Highest place in Georgia

As we drove across the northern part of Georgia, it was only a slight detour to the road up toward Brasstown Bald, the high point of the state.  We parked our travel trailer, Howie, in the small lot at the bottom and drove up the winding road to the huge parking lot near the top.  My Achilles/calf was feeling a lot better, but this was not the time to test it with a long hike.  It was highly fortuitous that we could get almost to the top of this mountain in the truck.

The little store/ranger station at the start of the paved trail to the top:

Here we go!

Quite the lookout tower at the top:

The views were excellent in all directions:

Just a lovely day:

Obligatory selfie:

It's a distinctive highpoint, to be sure:

A few more photos on our Georgia highpoint webpage:
http://www.kipley.com/marcy/highpoints/georgia.html

Sewanee hills

Back to Tennessee - I like this state every time we visit.  It's a brief few days in Chattanooga to start, but I did get some Tennessee topography/geology training in.  First a run up and over Lookout Mountain as a warm-up, that's always fun.

Then I drove over to the campus of Sewanee to check out the trails and valleys.  And interesting rock formations, for example:

Rocky creek:

Bridal View Falls - not only is it really pretty, but I didn't see a creek coming into it, nor one coming out from the bottom.

Just a hole where the water disappears!  I suspect there may be a few caves around here...

Rock on a hill:

It was rather chilly that morning:

Hmm, I might have found a saw brier?  Single strand, it's easy to avoid when there is only one:

My right Achilles is giving me some issues, and it doesn't seem like a normal little niggle that goes away the next day.  Making adjustments, trying to figure out what it means and how to fix it - to be continued...

Mardi Gras part 2

One last day of parades (for us, for now) - it was a big one.  Nicole and Jeff were both riding, so we decided to walk up both parade routes and try to find them.

We parked at City Park and took a bus into town.  It was neat watching from the bus and seeing people getting set up for the big parade along Canal Street:

Under the viewing stands on St Charles:

This tree gets a lot of bead action:

Ladders that people use to get better views of the floats:

The start of the Iris parade:

A colorful float:

"The Rolling Elvi":

Flintstones float:

Yabba Dabba Do! (and the start of John's bead collection):

The theme for this parade was "Iris Rocks!" - here is the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots float, well done:

The Rockettes:

Rock and Roll!

Lava Rocks with a Hawaiian theme:

It's Nicole!  Third from the right, in the middle of a bead toss:

Switching gears - next was the Tucks parade.  They were more into toilet humor, as evidenced by one of the things John caught (also note his growing bead collection):

A Tucks float - throw John a football!

Young ladies on a ladder:

A bit of the aftermath along St Charles:

We caught a bit of Tucks on Canal Street after walking back to the French Quarter, including a look at their pirate ship:

We took a break to recover from the excitement, then started walking up Canal Street.  Not far up we found the front of the Endymion parade.  What a show!  The floats were huge, many of them in 2 or 3 parts, all lit up.  The crowds were big and beads were much harder to come by.  Which is good because we were already fairly weighted down.

An amazing float and the crowd of people asking for beads and stuff:

Capt. Eddies, a 3-part float:

It took a bit of work, but we found Jeff!  Actually, he found us, which is pretty amazing.  It's hard to tell who is who behind the masks.  Jeff and his uncle - hi guys!

Wow, that was an exciting day!  John with beads (and a bag with more beads):

The next day was quieter but still a lot of fun.  Our friends Tim and Zack and family put on a crawfish boil.  Even better, one of their friends brought oysters to char-grill:

John helping shuck the oysters.  I didn't know I liked char-grilled oysters, but apparently I really do.  Or maybe they were just seasoned and cooked perfectly.

Crawdads and mushrooms - yum:

Thank you to all our NOLA friends, that was one amazing weekend!

Mardi Gras - part 1

Time to head out of Texas for a while!  Our travel trailer is packed and ready to roll:

First stop = New Orleans for Mardi Gras!  It was our first chance to experience this amazing festival, even though we have gotten to know the city quite well during many urban races here.  We were lucky to have a friend and a New Orleans local to show us around.  Michelle brought us down to the Chaos and Muses parades on Thursday evening, and we found a good spot near Napoleon Ave.

The start of the Chaos parade:

A Chaos float - the theme this year was "Hell" in various forms, along with lots of local and political satire.  It was interesting checking out the details on the floats, while catching beads and other treats thrown over the side.

I especially liked the Muses parade.  They decorate fancy shoes and occasionally hand one out, and even though most people don't get one of those, the rest of their "throws" were creative and fun.  Lots of beads with flashing lights, many shoe-related items, and an excellent bag that I can actually use for grocery shopping.

A fun first night!

It's a keeper:

The next day we wandered around the French Quarter with Michelle, our friends Nicole and Jeff who came down from Albany for the weekend (yay!), and Jeff's family.  It was fun being tourists for once instead of having to prepare for a race.

A small parade in the middle of Royal Street:

With Jeff and Nicole, at the Court of Two Sisters:

Me and Michelle, trying a couple different drinks (I'm partial to the Ramos Gin Fizz):

The stop at Cafe Du Monde was so particularly good that we picked up some chicory coffee down the street and I'm drinking it as I write this:

Checking out the French Market:

Jeff's family found a balcony on Bourbon Street for tossing beads:

Seemed like a good idea... so here's a view from that balcony:

Supper at Embers - the crawfish mac & cheese was unforgettable.  Three cheers for Mardi Gras!