Hiawassee, Georgia

We had traveled to Cincinnati to bid farewell to our cousins before heading south to Hiawassee, Georgia, where our grandparents, Mimi & Walter, had rented a lake house. To our surprise, the house contained a closet full of toys (which, in retrospect, we may not have been meant to discover—hehehe…), including a metal detector that I promptly began waving over everything in sight. The property came with its own private dock and several boats: a speedboat, paddleboards, and more. Using the paddleboards, we ventured down the expansive lake until we reached a small patch of land known as Merry Island. There, we found a rope dangling from a tree, perfect for swinging out and splashing into the water.

A bit farther along the lake, we came across an unusual water park. It was essentially a massive inflatable obstacle course, somewhat reminiscent of a bounce house, though sturdier and far less springy. Highlights included a water slide, a tall diving platform, and floating “lily pads” (which, oddly, were absolutely covered in bird droppings). Another feature was a narrow inflatable bridge. Watching Nate attempt to cross it was hilarious—it took him ages, since he had to carefully crawl across. Unfortunately, the bridge was half-deflated, which made walking nearly impossible. Still, convinced that my “insanely high dexterity stat” gave me an advantage, I attempted to stride across it. I managed to make it halfway before slipping. Beneath the sagging bridge was a metal support bar designed to keep it from collapsing too far when deflated. Instead of tumbling into the water, I landed squarely on that bar. Let’s just say the impact to my crotch was excruciating—but on the bright side, I didn’t fall in.

After our adventures, we began the drive back to Charlotte, making one last stop at a waterfall called Dry Falls. Our mom described it as something out of Robin Hood, because you could actually walk behind the cascade. My brothers were thrilled—at least until they spotted a sign warning about falling rocks. Suddenly they were convinced the cliffs above us were going to collapse at any moment. Thankfully, nothing of the sort occurred, and we managed to take some beautiful pictures from beneath the roaring curtain of water.  And with that, our trip came to a close.