morganton, georgia

my next destination was to my aunt jeni and uncle jeff's place tucked away in the blue ridge mountains of north georgia.   i took the scenic route on the way up.

i was so excited to see jeni and jeff because i hardly ever see them.  except for the fact that i saw them in merritt island four weeks previously, i hadn't seen them for like.. ten years, and this was the first time i got to see their house!

they were just as excited to have me visit as i was to visit them, so i got a very warm welcome.  even their faithful pet petunia gave some grunts of welcome. : )   he's their dear pig who has lived a full 17 years of life filled with more attention and fun than some people's dogs will ever get.

they also have a goat and two adopted stray cats.

and a beautiful property with a pretty pond

and a really cool cabin from the late 1800s!

i tried to imagine what it would be like to live in this cabin.  it's so cute.   jeni and jeff would like to restore it, but are pretty busy restoring other old things.  they run a store where they buy and sell all sorts of old items.

one of jeff's hobbies when he's not at the store is restoring old cars, turning them from junk into beauties - rebuilding and refurbishing them, and even (tediously) repainting them!  this is one of his babies that he just put up for sale... a '53 chevy.   if you know anyone who would want it, it's on ebay (#230457821496), or i could get you in touch with them.

we took their red 57 chevy out for a spin.

we went to a place called fields of the woods where they have a hillside displaying the ten commandments in concrete letters of a god-sized font.

climbing those rules is quite an effort!  from the top, the cars in the parking lot looked like ants.

we also saw a tomb which was "a replica of the garden tomb in jerusalem, which is the traditional site of jesus' burial and resurrection."   an appropriate place to visit on easter sunday!

there was nobody inside

we also enjoyed grabbing a bite at the pizza buffet

i enjoyed a great sleep in a little room that they created out of what used to be their closet!  ha, i wouldn't have known if they didn't tell me.  it was one of the coziest places i've slept on my entire trip!  : )   jeni whipped up delicious home-cooked meals for us and made a point to hang and chat with me in the short time i was there.

i love them both and because of the visit, now i miss them more than ever!