The Estes "Golden" Family Reunion
Intro/Sunday (continued)
On the way back from dinner, those of us riding in
Larry's car (Larry's family and me) drive by the day spa that Debbie,
Natalie and Alex mentioned earlier in the day for a possible pedicure
tomorrow, and we search for the miniature golf course that Larry thinks
might be fun. We pass a sign saying it's been sold, and I comment
that that's a little more miniature than I like. We then enjoy a
trip a bit down the road under Bridal Veil Falls, a small waterfall you
can drive under courtesy of a little side road extension (Dad later
said in his college days, that wasn't an extension, you had to drive
under it, and it scared the daylights out of him and his college buddy
on a late night-dark-mountain-road drive back from Brevard -- "What is
THAT?"). Natalie asks her mom if they can go to that coffee place
the next day -- the Coyote Cafe? The Slap Coyote or the Coyote
Slap Cafe, she can't really remember the name. Debbie suggests I
take them, and I say if it's called the Coyote Slap Cafe, totally count
me in! Larry drives us by it to check the name, and it's
Buck's. We're still game.
Back at the cottage, we enjoy looking at old family
pictures that Steven and Wayne had digitally corrected, and Dad
identifies our great-grandmother, his mother's mother, which blows our
minds. Natalie notes that she's who Larry and I (and Alex) get
our dark curly hair from, but Larry insists it's Mom's dad. There
are also baby pictures of our grandmother's brother Noah (pronounced
Noey) and her sister Opal, and a gorgeous color picture of Mom and Dad
taken on their honeymoon. Eventually, a Yahtzee tournament with
the girls takes over the dinner table.
Then, BED! We are all promised a lazy morning
of sleeping in and not worrying about missing the lodge's complimentary
breakfast, which brilliantly serves until 11 a.m. The only thing
we know of is Wayne meeting with some photographer who is going to take
a big family portrait, which concerns Mom a bit (she's not a fan of
having her picture taken) and absolutely freaks out Natalie upon first
learning of it on the way back from dinner ("What? Pictures? Somebody's
taking PICTURES?"). While I've been keen for a family photograph
for a while, I, too, am concerned that I'm not quite looking where I'd
like for an eternal family picture. But there's no way we can
walk away from this event without photographic evidence, so click away!
Back in our room, Steven is searching for the
appropriate light switch for the bathroom hallway, flipping on
different choices on the wall. "Whoa!" I say after he flipped
one.
"What?" he asks.
"You turned on the fireplace."
Steven steps back and looks at the fireplace, now
burning
brightly.
"Whoa!" he says.
Travel Journals
The
Marilyn Website home
Copyright Marilyn Estes
1997-2004