Monday, April 1, 2019

Meeks Park, GA

   Before we got home from our vacation to the mountains in Blairsville, GA, I posted my favorite 60 pictures on Facebook. Everyone seemed to love the ones of Emma in the swing the most, so that's what I'm posting now. Michael is very "go with the flow", but I am big on making plans, so a week or two before our trip, I began looking up towns and places to eat around where we were staying. I also wanted to find a playground for Emma to go to and swing. She had never been in a swing before our vacation! At least not a real, outside swing with the wind blowing in her hair- just an indoor baby swing by the window (she hasn't used it since November).
   I found Meeks Park in the main part of Blairsville, where all the stores and restaurants are, and it had a lot of pretty pictures, trails, and a playground. Since Michael's mom was with us for a couple days, I suggested that we go to the park with her after we had lunch in Dahlonega since I figured she would love getting to be a part of another first Emma experience! I also enjoyed having her with us because she was able to get family photos for us. I feel like so many of my pictures are just of Michael and Emma since I'm the one taking pictures 90% of the time, but maybe that's common in every family.
  That picture might be my favorite aside from her smiling swing photo. I just love getting pictures of her long wavy/ curly hair! There was another girl on the regular swing next to us. She was about 10 years old and I heard her ask her dad, "What is he wearing on his back?" The dad did a good job explaining that it was "to help her breathe". After swinging we went around to explore more of the park and get pictures by the Meeks Park sign over the bridge.
   I also got a picture of Emma sitting up on the rock all by herself, without holding on to Michael's finger, but she looks happier in this one! :)
  We went on a very short 0.1 mile trail up and down a hill. That was about all Michael was able to handle at the time as he did not have on hiking shoes since it was just supposed to be a "funzie/ around town" kind of day. But I can't pass up a new trail when I see one!!
  The rest of the pictures below are when we came back to Meeks Park on the last day (Wednesday, March 27th. The first park day was Sunday, March 24th). Michael was tired and sore from wearing the ventilator backpack and carrying Emma at some point every day during the week. (I mentioned in another post that the ventilator backpack weighs 30 pounds, plus Emma's 16 pounds!) We didn't know of any short trails where I could wear it and carry her, so we stuck with the stroller most of the day.
    Michael was able to push the stroller over several different ground types this day- regular paved sidewalk, grass, gravel, and on old mulch. Fresh mulch would probably be even more difficult! I liked walking around because the weather was so nice and cool, and there were some short trails up a small mountain (or is that just considered a large, wooded hill?) and I sure wish we had a park like this around our Orlando flatlands. There is a similar one called Spain Park that I always like to go to when we visit Michael's parents in Birmingham. The shirt Michael is wearing is a new Appalachian Trail one that he got on this trip. Under the design it says, "Going to the mountains is going home. ~John Muir"
    We went to the car and put the stroller away and he did switch to the ventilator backpack for about 10 minutes. He used a regular swing when another family was using the one baby swing, but after two minutes when the other family left, it was Emma's turn in the baby swing again. She just seemed very tired at that point and not really "feeling it", so we went back to the cabin for naps.
   They had a rock climbing wall and I was happy to get a picture of her on it before we left! We ordered a baby swing for Emma, to hang from one of the tree branches in our backyard. It has already been delivered, so Michael will put it up in a couple weeks when his family comes to visit in Orlando.

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