Being Gigi

Saturday morning I left for the three-hour drive to my son's home in South Carolina.

Raise your hand if you can identify these large yellow objects seen frequently along the highway!

Yes, quilters, this is the source of your favorite fabric and batting...good old King Cotton, baled up in the fields and covered with what looks like thick protective plastic.

It was a beautiful ride in the full sun.  The farther south I went, the more colorful leaves were still on the trees.

Saturday I took my grandchildren to Kalmia Gardens, a lovely nature preserve on the site of a former plantation.  It is also the site of my son's first wedding.  Here is Lily in the very spot where her parents got married.

 

There were many great photo ops at this lovely spot.

 

 

 

 

We took one of the many paths that descends sixty feet below the house and yard to a cypress swamp below.  Along the way are many types of plants such as mountain laurel normally found in the mountains, certainly not in the flatlands of South Carolina.

 

 

 

The Black Creek runs through the base of the property.  It was reflecting beautifully in the afternoon sun.

 

 

The creek and the pond at the bottom are surrounded by cypress trees.  These trees have the curious growth habit of developing cypress "knees,"  or woody structures that develop from the root system and stick up above the water.

 

 

There were lots of wooden boardwalks to help us keep our feet dry along the way.

 

 

The kids had fun climbing on tree trunks and playing along the trails.

 

 

The next day we got out the art supplies.  Next door-neighbor Sky came over, too. 

 

 

Sky taught us how she draws and colors roses.

 

 

I was pleased to see that Lily and Sky have been using the Doodlicious Daybook journal that I made.  Here is a lady that Lily drew on one of the pages.  I think it might be Popeye's girlfriend, Olive Oyl .

 

 

 

It was a nice weekend, and Bryson and Melissa had a much-deserved weekend away in Charlotte to watch the Panthers-Broncos football game.  Guess who was rooting for whom?

 

 

Since I stayed until Monday, my husband did not accompany me.  He went on to our mountain place for a weekend of hunting (unsuccessful.)  I am looking forward to a reunion with him for two more days until he goes back up for full-fledged deer camp through Thanksgiving.

 

I will be heading down to Florida on Sunday with my sister and our dad to stay with our brother Jeff and his family for almost a week.  I am so excited about this trip.  The weather is turning cold again this week after the mild weekend.  I am ready to pack my shorts and bathing suit and head for the Gulf of Mexico!