Georgia Family Reunion

We spent part of mid June in northern Georgia at a family reunion with my mom's side of the family. The reunion was held at Amicalola Falls State Park. It was fun to see everyone, the weather was beautiful, and we all had a great time in wilderness.

 Mac had just finished reading Bill Bryson's book, A Walk in the Woods so we were all very excited to learn that the southern end of the Appalachian Trail is located in Amicalola Falls.

  

One of our favorites sights in the park were the Falls.  We climbed the 605 steps to the top of the falls to see the pretty views below.

View from the top of the falls.

Another view from the top

 

Some of the steps to the top.

 

We liked the falls so much that we brought my parents there the next day. The park has a handicap  accessible path to the falls that is paved, so it was easy for my dad to make the 1/3 of a mile walk.

 The  boys and I also enjoyed relaxing on the deck of the lodge. The same lodge that Bill Bryson stayed in at the beginning of his Appalachian Trail journey.

 Ethan was really relaxed.

The view from the deck

The lodge

 One of the cabins we stayed in.

Pretty blue hydrangeas

 

Some of the wildlife that we saw in the park. This is a barn owl.

A Falcon

 

A screech owl

A northern water snake

Mom and Aunt Kathy

In addition to relaxing and enjoying the wilderness we also spent lots of time with family. We had a great time playing games with my aunts and uncles and cousins.

There was always a game of pinochle going on.

Mom and Dad against each other in a game of Family Fued

The Smith family Uncles and Aunties