Bridges and Madison County

We made a little road trip today, and didn't go too far, but the realization hit me on my travels:  Madison, Georgia is not in Madison County.  This is similar to the fact that Forsyth, Georgia is not in Forsyth County either.  And Lumpkin, Georgia is not in Lumpkin County.  Jackson is not in Jackson County.  Baldwin is not in Baldwin County.  Franklin is not in Franklin County.  Dawson is not Dawson County.  Monroe is not in Monroe County.  And so on.  What's up with that?  Did people get confused when naming counties?

Anyway, for the first time I guess, Madison was in Madison County.  She's been in Madison, Georgia before.  But not Madison County, which we were driving through to a nice quiet destination.

Today was our twentieth anniversary, and we decided to get out of the house a bit, and do some exploring.  We couldn't go back to Hawaii this year, nor could we get out that far at all, in fact.  So we went to a few local places that we hadn't been to before.  There were two primary destinations, the first being Watson Mill Bridge State Park, which you can see we made it to above.

It's a rather scenic destination, and really it's a very pleasant location.  Madison took this picture below with her phone, along with many others today, but this one here is one of my favorites of the bridge itself:

Watson Mill Bridge of course is a piece of history - it goes back to 1885 when it was first constructed.  We drove across it to the parking area, and then drove back later on when it was time to go.

The reason bridges are covered?  To help the foundation stay protected from the elements.  That's a simple enough reason, and it seems to have worked for this one, given that it's one hundred and thirty five years old.  We got out of the car, and got to walk around some, downriver somewhat to get a view of the waterfall, and walk along the shoreline.

It's a nice spot.  There was a visitor center there, but given the current "pandemic," they literally only allowed two visitors in there at a time.  I am not exaggerating.  There are three of us in our family.  Only two were allowed in at a time.  Yes, even with masks.  So Mommy volunteered to wait outside.  Crazy, right?

Madison got a dipping dots ice cream while there, and I got a drink of water for Mommy and myself.  While we were there, someone made the mistake of walking in, not reading the sign on the door (the same sign we missed) that said "only two visitors at a time."  What a crazy world we live in.  How on earth did you get to that conclusion? Not even three, if we're all related and from the same household, living in close proximity to each other anyway?

We were just there to use the restrooms, given the long trip there.  Those were one at a time, but that actually made sense.  So the visitor center wasn't that big of a deal.  The greater memory was the walk along the river there, looking on at the bridge and the waterfall, and the nice spots there to have picnics, or just soak in the atmosphere.

Mommy found a nice little spot while Madison and I went and snapped a few pictures.  There were plenty of other people there, many of which walking in the shallow waters and pools, some right up to the waterfall itself.

It was a nice place, and if the distance were shorter, we might go back more often.  As it is, we might find ourselves in this area again soon, just to have a picnic, and maybe go out wading in the water some.  It's a beautiful spot.

Our next destination was the State Botanical Gardens in Athens, Georgia.  There was some construction going on, and the temperature by this point was getting very warm, but we were able to walk a couple trails and see a few things.

Including this rabbit!  We saw a lot of wildlife today, in fact.  We saw a deer cross the road in front of us, or at least stop and stare us down.  It won.  ALWAYS wait for a second deer though.  Just because one has crossed doesn't mean there isn't another.  Expect another.  That's a great driving rule.  Sure enough, a baby deer crossed next, with the little white spots on the side.  We waited for that one to cross as well.

There was an nice butterfly garden there, and lots of bees too.  Unfortunately for Madison, there were mosquitoes there, so heads up if you're going:  wear insect repellant.  But the butterflies and flowers were very nice, and the lawns well taken care of.  The trails were pleasant, and it was good to see other families walking along with us as well, taking in the scenery.

It was pretty hot though.  We were along this shady trail first, which had a few places to take pictures, like this one of Madison and Mommy on a stone bridge.

But overall, that trail was more about a green forest of vegetation, and not the flowers that Mommy was hoping for with a visit to a botanical garden.  Although there was this one unique specimen here:

Relax, it's just a sculpture.  It's a mirror, and it was shining rather brightly under the blazing sun.  We were on our way up a hill again by this point, and ready to see more flowers.  The International trail was next, and nothing says international like a big torii, which is a Japanese arch.

We walked along together, and saw some nice arrangements there, and veered off on another trail onto some open lawns where families were seated for picnics and just walking around.  Some had masks on while others did not.  Madison was busy snapping some photos along the way, like this one here:

And of course I was taking pictures too.  There were a lot of flowers to take pictures of along one trail we discovered later.

The flowers were nice though.  Madison and I were snapping pictures here and there of them, and of the wildlife too.  Bees and butterflies were in the air, while rabbits and squirrels roamed about like they owned the place.

The ferns were lush, and I'm guessing things didn't need to be watered so much lately as we've had a lot of rain this year.  It didn't rain on us today, although on the drive back it seemed to be threatening that very thing.  So we walked around without getting wet so much, although the humidity was rather stifling.

We did see a good bit of colorful flowers, and while my parents could probably name every single thing there, and every single weed as well, it was still nice for us despite our floral ignorance.  Things were arranged rather nicely, and I think when the construction is done on this place, it will look very good.

There were fountains in the front, and inside were quite a few pitcher plants, so I think flies and other insects of that caliber are probably leaving negative reviews of the place.

"Nice place with beautiful plants and a lot of pollen.  We lost grandma though."
- Buzz Wendleson, Carnesville

I should have took a picture of the visitor center, because it reminds me of Jurassic Park's visitor center somewhat.  I'm not sure if that's what they're going for, but I could just barely hear in my mind that theme song as we were walking up.

Anyway, we enjoyed the visit for what it was.  It was free, and that's a big plus too, of course.  It was just a bit of a drive to get here, and it's a great place to stop by perhaps when linked with another destination as well.  Which was what we did today.

But the heat was a factor, and we were ready to go a little bit earlier today, which we did.  I got the car, and Mommy got a new plant from the Visitor Center's gift shop as a souvenir, and also to help support the place.  It was a nice stop.

And as you can see here, we had one more place to visit:  Weaver D's Delicious Fine Foods.  The reason for the visit is more about those last four words:  "Automatic for the People."  It's a great title, isn't it?  The rock band R.E.M. thought so as well, naming their most famous albums "Automatic for the People," and yes, they got that name from this small restaurant in Athens.  Madison and I went inside and talked with Weaver D for a very small amount, ordering a few cold drinks and making a small donation to help the place out during this season.  It's a historic landmark of sorts, as that really is an epic album from 1992.  It was a quick drop-by on our way home.

We got home just in time for Madison's weekly Skype meeting with Camille and friends, a small group that she hasn't missed since March or so, each Wednesday night at 6pm.  It might move forward in time, but it is a good small group and Madison loves it.  We had to race home in order to see it on the computer screen, although she could also see it on her phone.

Tonight was also the latest episode of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", which was an absolutely hilarious tribute to some of the cheesiest 80's movies and television.  It was super fun, super weird, and a little gory at points, but that was all an obvious parody of some of the worst of the 80's movies from video rental places.  And there's an amazing reference to Max Headroom there, with an Agent Coulson version of the character being rolled around on an ancient video cassette recorder.  The writing, the style of direction, and the camera work - all of it was meticulous in attention to some of the 80's material to the point that you can tell a lot of work went into this.  And yet, people unfamiliar with the source material were no doubt lost.  I personally loved it.

We read another chapter from "Diggers" tonight, but we were all rather ready for bed - it was a big day.  After prayers, we were asleep pretty quickly tonight!