Easel on Down the Road - Georgia

I spent 25 hours in Georgia. I am reminded that my quest to paint a landscape in every state is a journey. The navigation is erratic and dictated by any number of unrelated factors: available time, the weather, cost, visits to family and friends plus the unknown. Much like my actual life right now, the rules are few and the results are uncertain. It feels healthy, free and just a little bit scary. I'm stating this now to assuage the guilt over spending so little time in The Peach State.

So, anyway, I took a detour from painting after Alabama and spent three days with my 95 year old mom in Naples, Florida. Ruthie is a hoot! Nearly blind, ready to nap at a moment's notice and happy, happy, happy to do absolutely anything at all, especially if socializing is involved. We had lots of fun together. Then, yesterday, I drove to Atlanta and stayed with a dear, old friend. Catherine is my cousin's cousin and feels like a sister. We three (including the connecting-cousin, Mary) spent most of our summers together on the beaches of Saugatuck. Distance and adult responsibilities have kept the two of us apart for most of the last 30 years but once we saw each other again, we could not stop talking. What a true pleasure! 

This morning, after a brief driving tour of the grand, old city, I set off toward South Carolina via Catherine and John's lake cottage. I pulled into the drive at noon. It was cool and sunny. Fishermen floated by on boats and the breeze caught at the canvas on my easel. I painted a single chair under the shade of some trees, thinking of a lazy summer day in the South. I packed up in the late afternoon and drove across the Savannah River into South Carolina, where I have a room booked in the lodge at Hickory Knob State Park.

I expect tomorrow to be sunny again and will hike some trails in the morning, scouting out my next painting location.