AUGUST 1 2005
Red Top Mountain State Park
Red Top, GA

I’m in, quite possibly, the most beautiful place on earth. I can’t even put it into words; some write I am. Everywhere, all you can see is trees. And this park is truly in the middle of nowhere. And island in the center of a large lake.As I write, I’m perched on a boulder that somehow made it down the hill and into the water. A short jump from the shore was all it took to find the most inspirational writing spot I’ve ever had.

For the first time, I’m seeing Lightning Bugs and I feel like such a child. They sparkle all around me like glitter, and they make me feel like a little girl.For the first time on this trip, we’ve made a campfire. We bought wood from the office. Tell me, why can it take a stray cigarette butt to destroy acres, but it takes newspaper, cardboard, twigs, bark, and wood logs to keep a campfire lit???? But there is something so primal about making a fire and having it ignite. Making a campfire is pretty entertaining, but watching someone else make one, that’s ENTERTAINMENT!

Someone is jetskiing out on the lake behind me. Seriously, that’s how huge this place is. OH! Funny story.

On the way here, we got lost in Marietta. Well, “lost” isn’t the right word. We knew exactly where we were the entire time, it was the ATLAS that was wrong! Stupid Rand McNalley put the Kennesaw National Battlefield Monument about 25 miles from it’s actual location. That’s a BIG difference! We kept driving around Marietta, trying to figure out why there was no entrance.

Finally, we gave up and got back on I-75 to find our campsite when, lo and behold, 5 minutes up the freeway, we find the exit (err, CORRECT exit!) for the battlefield. DOH! Oh well, we’re going to stay here for the night (maybe two…) and go check it out tomorrow. Exit 269. Remember that. Because Rand McNalley couldn’t.

Peace.