Hello, blogging world. So, yes it has been sometime since anecdotes recorded by Jason have been posted for your enjoyment (or your horror). But I am back. Back with a vengeance; to tell you a story. A story that will hopefully captivate you and make you think about your family. Nah, just kidding (although my whole extended family is involved with this so it may make you think of your family). Anyway, I’ll cut to the chase. Last weekend was a pretty busy one because it was my week long break between spring and summer semesters of school (less than a year to go!! woohoo!). And if one only has a week, then that means it is usually jam-packed full of chores, projects, or vacation/visiting family. Well, this time, the week was mainly focused on the latter. I think Laura and I saw just about everyone we are possibly related too. It all started with a planned visit from my awesome brother from Houston! We had been talking about him coming out to visit us in Augusta for awhile and it finally happened. I picked him up from Atlanta, on June 3. He stayed with us for a couple of days. We had a great time, although he was battling some mild gastritis. We all just kind of hung out, went to some stores, saw the incredible amazing sights of Augusta, and watched my favorite movie…INCEPTION! He also decided to surprise by treating Laura and myself to dinner. Thanks Bro! That was awesome! So we had a good time and then on June 5, in the afternoon, Chris (my brother), Laura, and I packed up our suitcases and headed off to Helen Ga for our family reunion which is held every other year with my Mom’s extended family. Why Helen, you might ask. Well, every year someone else gets to plan the location, etc and this year my Mom planned it and decided to have it there. Next one could be anywhere…maybe even a sweet beach house…especially if all the cousins get to plan one.
So we arrived at our Hotel on Thursday night. Once we all arrived, well actually, once we arrived because we were the last ones to get there, we all went out to eat at a local restaurant where Laura and I split weiner schnitzel (Helen has strong German influence/roots). It was interesting, definitely not bad. From there, we went back to the Hotel to play a family tradition game called dirty bingo. It’s like, when you get a bingo, you get to open a gift or steal a gift from someone else kind of game. So it’s a lot of fun and pretty cut throat. It’s amazing how attached we can get to generally dollar store gifts! After that we called it a day and headed to bed to get ready for a packed day on Friday, June 6.
The morning came pretty early, but there’s nothing better than starting a day with a sausage egg and cheese biscuit. I love you Country Inn and Suites. We all piled into cars and headed off to do some hiking and waterfall observation. I realized that my family really like waterfalls/hiking/mountains because many of our reunions have revolved around that theme. Which is totally fine with me because Laura and I love to go hiking. And let’s be honest…hiking around Augusta is not quite as cool as hiking through foresty mountains with babbling rivers and noisy waterfalls.
Yes, it was chilly, and yes we have matching North Face Jackets
Some of the beautiful scenery
Us at the Waterfall…It was really bright
From there we went to a park and had an excellent picnic lunch and after that we tried to strike it rich by panning for gold in a creek at a legit gold mining operation. No gold. But some cool rocks/gems were found and my cousin Tim found a huge sapphire stone which looked like a burnt marshmellow because it was uncut. Later that evening we went to dinner at a local BBQ pit that we had staked out. It was amazing. Yum. I love BBQ and sweet tea. Then from there, we went and played some miniature golf in a winner-take-all-glory-and-bragging-rights-for-the-next-two-years match consisting of the mature members of the family vs the young members (the cousins). Sadly, our youth did not help us and our overall team score was 3 shots behind the mature members. It was fun though. And, mark my words, there will be a day of reckoning. Finally Saturday rolled around and we had a lazier morning. After a very late breakfast we went to a local winery for a wine tasting. So good. And then had our last picnic lunch before we said goodbye.
It was a great time. After we left, we headed to my favorite fireworks warehouse to get some supplies for the 4th or July (we were only 40 minutes away) and then drove into Atlanta. Saturday evening, Laura and I and my family met up with our close friends the Raessler’s for dinner and coffee. That was also very fun. Then my family went to a hotel and I went to visit Laura’s family for Mother’s day. We spent Mother’s day (Sunday) with my in-laws and started by bringing the boat to lake Lanier to take it for a test drive after some repairs had to be made. Now it runs like a charm. Then we went to a late brunch at a yummy place called South City Kitchen. After that, Laura and I split off to visit her grandparents. When that was done, we came back to chill with Laura’s family some more and eventually left and got back to Augusta about 11 pm. Whew. We promptly went to bed and got ready for a week back at school and work and have survived all of that to tell you about it! PS: I made a documentary movie of our reunion for those who want to remember or for those who were not able to attend to experience the trip vicariously through us or for those who are really curious about what our family reunion was really like! It captures the activities much better than our pictures although I had to decrease the pixel quality to fit it on Vimeo. No HD…sorry, but enjoy!
Nothing's wrong with matching North Face jackets.
BTW, tell your cousin to hold onto that uncut sapphire. Maybe if he has it cut, it could be worth a substantial sum.