Lazy Lake Days

After Mexico Beach, I still didn't go back to Boston! I took four more days of vacation, and I couldn't think of a better place to relax than Lake Seminole, Georgia. I didn't get many photos, but believe me, it was a fun-filled break. Some of the highlights:

• Going out to eat for fried chicken twice in one day with different sets of family friends. Few things are more delicious than Southern fried chicken--possibly the only exception is Southern seafood, and I had plenty of that at the beach. I also fill up on sweet tea when I'm down South. I figure it's okay to drink half a gallon every day because 1) it is so delicious!!! and 2) it has to last me for six months. Normal iced tea - i.e., that without a pound of sugar in it - just seems lame in comparison. Now that I wrote that, though, I feel like I need a run...
• Daily happy hour on the dock. We would sit, nibbling almonds and Cheez-its (another guilty pleasure), while watching turtles, birds, and sometimes alligators. A fun game to play is "Guess the length of that gator over there based on the distance between its eyes and snout, or any other appendage sticking out of the water."
• Shopping at the Dollar General. Lake Seminole just got its first dollar store (or big store of any sort, really), and it's a huge attraction. We went after church so I could buy some sunglasses to replace those swallowed by the giant ocean waves (I like to imagine a porpoise somewhere sporting my cute glasses). Turns out, that's the thing to do. We saw three other church members also getting in their Sunday shopping. Just think, one day Grandmother and Grandaddy might not have to drive 50 miles to do their grocery shopping!
• Fishing, or attempting to. We didn't have the best luck this year, but we sure tried! After fishing off the dock proved to be more of a waste of crickets than anything else, we brought the poles in the boat and scouted out the Flint River fish. They still seemed to be in hiding, but we caught a few. Grandmother caught a HUGE one!! ... but Mom tried to help pull it in, and it got away. Of course. IT WAS LIKE THISSSSSSSSSSS BIG.
• Water skiing. I'm still impressed that after an entire year away, I can hop up on the ski in only two or three tries. The only time it didn't work so well was when we were fishing and had the live well full of water and fish. Apparently the 50 hp motor isn't quite strong enough to pull me, a boat full of passengers, and several gallons of water.
• Shelling corn in Grandaddy's old corn sheller, just for fun. 

Boat riding.

We stopped for lunch on the other side of the lake, which happens to be in Florida.

This is not the best picture of my family ever, but it was a fun picnic.

This little turtle was hiding under the dock near the boat lift.

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to do everything. We never went for a walk down the road, played frisbee, hit golf balls down the side of the road, or picked anything at the farm (although we harvested tomatoes, lemons, and key limes from the yard). Next time! I am already in sweet tea withdrawal and can't wait to go back at Christmas.

Oh, but I also learned that Lake Seminole used to have water moccasins. What?! You mean multiple animals may try to kill me?! Mom, Grandmother, and Grandaddy all say that the water moccasins are pretty much gone now--they disappeared when the alligators started really multiplying due to the changing climate or something. I'm not sure if that makes me feel better or worse, but it is interesting, for sure.