F is For Forests

F is For Forest

My adventure today is about the F word and takes me into the forests of the United States.  I have been through some lovely ones.  Live near a couple and have some very special favorites. 

I live right on the outskirts of Talladega National Forest and I love to take rides through it when the weather is gorgeous.Nestled in the Talledega Forest is the highest point in Alabama, Mt Cheaha State Park.  You can camp, hike, enjoy the view in the splendor of the picture below.  As you can tell...fall is my favorite time of the year. 

The state of Maine for me is a state of mind.  My best friend Mary's sister, Noel, lives there and Noel and Jerry invited me to come and experience fall in Maine with MM one year.   I fell in love with the place, the views, the people.  Maine was lovely.  We spent several days driving around through the forests and by the seashore.  I don't know which one I loved the best.

On the Great Northwest Adventure Kat and I took with Amanda and her family we saw many forests.  The Sequoia one was glorious.

Of all the forests I have been through and to....my very favorite of would have to be the Great Smokey Mountains.  I witnessed a wedding in Cades Cove one year....the bride used Mtn Laurel for her bouquet.  It was simple and sweet with an Amish feel to it.  I have climbed the Chimney's (I was so much younger than)....now I am content to just ride.....(this past fall we did the Dragon Tale out of Deal's Gap.  If you have never tried it....do...it is 127 curves in 11 miles.  Talk about a rush ride...this is it.  I have so many wonderful memories of being in the forests here and would encourage all of you to join me on an adventure in a Forest. 

A Jolt From My Past in the Form of Chet Wancewicz

I love lighthouses and have planned many trips around lighthouses most of my life. I fell in love with my first lighthouse when I was just a little girl in South Florida. The lighthouse was a red one located in Jupiter, just a hop, skip, and jump away from where I lived. My whole life I have been attracted to the might and power of a lighthouse. I have read stories about them, I have collected ones I have been too...(and of course you know that when you collect something and somebody finds out you collect...that is all you get forever. I finally had to quit collecting the ones I visited...to keep from getting generic ones. Ok...so I have gotten distracted from my goal...My Forest Hill high school classmate, Chet Wancewicz, moved to Maine not long after we graduated and has apparently done quite well for himself. Out of the blue he found me on facebook and after adding him as my friend I decided to google him. (I am goofy like that. I love to see if other people have my name and what they do.) What I found was amazing. He is an artist. I was so very impressed by his lighthouse painting that I just felt the need to share it with the blogging world. The lighthouse I am showing you, is one of the more popular ones of those created for an annual fundraising event in Main. This structure features 63 images of Maine’s lighthouses along with the other typical things that are common to the Maine coast such as lobsters, flowers, shells and beautiful scenery as well as a poem across the top. How creative is that. Chet teaches art to children and in my book....if he was not most likely to succeed...he should have been.