Day of Discovery

Something I've never had the luxury of doing, because of work, is exploring my new environment and getting used to the area in a relaxed manner. Perhaps the difference is because I always had to be somewhere at a set time and had little leisure time to enjoy discovering my new surroundings.

Well, that has changed!

Jimmy and I took a ride this week just to see what our options for recreation are. Amazing!! We are minutes from Lake Carter where there is a marina, boat ramps, camp sites, and a beautiful beach. We also drove to the dam to see what it looked like up close (you can see it from our neighborhood but can't get much detail). There are public picnic areas as well as ball fields and some with soccer goals provided.

After roaming around the lake and mountains for a while, we went to the local Farmer's Market. The vendors park their loaded pick-up trucks in a parking lot where their produce and wares can be seen by the public. There is fresh corn, peas, beans, watermelons, and peppers; pattypan, yellow crookneck and zucchini squash, tomatoes (both green and ripe), birdhouses, soaps, flowers, and on and on...

Such fun!

We are doing without a dishwasher...there are only two of us, you know! We also have no garbage disposal. We are now composting which is our attempt to "go green". So, our trip to the Farmer's Market resulted in a lot of fodder for our compost heap. Apparently this self-made garden additive can be "complete" in as little as two weeks...we'll see!

A little more about our neighborhood. I've said their are 2200 acres, and few neighbors. I don't know if I mentioned it is a gated neighborhood or not, but oddly enough there are a minimum of four gated entrances to the community. At the main entrance there is an RV park close to the main amenities. Sitting on a hilltop at the back of the property, there is a second pool, picnic pavilion and tennis court ... quite secluded and yes, we will be using it!

For parties, there is a beautiful Lodge sitting on the banks of Talking Rock Creek. There are cliffs across the creek and at just the right angle and at the right time of day you can see faces in the cliffs! There are shoals in the creek, and wading is allowed. In fact, wading is wonderful! I can't wait to get the grandchildren up here and let them run wild.

This is going to be a great place to recover and plan. Just keep reading...