Day 1: On the Road

My vacation officially started at around 7:30 Friday night, the time I got off work.  It had been several months since I had a few days off (aside from my scheduled two days off a week), so I was ready for a vacation.  Everyone knows too well how much has to be done before leaving for a trip, and this time was no exception.  We had to pack, map out a travel route, and get the dogs to the kennel.  Most of that was wrapped up by Saturday so that we could get on the road Sunday afternoon.

This trip to Blue Ridge, Georgia, would require a travel route that we had never taken.  It winds through the mountains through some small towns in Tennessee and Georgia, and would prove to be quite scenic!  The total travel time was about two hours and forty-five minutes from door to door, so not a bad trip at all.  We of course over-packed our cars, since it never fails that we tend to take more things than we really need...

Before I go any further, I should probably explain the point of this trip.  Our extended Beauregard family had decided on a family reunion to take place for a week in July, and that a somewhat central location in the Georgia mountains would be perfect.  The cabin/house that we stayed in had been recommended by some family friends, so the reservations were made to accommodate as many as wanted to attend.  Many of the family members responded and attended, but there were several notable absences.  All in all, 26 members of our side of the Beauregard family showed up at some point during the week, so it was a successful reunion despite those that were absent (though we did talk about how we missed them, of course).

As we pulled up to the house around 6:00 PM, we noticed how serene and quiet the place was, but also that the house was pretty unusual looking.  It wasn't the traditional cabin that we were expecting, but had a unique sort of artistic look to it.  There were floor to ceiling windows in many rooms of the three-story dwelling, with many high ceilings as well.  We also found out that the house sits right on the Toccoa River, and quickly began to enjoy the soothing sound of rushing water.  Ahhhh!

Upon entering the house for the first time, we were surprised to find that we had arrived just in time for dinner!  Each of the four Beauregard "children" who attended had agreed to host dinner for a night during the week.  Thursday night would then be pizza night and Friday night would be leftover night.  Since almost every member of my aunt Dawn's family was present at some point (only 2 of the 15 did not attend), she decided to host dinner for two nights, and Sunday was one of them.  We were delighted to find that a spaghetti dinner was being finished up as we arrived, so within minutes we sat down to a delicious meal.

After dinner, we explored the house a little more and picked out our sleeping places.  There were only four traditional bedrooms in the house, but many more places to sleep.  My brother and I were given the porch room that had a set of bunk beds and opened to the outside with screened-in windows.  It was so comfortable at night sleeping in that room and hearing all the sounds of nature around me (though my brother was less comfortable and complained about warm it was).  After some after-dinner conversation, a little TV watching, and a dessert of warm brownies a la mode, we headed to bed.  And so ended Day 1 of Sean's family reunion vacation!

Summer Vacation and Family Reunion 2012

Yesterday my immediate family and I returned from a Beauregard family reunion in the mountains of Blue Ridge, Georgia.  We spent a week in a rental cabin/house right by the river and enjoyed the company of each other amid certain fun activities and pastimes.  I wanted to chronicle the trip on my blog, since it has been so long since I have done anything here!  Plus I enjoyed my time so much that I wanted a permanent way to record it.  Since I don't keep a diary or journal, my blog is the best medium for that.

I can imagine what some of my long-term readers must be saying, and yes, I have tried this before, and it failed miserably.  The last time I tried to chronicle a vacation, I ended up fizzling out mid-way and didn't finish posting.  I can't promise that this won't happen again, but I am a year older and more determined than ever to finish it this time!

What I intend to do over the next week or so, time permitting, is write a blog post for every day that we were gone.  There was one day (Thursday) that might necessitate two posts due to the volume of activity and pictures, but otherwise one post per day of vacation.  I intend to start this tomorrow and post a new day's story every couple of days after that.  Hopefully you all can get a sense of what I did and maybe even feel some of the same emotions that I felt as I was doing what we did.

Thanks for sticking around, even during the bare times of the last eleven months since I last posted!  Hopefully I won't disappoint you and you will enjoy what I have to share.