AMERICA 2017: The Overview with Bob and Peggy in GA

Remember that I said our October trip to America was in three basic parts, of which I shared the first week with Ted and Jane in Connecticut last post.  This week I'm sharing our shorter time with Bob and Peggy, from late Sunday to early Thursday in the middle of the following two weeks.  In other words, only 3 full days.

What Astrid and I posted on Facebook was short and sweet but I'm also filling in some of the blanks:

That Monday we drove approximately 60 miles to Warm Springs, GA,

to visit Franklin D. Roosevelt's Little White House and museum.

(FB post)

FDR was the 32nd President of the USA, from 1933 to his death in 1945 (my birth year).

Because of his polio at age 39, he found the warm springs in GA therapeutic,

after which he founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis in 1938,

leading to the development of polio vaccines.

Even though I had non-paralytic polio 7 years later, I feel I owe much to him!

For those of you wondering, Franklin was the 5th cousin of Teddy Roosevelt,

the 26th President of the USA, from 1901-1909. 

Later that afternoon we drove the short distance from Warm Springs to Pine Mountain, GA,

to spend the rest of the day, an overnight, and the following day at Callaway Gardens.

(FB post)

I had visited the gardens way back when Bill and I were married and took my mom and dad there.

That was eons ago but I have no clue when (after we moved to GA in 1987?).

The memory hung on long enough to make me want to go back and have Astrid see it with me.

What I most remembered about the place was the Butterfly Center,

so that late afternoon, after getting settled in our hotel, we went there first.

And now you see Bob and Peggy waiting patiently while we took photos.

Here's what Astrid put up on FB...and she nailed it.

Since coming back home, I've found a few of my own.

And yes, the two top-left are "doing it."  :)


Look what Bob captured!  Don't you wonder what the butterfly was thinking?!

After the Butterfly Center, we drove to the Chapel and the stream nearby.

Too bad for us, the chapel wasn't open, but we enjoyed the environment.

We then went back to the hotel to eat Peggy's picnic supper before calling it a day.

For breakfast the next day we had a Southern Georgia spread to which we couldn't say NO.

Then it was back to exploring.

We had seen the log cabin on arrival but this time stopped to check it out.

Then it was back to the gardens where butterflies were plentiful outside...

as were the bees, making us very happy campers.

Thank God for the butterflies and bees!  We need them.

Even though it was off-season in October, there was plenty to see of the gardens.

There was no way to be disappointed.

Our last hurrah before driving back home was the Birds of Prey show.

Well worth the time and energy as well as a nice good-bye.

Back at Bob and Peggy's the next day, Astrid and I took a walk-about, as we do each year.

(FB post)
Oh, and a last day of relaxing with good friends and food!

THANK YOU, Bob and Peggy (and Roscoe), for making these times so special each year.
So, where will we visit with you the next time!

Another Day Out in the Dutch Polder, Near Almkerk

I get antsy for this, you know, needing to see and feel it again.  It's gotten under my skin.  And besides, you never know what you're going to see!

In this case, we specifically went to Almkerk, 7 km south of us across the Merwede river, to find a cat weathervane we knew was there (a long story related to a Facebook friend we know here).  As it turned out, we never found the cat...but will go back with our friend to guide us later.

In the meantime...we were NOT disappointed....

...because we saw our first BUTTERFLY vane!

And, looking at that center image above, do you see a haystack/silo (with a vane on top, yes)?

The roof rises or falls on those corner poles depending on how much hay is stored.

Don't you wonder how the Dutch think these things up?!

It was a good day for vanes, even though we never found the cat!

I included a view of several houses in a row to show how plentiful the vanes sometimes are.

Almkerk also has it's own water tower, restored after the original was destroyed in 1945's WWII.

And two windmills, of which this is one:  the Oude Doornse Molen c. 1700.

And then, of course, you can't have the polder without swans.

Astrid counted 30+ swans in this group, all "children," she says, waiting to find their own field.

Swans pair up for life and live in one spot...one pair per spot/field.
I do hope these kids find their perfect mate.

It was a sunny day, so Mother Nature was out in force, doing her thing.

We were able to tell immediately that the horse rider was handicapped.

How splendid to be taken care of so well...on a beautiful day.

One thing I have learned about the Dutch:  they HAVE to be outdoors.

I don't go outdoors every day but maybe one day I will...and find that I, too, am Dutch?!
I have no excuse.  I just need to do it.