A Spring Break Story: Fishing with the Anderson Boys

Sometimes you go to Georgia, and sometimes you have visitors from Georgia.

Or as Lucia spells it "Joja."

Jack's brother, Dickie, and his family live on St. Simons Island. Unfortunately, we don't get to see them as often as we'd like, so we were elated to receive an e-mail from Dickie last week, telling us that he and our nephew, Jack, were considering a Spring Break fishing trip to Center Hill Lake. 

We sent some information about places to stay and eat and offered whatever concierge services we could provide, and late Wednesday afternoon, Dickie and Nephew Jack arrived at Lakeside, a rustic resort up the lake from us on the other side of Smithville.

Husband Jack and I were on the way home from Cookeville when Dickie called to let us know they'd made it, and we quickly arranged to meet-up for dinner at The Rose Garden Restaurant at Silver Point, which is only ten minutes from Lakeside and on our way home. Incidentally, The Rose Garden also has some of the tastiest fried catfish in these parts, and we knew it was sure to be a hit with the Georgia boys.

Over dinner, we strategized the best plans for fishing on Thursday and Friday, in consideration of quirky weather and rain in the forecast for late Thursday night into Friday. Figuring that Thursday would be the best day for boat fishing, we parted ways with plans to regroup on a rented boat sometime the following day.

Lakeside wasn't able to make direct arrangements for a boat, but Dickie was able to rent a boat at nearby Edgar Evins State Park, and shortly before 11:00, we were on our way to the park with tackle, cameras, and a picnic in hand.

The boat was nice, clean, and had plenty of room for more than the four of us and our gear. Life jackets were provided, and there were appropriate sizes for all kinds of passengers from babies on up. Because we didn't arrive at the marina until noon and the boat had to be returned by 4:00 p.m., we weren't able to travel far up the lake (or is it down the lake?), but we did get to see Center Hill Dam from the water, which I haven't done in a LONG time, and found a couple of nice spots to fish on Indian Creek. The wind made the water choppy, so it took us a little longer than it would've on a calm day, plus Dickie's hat blew off his head and into the lake, and we spent a good ten minutes fruitlessly attempting to rescue it. 

Dickie in his Southern Soul Barbecue hat.

Minutes later, searching for Dickie's hat.

Maybe this summer someone will find it on the bank, wash it, and give it a good home. 

Husband Jack scored the first catch of the day, a nice little Smallmouth Bass, and when he hooked another one later on in the afternoon, he quickly handed his rod and reel over to Nephew Jack to let him land the fish.

When the fish flopped off the hook and landed it the floor of the boat, I scooped it up and showed Jack how to hold it by the lip for long enough to get his picture made.

The Jacks caught a few more little bluegill, we saw a water snake from a safe distance, and then it was time to head back to the marina. We arrived just at 4 o'clock, and the rental guy was nice enough to help us get our things unloaded.

The plan for Friday was to stream fish for trout - Nephew Jack got a new flyrod for Christmas that he hadn't yet used, and he hoped to catch his first trout with it on this trip, but strong thunderstorms in the wee hours of the morning and the arrival of a cold front made fishing difficult.

Because of the rain and wet in the morning hours, we again waited until midday to get underway, meeting for a tasty lunch at Collins River Barbecue in McMinnville before wetting our lines in the Barren Fork River below the dam at Pepper Branch Park.

The sun came out, and the weather was absolutely delightful, as were our attitudes, but other than a couple of bluegill caught by Jack and Jack and one weird little skinny fish I managed to catch, we came up empty handed.

Next on the list was Sink Creek at Keltonburg, a place to fish on the way back to Smithville. When Jack and I had passed the creek on our way to lunch, the water was lively but still clear enough to fish. By the time we returned in the afternoon, the creek had swollen and turned into a swirling, muddy mess. Undaunted, our fishermen trudged down to the infamous mill pond, and I'll just say this - if Jack Anderson can't catch a trout in the falls there, nobody can. 

Jack doing a roll-cast with his flyrod.

The boys fished, and I prowled the landscape with my camera.

The fishing was disappointing, but we all had a wonderful time just being together on a fabulous Spring afternoon.

Before Dickie and Jack departed for home this morning, we treated them to a big family breakfast on the farm with Mom and Dad. Jack made homemade biscuits. We fried bacon and made a big pan of scrambled eggs. Mom tripped to Smithville for some hot, fresh donuts and had put together a nice fruit salad. We all laughed and visited together as long as we could, and then it was time for the boys to load up and start the trip home.

They've promised to be back - if not in the fall, definitely again next Spring. 

We're already looking forward to their return.

Photos from this adventure are at this link:

2015 Spring Break with Dickie and Jack

Roadtrip Roundup: Bigfoot Weekend with the Girls

If you have a sister you trust with your heart, consider yourself lucky and send her something - even if it's just a card that says, "Good driving. Thanks for getting us home."

The weekend of the 20th, I joined Sis and her girls on a road trip to Georgia.

There was fellowship with Uncle Billy and Aunt Nancy at their place on Lake Sinclair, which is a calming oasis of big trees and fresh air. After spending two peaceful nights with them, I felt relaxed and rejuvenated, but we had to drive home through Atlanta in the rain. What one hand gives, the other takes away.

There was also the Bigfoot Challenge.

Lucia learned about Bigfoot early into kindergarten and is fascinated by the possibility of his existence, differentiating Bigfoot from bears, learning the ways of the Bigfoot, doing science.

Lucia uses binoculars to spot Bigfoot. Travis photobombs her like a rock star.

The Bigfoot Challenge was staged at a state natural area about an hour from Uncle Bill and Aunt Nancy's place, and the plan was for all of us to go, but I woke up with some significant gastrointestinal distress on Saturday morning, and after Uncle Billy decided to stay back at the house in case I needed something, Beatrice decided to hang with us.

photo by Laurie S. Golding

I was initially concerned that Bea, the wee-V, would end up missing her Mommy in a regrettable situation, but Uncle Billy made chocolate milk and taught girl how to peel a tangerine in-between her dives into a massive tub of toys and short walks out onto the back porch to watch fast boats come up and down the lake.

Beatrice, though not yet three, is honest and lets you know what's going on. When she was ready for lunch, she said, "I'm hungry. I want lunch."

When lunch was over, she said, "I need a show."

The guest house has a small TV with DirecTV, so an episode of "Peter Rabbit" later, she was all good to take a nap and slept until the Bigfoot hunters returned to the homestead.

I knew she was going to nap good, since I ran the V-girls from the guest quarters with my snoring the previous night, but that's a different blog post for a different time.

Also, I just want to go on record as saying there is nothing sweeter in this world than having a little kid ask, "will you hold me until I go to sleep?"

My heart.

Lucia came home with great photos of evidence from the Bigfoot trail, but the instructions for uploading the photos to facebook and "tagging" the event were complicated by my ignorance of how to facebook from my smarty-pants phone. I think I finally got the images uploaded appropriately, but as of this evening - more than a week after the hunt - no winner has been announced. 

From top: Fish and Bigfoot tracks near a stream, nut shells from where a Bigfoot has eaten a snack, Bigfoot shelter, Bigfoot in the distance in a stand of trees, Bigfoot poop. (Photos by Lucia Vernon)

Lucia documents findings in her Bigfoot journal while Cousin Laurie looks on.

I like to think that Team Tennessee was such a stand-out that nobody else came close, so bragging rights our ours, y'all!! I don't know that the official prize amounted to much more than that, but what we brought home from those three days and two nights together are the kinds of memories that last a lifetime.

Team Tennessee's Captain with map of findings.

The girls really took-to their Uncle Billy, which is no real surprise, because I remember being little like them and completely captivated by his tall and quiet ways. He knows how to make a girl feel special.

Aunt Nancy was just as much of a hit, and at one point, Lucia said, "Aunt Nancy is so good to us, I feel like we should call her grandma."

The world would be a much better place, if everyone had an Aunt Nancy.

Biscuit-makers.

Hands.

We hoped to get an extra-early start on Sunday morning, but breakfast turned into an event - a beautiful, delicious event with biscuits handled by little children - followed by an emotional, last-minute fishing competition.

Everything in these pictures tells the story better than I can with major props to Aunt Nancy's daughter, Laurie, for the breakfast photos:

Here's a link to the photos - mine and a few of Laurie's, too.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54684154@N02/sets/72157651526951121/