More fall fun

I think fall is Corin's favorite season of the year, and it is quickly becoming one of mine. (I'm still partial to spring, but fall is a close second.) The weather is so beautiful here in October and there is so much fun stuff to do. Today we went to church and lunch as usual on Sundays, but then we took off to the N. GA mountains to go hiking at Amicolola Falls and maybe stumble on some boiled p-nuts (isn't that how they always spell it) and fried pies. Even though we went to a great, fun pumpkin patch last weekend, there were no boiled p-nuts or fried pies, so Corin and I both felt cheated. We got up to the falls around 3:30 and I thought Pressley and I would just go about half way up (less than 1/2 mile), and maybe Corin and Evan would go to the first big landing (probably 3/4 mile, the last 1/4 being all steps). But our kids are adventurers, so we all 4 ended up going all the way to the top. Pressley got to ride in the stroller until we got to the steps, but then we had to ditch the stroller and she had to walk. I believe it was 185 steps to the first major landing and then 435 to the very top. (There are signs with this information. I did not count.) The kids seemed to have a ball and both had plenty of energy left when we made it to the top, which is more than I can say for me. I recovered quickly in the cool breeze as we let the kids run around and play, and then it was back down to the bottom. Again, the kids were troopers, even though they had significantly less steam on the way down.

When we got to the bottom (around 5:30), we headed over to Burt's Pumpkin Farm - a mile or so away. We got there in time to score some fried pies, pumpkin bread and a slice of pumpkin pie, but they were sold out of boiled peanuts. Oh, the humanity. I would not be discouraged. I've seen all the signs for boiled p-nuts between here and the mountains, so I knew we would find something. Finally, after passing a second stand that was sold out, we found a stand that had the leftovers they had just brought back from Dawsonville's Moonshine Festival. I'll take it. This is the one time of year I get boiled p-nuts, and I was not going home without them. So, we ate a very nutritious - and very messy - dinner of pumpkin bread and boiled p-nuts in the car on the way home. I didn't have room for my fried pie after I had stuffed myself with p-nuts, but Corin tells me I am not missing much. Evan polished off most of the pumpkin bread - which means I need to find a recipe for pumpkin bread.... Then the kids passed out in the backseat much like they did last weekend.

It was a good day. More pictures are posted under Albums.

By the way, check out yesterday's post for the newly-added photo of my exhibitionist daughter in her "outfit" from during the costume alterations.