After a great Thanksgiving with family in Marietta, I headed to New York to spend a few weeks in my hometown of Larchmont before my family’s Christmas gathering. I loved staying with my Mom. She always spoils me with love and yummy food. I also spent time with other family members and reconnected with many childhood friends. At my age, I am really enjoying reconnecting with friends who I lost touch with, and I continue to appreciate never losing touch with a handful of amazing girlfriends from grammar school.
During December, I went into NYC to see a production of Alvin Alley’s work at the Lincoln Center. In my childhood, visiting the City to see Alvin Alley’s work was an annual ritual, but it had been a long time. It was lovely to relive this experience with my Mom and sisters. His work is still impressive, and it was a pleasure to watch the dancers implement his vision with grace and precision.
Another highlight of December was speaking at the Woman’s Club of Larchmont Annual Book & Author Luncheon. I was honored to be one of three authors invited to speak. The other two were Julian Sancton, speaking about his book Madhouse at the End of the Earth and Judith Pearl Summerfield speaking about her newest book Compositions, A Life: An Autoethnography.
It was a great pleasure to speak about The Purple Parachute at this event. My Mother has been a member of this group for many years. It was such a unique moment to speak to an audience filled with my Mom, close friends, and family, along with many other community members. Funny enough, one of the speakers is the mother of a long-lost childhood friend. After this event, reconnecting with my friend and her mom has been such a gift.
When we returned to the Marietta area, we made a point to hike while the leaves were off the trees. It was a great idea because we were able to see so much more than possible in other months of the year.
We explored a new nearby place called Cochran Mills Park. It’s an 800-acre park in Chattahoochee Hills, just 20 miles southwest of the Atlanta airport. Though it’s not far from the hustle and bustle of the city, it feels a world away. The area is peaceful and quiet, with trees abounding and waterfalls to see. There are many trails to choose from for hiking and riding (bikes or horses). Historically, this area was filled with three grist mills.
During our winter hikes here, we saw many armadillos. What a surprise! First, you would hear a slight rustle in the leaves, and then, if you looked closely, you would see an armadillo munching on the ground. We consistently saw one at a time during the winter months. We have been back in the warmer months, but no sightings have occurred. Thanks to the Hospice social worker who shared this great resource with us!
There is another area that we explored further this winter. It’s about an hour north of Marietta, and we’ve enjoyed it before. Near Cartersville, GA, there are multiple parklands, all very close together but separated by water. On one side of the water, you have Etowah Park, run by the Army Corps of Engineers, that includes a beautifully wooded disc golf course. Across the river, you have the Allatoona Lake Visitor Center, with a great overlook providing views of two nearby parks. Red Top Mountain State Park includes a marina, and Gatewood Park (of Bartow County) is where we frequently camp and Jason plays disc golf.
This time, we hiked to the top peak in Etowah Park, where you can see the places mentioned in the previous paragraph. This was something we had never done before. On this side of the dam, there were some views but no overlook, only a fenced-in utility area occupying the top of this small mountain. That is one reason I have no picture of the view. The other is that it was very cold, and I didn’t want to take off my gloves.
The next travel entry, we will head back to warmer weather in Florida after the start of the new year. Stay tuned…
