Funny thing happened on the way to Wal-Mart...

...we ended up 140 miles SE of Chattanooga in a little town called Helen. Helen, GA. Alpine Helen to be exact. Did you know there was a German/Bavarian-themed city in the mountains of Northern GA??? Neither did we until a week or so ago. Got up Tuesday morning, loaded the recycling, planned to go grocery shopping, ended up in a little town 3 hours away over two mountains in another state. Lon is so proud of me for becoming more spontaneous. I'd say this was pretty spontaneous! Especially since, after having a great time and not quite ready to leave, we found a cheap hotel room (on the Chattahoochee River no less!) and stayed the night. No toothbrushes, no change of clothes, no deodorant! Luckily for us the weather was pleasant, almost fall-like. Driving over the mountain the temp got down to 69 degrees and in town it was in the 70's with a nice breeze. Had some yummy German beers, some brat/knock/bierwurst & cheeses and enjoyed the cute little town. Lon wouldn't let me buy him any lederhosen, but was all for me getting one of the cute little St. Pauli girl dresses! Most of the town was closed (off-season) but they were getting ready for the Annual GA H.O.G. Rally that was headed into town today. They also have one of the longest Oktoberfestivals in the nation...lasting from 9/11-11/2 this year. Guess they do a full on Christmas thing, too. Got to have some way to pull the tourists in...this place is definitely OFF the beaten path. Beautiful drive, though...can totally see why the bikers love it so. It's smack dab in the middle of the Chattahoochee National Forest...winding mountain roads, waterfalls, gorgeous vistas, all with a little taste of Germany. They also have a year-round haunted house...Haunted Helen. Very creepy, even in the daytime. Especially the Headless Horseman...see the hazy image...why would that be hazy when the others were all clear? Had fun, met some friendly & some not-so-friendly people, but maybe the economy has got them down, too. Wouldn't imagine they've had a banner year. If interested, check out www.helenga.org.
Instead of coming home on Wed, Lon decided it might be fun to check out Little Five Points in Atlanta...give the big city another try. Well, we found it and we still don't like it ('It' being Atlanta...Little Five Points wasn't bad). Found a cool incense burner and had some yummy food, but the overcrowded, big city thing...WAY overrated! Guess we've always been small(er) town folk at heart. Good to be home...
Here's some more fun pics from our impromptu getaway:

Trippy...

To go along with the new mushroom painting I'm working on, I spruced up my blog with some 3D effects...or at least in my eyes. Do you see words floating on here? I know I did...guess it was my color choices. I'll leave it like this til I get a headache or get inspired to change it. This funky pic is one of the many cool Jellies at the TN Aquarium...a Moon Jelly, I believe. Just thought I'd throw him in for fun...he's trippy too, right?
Less than two weeks til school starts...getting a little nervous and a lot excited. Ready to have my RN and be well on my to traveling...but good things come to those who wait, so I guess I'll have to wait, too.
Until then, give peace a chance, yo. :)

8th Grade Reunion

Yes, I said 8th grade...not high school. And what a good time it was! A group of about 25 of us were all in the same class from 5th-8th grade at William J. Christian Elementary School in Birmingham. After that we went to a variety of different high schools. Some of us kept in touch, a lot of us didn't. Thanks to the ever-popular Facebook, we decided to plan a reunion. Saturday, August 15th we got together at Black Market Bar in Birmingham. George, one of the FB-er's, owns it. There were yummy drinks, delish eats, horrible/funny/embarrassing/silly photos from way-back-when, old yearbooks and LOTS of catching up and reminiscing. It was a fantastic night! I care nothing about going to a high school reunion, but this I would do again and again...great time. So good to see everyone and couldn't believe they ALL look just the same as when we left 8AC 22 years ago (well...not the same, better hair and fashion choices last night than 8th grade)! Some people have 5 kids, some have none; some are married, some are looking; all were great to see. A few of us ventured over to George's other bar (Speakeasy) in downtown B'ham. More fun, more drinks, more picture taking. Felt like a regular youngster staying out til 3 am...haven't done that in a LONG time. Gonna sleep good tonight, but so glad I went. The pic at the beginning is our homage to Charlie's Angels...5th-8th grade the three of us (Jennifer, Christy and me) were pretty much inseparable! Here's some more pics from the evening's festivities...

Almost time

Well, Micro is over (I made an A!) and Nursing I starts in 3 short weeks. Still working full time hours at the hospital, but that will slow down a bit once classes start. I've bought all my books and supplies...guess I'm ready as I'll ever be! One really nice thing, though...looking through the syllabus for the 1st semester...the skill set: it's a lot of what I do now at work. Vital signs, ht/wt, I&O (input and output), pain scale, hand hygiene, EKG's, catheters...all good. The 'Remove fecal impaction digitally'...well, not really looking forward to that lab! But I guess taking care of patients means taking care of patients...whatever their needs, right? :) We've had a pretty quiet summer...work, school, work, school. Mary Beth got married last weekend...beautiful ceremony at Dad's house. Might be going to my 8th grade 'reunion' next weekend! ha, ha, ha...the lot of us were in 5th-8th grade together and now most of us are on Facebook. That should be entertaining.