Brilliant light

Nat called me to come to the front porch and see the sky.
I walked outside and wow...

Turkey Day!!

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!!!
We're frying a turkey over at our house today.  Thanksgiving Day Parade is on.  We should give thanks that all those Native Americans didn't kill off all the Pilgrims.

As a sign of gratitude, we should definitely bring back the old style of the Indians...they looked SO cool.

I have some Indian in my blood...I just need a feather in my hair.

Come on pilgrims..get it together.

Hiking through fire

The fall weather is so perfect for picture-taking..  I had a good visit with two of my favorites, Alicia and Ella.  We went for a North Georgia mountain hike...in hopes of discovering something new.  Which we did!  James H. 'Sloppy' Floyd State Park...we met up with the Pinhoti trail for a while, found a marble mine, and walked through a forest on fire with color...it was amazing.  Not to mention Ella was also decked out in her fall best.

Marble Mine

Ella almost blended in with the woods

We started hiking under a canopy of yellows, oranges, reds and every few steps we would stop and look up...uuuhmazing.

Aww..family shot.  (I'm Ella's god-mother)

Sunset over the lake before heading back for some bbq, mac n cheese, biscuits n honey at Swallow at the Hollow in Roswell...a successful day back in Georgia...

Capilla San Eduardo

This Capilla (or chapel) sat at the top of about 50 or so stone steps overlooking the gorgeous lakes of Nahuel Huapi. Everything about it was quaint except for the magnificent views. The old stone architecture had a golden glow, and the stained glass windows told stories through colors as the sun shown through illuminating the small interior.  Gardens were on all sides, and there wasn't a bad view from the top of the hill.  I imagined a picturesque wedding here...it was so beautiful.

 Rose bushes full of thorns climbed the stone walls at the back of the church..I can only dream of what this photo would look like at night with the one bulb illuminating the doorway.

Can you imagine the church bells chiming as you walk down the stone steps overlooking the white mountain peaks of the Andes and the blue lakes glistening with the reflection of the morning sun...?  Deep breath.

This is hotel Llao Llao, a 5star resort hotel that overlooks lakes and mountains in every direction...honeymoon destination perhaps?  Maybe one day..  The architecture was designed by Bustillo who is the same guy who built the church in 1938.  He also built the huge hotel, one of his greatest accomplishments but it burned down a few years after completion...MAN, all that hard work.  He rebuilt it with a more modern flair, now it's what Llao Llao is known for... http://www.llaollao.com/ing/

After exploring Llao Llao, I went back to Bariloche, greeted by a beautiful sunset.  I bought some chocolate and dulce de leche ice cream and went down to the lake.  This is the last photograph that I took in Argentina.  This country...my new favorite.  So many amazing memories, stories, experiences.  I'll be back!

 Volvere con mi esposo en el futuro...y con mi camera tambien.

Parque Llao Llao

 Arrayan Forests in the Parque Llao Llao, Nahuel Huapi National Park

After leaving the farm, saying goodbyes to the plants, animals and friends, I traveled back to Bariloche for a couple of days.  Back to the hostel where the entire trip began.

Of course the view, as always, was stunning.  I had an entire day to roam around, play and explore.

After studying a map and reading reviews, I decided to take a bus out to Parque Llao Llao which is in the heart of Nahuel Huapi National Park.

Coolest architecture...Patagonia Perfect.

Lakes, mountains, sunshine, trails and hiking, bamboo, an Arrayan forest and my loads of new photos for my camera.

Here are some photos of the expedition through the park along Lake Perito Moreno.  The trees were stunning, the bamboo thick.  At one point, I came to a beautiful lake overlooking Cerro Chico...there was a meadow with grass up to my knees.  I stood there, looking through the viewfinder of my camera, and slowly let it fall and hang around my neck, the sun was warm yet the wind gusted, my hair was blowing across my face...I closed my eyes and soaked it all in.  Sometimes you just can't capture it.

And before you know it...it's over.  2 months went by so fast...

Lambs Lambs and more Lambs

When I left the farm, there were 15 baby lambs running around in the field...15 cute little bundles of love, skipping around and playing, soft and furry, innocent and sweet.  I love those baby lambs...I will miss hearing them while we were working in the gardens...there small voices baaa baaa baaa...mostly scared when they got too far from their mamas.

This was the last baby lamb born before I left...they were expecting 15 more.  Maybe I already wrote about that...but it just doesn't seem real...

Now I know what some of you may be thinking, I had this conversation with my Pop...Isn't it redundant to say 'baby' lambs?  Doesn't just saying 'lamb' already signify that it's a baby...well I say no...saying little baby lamb just puts the 'idea' of little babies in your mind...innocence, sweet, cuddly, soft, cute, baby lambs.  If I just said 'lamb' you may instead think of a big juicy piece of lamb meat served with a baked potato...This is not the image i'm trying to pose-- Obviously.  However, this is their purpose on this farm...Sadly, but surely they will sell them before they become 1 year old.  Lucky for us they won't grow to be any cuter;  So it doesn't break my heart to know their fate.  It is sad to know that someone will eat it in less than 30 minutes and never know how stinkin cute it once was...

Baby animals geeeez...cute and they don't even know it.  I may need to get a puppy when we get Japan.

Patagonia Horseback

MAN It was so easy and so hard to leave that farm.  It's been an amazing week reunited with my love, he was pulling at my heartstrings while I was on the farm...I was having a great time, surrounded by beauty, but I knew where my heart was...had to come back. It was a great decision...mainly because of that surprise...YES!  I got him so good..HA

SO the last week in Patagonia was incredible.  Michael and I went horseback riding on some of the newer horses to 'break them in' to new people.  I took horseback riding lessons about 15 years ago, but it's amazing how it all comes back as soon as you are in front of a horse, the reigns were handed over to me and the horse was in my hands.  Horses...beautiful, graceful, majestic creatures.  So strong, fierce, yet intelligent and gentle.  I was always taught that you should make yourself known to the horse before you jump onto their backs...so I was paired with Chiquita, a beautiful dark female, who did not want to be messed with.  I rubbed her nose, let her smell me, get used to me...I showed her I was gentle and easy.

 I climbed into the saddle and caressed her mane and she kept turning her head to me...as if to say Hey, keep doing that...I like it. (see pic)  However, she did not like the reigns...I learned this the hard way because the reigns were draped over her back and every time she felt them, she would accelerate into a gallop!

We started our trip down the hill, overlooking the valley and Piltri, passing our little cabin and continuing down.  We got to the river at the confluence and began to cross this wide rushing river...it was incredible.  The water was just below my feet, Chiquita was trying to maintain her footing along the rocky bottom...I must admit, I was holding my breath through a huge smile.  It was such a gorgeous ride....we rode up to the top of the hill looking down on our farm, and continued riding for about an hour or so.  I loved it...

I've decided we will have horses on our baby lamb farm one day...horses are a must.

Operation: Surprise Adam

A few weeks ago, I secretly changed my flight to leave a week earlier...with the plan of surprising Adam!

After a 2 hour bus ride to Bariloche, a 24 hour bus ride to Buenos Aires, a 12 hour flight to Atlanta and finally a 14 hour drive to Wichita Falls, TX...I was exhausted, back in the US and ready to see my love.  He didn't expect to see me until Nov 5th, but I surprised him on Oct 29th!  It was SO hard to not call him when I entered the US.  I covered my tracks in every way that I could. and got him SO good.  mUAHAHAHAAHA
Here is how it all went down...
I contacted his buddies on the base and they were all in on it and almost as excited as me to surprise him.  We would be in touch to make sure he was in the right place at the right time.  I finally got to the U.S. on Wednesday.   I rested on Thursday and I drove all day on Friday to Texas, windows down, squealing with laughter every few miles. So excited!  I was driving because I'm also leaving my car with him...another surprise!  He works from 2-10pm at the front desk of the squadron on base.  So the plan went something like this...I left GA around 5:30am, and arrived in Wichita Falls around 8pm.  I checked into a hotel, put on a cute little black dress, and went to the base around 9pm.  The initial plan was to catch someone who was about to go inside, and hand them my keys to give to the front desk and tell them they found them in the parking lot.  I thought he would see my keychain and recognize it immediately, run outside in shock to see me waiting.  That is not how it went down!
I walked up and called a uniformed airman over to give him the scoop to take my keys inside.  It turned out to be a friend of Adam's who was in on the plan.  He got my keys and walked inside.  What we didn't know is that Adam was completely preoccupied with taking care of a sick airman; he took the keys and set them down without even a second glance.  So, I was standing outside the squadron, in my cute little dress, cold and anxious.  Two uniformed men approached me and asked me what in the world I was doing.  I told them I was waiting for someone, my husband who didn't know I was there.  They asked who and when I told them Adam Fillman, they both flipped out!  They were Adam's bosses...his master sergeants...kind of a big deal.
As soon as they realized what was going on, they wanted in on it.  SO they started planning it out, and decided to take me into their office and then give Adam direct orders to get to the office immediately to 'help move some things'.  SO (against all the rules because I'm not even allowed in the building) I followed his boss into his office and waited while they commanded Adam to get in there (and find me waiting.)  Adam hadn't even tried to figure out the keychain situation...he had absolutely NO idea I was there, the thought never even crossed his mind.  He thought I was still in Argentina...the best part!  When he came around the corner and saw me standing there...his eyes sort of glazed over and he stood there shocked, total disbelief, speechless.  A huge smile came across his face and laughter filled the room. Then he scooped me into his arms and started trying to piece everything together.  Yelling at his buddies...looking at the keys, freaking out.  Tears of joy, laughing, shock and awe.  How in the world did I get into his master sergeants office? ...I was there!  In Wichita Falls, not in Argentina.  SURPRISE!  It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!  I got him SO good.  All his buddies at the front desk were freaking out...Adam was still in shock...he couldn't believe it was real.
So I'm spending the week here, finally back with Adam...I just couldn't wait another day.  There will be more Argentina posts of the end of my trip.  But as of right now, I'm back in the USA and completely preoccupied!
We both are so excited 'cause we're reunited...hey, hey :)