Oconee finish

The rest of the week was spent enjoying time with Ben, Penny and dogs in their comfortable setting on the lake.  The highlight was an hour long cruise down the lake for a lunch at the Ritz Carlton.

Crab dinner

Obedient Louie and Charlie

Ben and Vicki prpare the boat.

Captain Penny

Ben is serious about his wake boarding.

Skimming across the lake toward the Ritz.

Atlanta

Ben's Office

Penny's new store is in the bottom floor of a new apartment village.

Barb in the fountain at Olympic Park

We spent one day in Atlanta visiting the CNN complex, Olympic Park, Ben's office and Penny's new store scheduled to open in the spring.  Her second store is situated in the bottom floor of a huge new apartment complex.  Right now the store is a bare shell.  Penny gets the keys next week and will work through the winter in creating Boogaloos 2.

Explore GA coutryside

October 18

As Ben and Penny left for work Monday a.m., we began to explore the area around the lake.  Madison is one of our favorite towns and we enjoyed taking Vicki and Ed through one of the museum homes and learning more about the early 1800's to present southern culture.

We also traveled into Stone Mountain, now an amusement park and tribute to the Confederacy.  On our way to the mountain we visited the town of Boswick, a center of cotton farming in that part of Georgia.  The harvesting was nearing completion and the local gin was in full production.  The farm girls enjoyed talking with Jim, the local farmer who owns the gin.

Back to Oconee

October 18  Monday
Flew into Atlanta on Thursday with Barb's sister Vicki and her husband Ed.  We met Ben and Penny for dinner before heading east to Lake Oconee.  Ben and Penny's retreat continues to be just that for us.  With temps in the 80's, we spent much of Friday, Saturday and Sunday outside.  Ben was fighting the flu Friday and Saturday, and Penny was fighting it on Sunday.  However, we were still able to spend some time Sunday on the lake.  Today we are visiting one of our most favorite towns, Madison, Georgia which is just a few miles from B and P's lake home.  The town, spared the scorched earth policy of Sherman's march to the sea, has several homes and buildings from the early 1800's.  We plan to spend another week in this area.

Ben, waveboarding behind the boat...

Home

Arrived home Saturday afternoon after spending two nights in Lacrosse.  We had the opportunity to visit with all the E WA sibs and their spouses, visit the Selbu cemetery, and even watch a nephew's daughter play a basketball game in my high school gym.  You can "go back" but it is never the same.  So many things change, most for the good.

Again, Barb and I are so thankful for the experience.  Another National Park is "checked off" our list, another rendezvous with good friends and family, and another safe trip into the exploration of the Creation.  Our RV has opened up so many opportunities, opportunities that are beyond our expectations.

Picnic lunch at Whitefish Lake the day before leaving MT.

On the way home

Left Diane and Gary this a.m. and drove through Kalispell, Libby, Bonners Ferry, through Sandpoint and settled in Newport Washington tonight.  What gorgeous country with so many clear lakes and rivers.

Glacier

goat

Many Glacier Lodge.  Not many glaciers now.

A bit cloudy and hazy, but an enjoyable day traveling through Glacier with Gary and Diane.

Sheep

Waiting for construction

Crews work to retrieve worker who had gone over the edge in a loader.