida . . . Harriett’s granddaughters had a sleepover in the motorhome a couple nights before we left Bradenton, so Tom and I were able to visit with them the next morning. As usual with all kids, they loved Tom!
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