Macon Bacon Game

While we don't go to as many baseball games as JB would like, our family does try to hit up one or two a year, however we can get them.  And a fun game to attend: the Macon Bacon.  GovStrive has bought tickets for the past several years, but this time we have season tickets at two tables right on the 3rd baseline. They are a hot item in the office, and they are scooped up quickly!  

Our family had the tickets last weekend and so we headed up to Macon with Ms. Therlon.  The weather was not yet too hot and the seats were amazing!

(Other than you had to seriously pay attention to each and every swing.  We almost got hit a couple of times, and JB and Mr. Ron even caught a foul ball!)

It's a small, historic stadium, but the staff does a GREAT job of having fun during the game.  This time Wesley even went on the field for a game of musical chairs!

The players are also super nice and welcoming. These college boys play so many stinkin' games throughout the summer, but still make time for the fans. Even the opposing team came over to say hi (and also gave M and W a ball, since JB had caught one!)

At the end of the night, all of the players lined up to sign balls and other swag.  The kids were so excited. You would have thought they had a Babe Ruth ball to show off back home.

Love all these summertime memories with the kiddos!  And proof it doesn't have to be big or fancy for a great time. 

Exploring the Okefenokee Swamp

One of those places I've never been to but can now cross off my list: The Okefenokee Swamp! I'm sure I've heard of it over my lifetime but knew nothing about it (other than James tells of Okefenokee Joe, who used to come to his elementary school and the library when he was a young child, to show off snakes and tell tall tales).

The swamp is: a shallow, 438,000-acre (177,000 ha), peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia–Florida line in the United States.  The Ford had what I lovely call a "Ford Field Trip" to explore the swamp, and we jumped on the chance to take the kids!  

I didn't realize the entrance to the swamp is about 2 hours away, so we loaded up early on Saturday morning, hit up the McD's for a "special treat", and then made our way across Georgia. 

The group of us piled into 2 flatbottom boats and started the slow trek into the swamp. Our guide was a young Biologist who was quite entertaining and very informative. We learned so much!

We saw all sorts of flora and fauna, including 5 different types of birds, carnivorous plants, and lots of turtles.  Oh, and about 100 alligators of all different sizes. James spotted the very difficult to find American Bittern!  He's turning into quite the birder, that husband of mine...

While we traveled through via boats, another group of our friends took a 4 hour kayak trip!  Not sure we could pull that off quite yet, but maybe next trip.

Such a great time exploring the swamp.  It may be crossed off our list of places to see, but I'd definitely return.

Boating Trip!

We love living on the water and the fact that we could catch fish every day, if we wanted to (or had time in our busy lives). The kids love to throw the cast net, JB loves to find friends on the river and throw out a line, and I love to try my hand at cooking all the different fish filets.  

Over Colombus Day weekend we scheduled a morning charter to take the kids out on the Ogeechee River and fish for whiting (and other things). Unfortunately, James got his second bout with COVID (after I had it the week before, boo) and so I bravely took all 3 kids out with our very patient, very kind Captain.  

The day was incredibly gorgeous.  It's finally getting cooler but the sun is still out shining.  We went out into the water through the river, enjoying the views of the Main House.

The Captain had hoped to catch a lot of whiting that we could take home to eat, but in the end we mostly caught sharks and sting rays. The kids didn't care! It's quite fun to catch and release, plus we got a lot of biology talk from our Captain (who previously was a biologist with the DNR).

I had packed our lunches and some snacks, and all Wesley could think about was the food in the cooler. That kid could not stay out of it!  Or the bait tank :)

At the end of our trip we had only caught 2 whiting that we could keep, but the Captain still fileted them for us (and we cooked and ate every bit).  DELICIOUS!!! Can't wait to come home with a whole mess of them so we can have a real feast.

Such a fun day!  But we missed Dad! Maybe next time...