A Dahlonega Kind of Day

After looking at the weekend weather forecast on Friday, I decided that a trip to the mountains was in order for Saturday afternoon. It worked out perfectly since I was already going to be halfway there and Marley (Allison's dog) was very gracious to allow Cash to hang out on the bottom level of her home for the morning. Side note: Marley is the sole reason why I no longer roll my eyes at little dogs. She's the greatest little dog I've ever known. Just look at this cuteness...I knew early on Saturday morning that it was going to be a great day. Just look at how little I paid for gas...

It's the simple things that make me happy, people. Petrol is still around 2.09 in Athens and honestly I can't remember the last time I paid under $2/gallon so I felt a photo was necessary to document this momentous occasion. Cash and I finally arrived in Dahlonega around 1:30 or so and the first stop was the reservoir...

This arrived in Dahlonega a few years after Wal-Mart and cable tv in the dorms (excuse me, residence halls) arrived. I'm pretty sure the county went into some sort of large-scale debt over this big mud puddle as well, but nonetheless, it's very pretty and my puppy loved it...

After a few more minutes of wading, I decided to head over to the square....Welcome to Mayberry, folks. My favorite part of driving into Dahlonega is driving over Crown Mountain. But as I was driving in yesterday I couldn't help but to think about how my perspective of the town has changed since I've been gone. It's so small. I've grown accustomed to the convenience of living in a bigger place. (I act as if Athens is the ATL...I'm such a small town girl at heart.) While I miss it, I couldn't imagine myself living there again. After walking around the square, I headed over to campus...It has changed with the addition of two new buildings since I moved, but whenever I think of North Georgia, this is usually one of the first images that come to mind...the drill field with the Price Memorial steeple in the background. I sometimes think of this place too...

It's crazy to think that I lived two years of my life here in this building. I wouldn't trade those two years for all the money in the Federal Reserve though (ok that's not really saying much these days, but just roll with it). What fun we had on the hall...in spite of the pepto bismol pink paint and Laura Ashley wallpaper. I wonder how Gretchen the ghost is doing. I wish that she would come and fold my laundry. I guess that she lives amongst all boys now since it's no longer the Greek dorm. (note: when I worked at North Georgia I was giving a tour to a family and I mentioned that Sanford was the greek residence hall and the girl goes "really, you have that many Greeks on campus?"...as in people from the country of Greece. Lawsy.) Cash's favorite part of the trip to campus was running on the drill field...

It's always a big hit with all the canines. I thought for sure that this dog would sleep all day long today after playing in the lake, running on the drill field and hiking a trail yesterday. No such luck. All of those things were just a faint memory of his past at 6:21 this morning. Walking back to the car I took one last picture of Price mainly because I liked the tree in front of it...

However when I uploaded these pictures to my computer last night I realized that the window to my first office is in it too. I wonder what it says for my career when my first office was a front corner office with a window and I've been windowless for over 4 years now. I'll think about that another day. Conveniently, the tallest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi River is just a mere 20 minutes from Dahlonega...

And since my family has forgotten what I look like, they decided to meet me there in the late afternoon. Because it's been so long since I've been home for a visit, mom had to take multiple pictures to remember me so she won't be alarmed when I show up at Thanksgiving...

This is just one of many failed attempts to get a picture of me with my dog. Note the middle child in the background. Poor thing, no one ever gives that boy any attention. Except for Cash who was so intent on watching him instead of looking at the camera. Right before we left mom did manage to get one where we were both paying attention though...

He was a big hit with fellow hikers and we were a sight to behold as he pulled me back down the mountain. Fortunately for me, the paparazzi was at the other end of the falls when that happened though. Since mom loves and photographs all of her children equally (I have to write that so their feelings won't be hurt should they ever stumble upon this blog one day) here are some other shots from the day...

I know what you're thinking so I'll go ahead and clear up any speculation. No, I did not get another little brother. For a moment I was worried too when 3 boys tumbled out of the truck instead of the usual 2, but turns out the addition is just one of Ethan's buddies.

However in this picture, Patrick and Micah favor more than Ethan and Micah do. Interesting.

I wish that I could say that when this picture was taken, Micah and I were having some sort of brother and sister bonding moment. Well, in a way I guess we were and it played out like this... Me: "Micah, stop spitting." ... Micah: "Why Heather? It's not getting on you so it's not a big deal." How can I argue with that?

Shortly after that exchange, I took this picture. I imagine that he was just taking a moment to think about how fortunate he is to have both a set of parents and an older sister who tells him what to do. Not to mention the sound "advice" he gets from this one too...

Oh when did he grow up? It must have happened when I blinked. I'm almost done, I promise. Fortunately it's a free country so you could have chosen to stop reading 15 pictures ago but for those of you who are still with me, here's one more...