Wednesday, May 25, 2022

ELBERTON!!!








Hey, my friends! Since I don't blog as often as I used to, lots of things happen over time that I forget to tell you about. I definitely have plenty to share with you, even though I'm not traveling and visiting exciting places like I used to. I hope you'll still enjoy the somewhat Adventure-less Toaster as much as you used to enjoy the Adventurous Toaster. I'll hopefully be traveling again in the future, but when that will happen remains unknown. 


Here's what's been going on over the past few months. First, Gary and I celebrated our birthdays in February. Neither of us are thrilled with getting older, but there's no escaping it. I don't feel any different being 50 than I did being 40, or even 30. They say that you feel as good as you act, so I still act like a kid as much as possible. Gary puts up with my childish behavior, but I am seeing more eye rolling on his part than ever. 


As I previously told you about, we bought three properties in Georgia last year. They are various sizes (acreage) in different parts of the State. The original plan was to simply own some Georgia property. But Gary decided (after spending lots of time in the area), that the northeast part of the State is where we will live someday. Who am I to argue? Over the years, we camped all around the area he's decided on settling down in, and it's my favorite part of Georgia as well. One of the three properties we bought last year is in the area we really love, but it just isn't big enough to build what we want and have the privacy we also desire. So, all three of the properties we bought are going up for sale this week. While on a camping trip without me in February (with Casper the cargo van instead), Gary found a 17 acre parcel of land in Elberton that he instantly fell in love with. An offer was made and accepted, and we got it! A short time later, the adjoining 17 acres went up for sale, and we bought that one too. So now we have an enormous 34 acres in the Granite Capital Of The World, Elberton Georgia, and we are BEYOND excited!!! We also sold our second (and last) 1-1/4 acre lot here locally in March, so all we have left in Florida is our property here at Green Acres. We have to hang onto that one for awhile, since we don't have anything built in Elberton to actually move into yet. We'll work on that, but we need to sell the three properties we bought last year first. 


After buying the first 17 acres in Elberton, and while in the process of buying the second 17 acres, Gary and Casper went up there to camp for 10 days in April. They stayed at nearby Richard B. Russell State Park, a place I've never been to, but hope to visit whenever I get to travel again. Campsite 18, overlooking Lake Russell, was theirs, and it looks BEAUTIFUL!!! There's a VERY old house on the property (uninhabitable) that Gary spent time cleaning up around, and he dug up a bunch of "treasures" in the yard, some of which he brought back for me to see. He says there's a lot of "stuff" there, and we all know how much Gary loves "stuff". The garage here is full of it. 


As I write this, it's an 84 degree Florida morning (with a feels like temperature of 90), and this is only the beginning of the typical hot and humid summer that we reluctantly endure every year. It will only get worse as the days roll by. Oh goodie! It gets hot in northeast Georgia too, but it doesn't stay that way for as long as it does in Florida, and it stays cooler up there for longer. Elevation makes a big difference in the temperature. The elevation of here in St. Augustine is ZERO, and the elevation in Elberton is 702. I get cooler just thinking about that higher elevation. 


That's about all that I can think of to tell you about at the moment, but isn't that enough? It's been a very eventful year thus far, and I doubt if it's going to calm down at all. I'll try to keep Gary in line. Lord knows he needs the help. I'll blog again whenever something really exciting happens to tell you about. Have a wonderful summer, stay cool if you can, and be safe out there. Until next time, this is your pal Toaster. Over and OUT!!! 


 

Sunday, January 30, 2022

Junked In


 

I'm about a month late in wishing you all a Happy New Year. Sorry about that! I hope your 2022 is off to an EXCELLENT start. All is well here at Green Acres. The last time I blogged, it was roasting hot here in north Florida. I was spending some time outside under the big oak tree in the back yard with my little sister Poppy. I spent a total of 104 days out there. Now I'm back inside the garage, and "junked in" behind a bunch of Gary's "stuff". That's pretty typical. There's always more "stuff" in here than there's room for. At least the weather has been amazingly nice, and I'm not sweating to death. Gary and Casper the cargo van went on a three week trip in December. Casper has been transformed into a part time camper that transforms back into a cargo hauler whenever the need arises. They visited five different Georgia State Parks, and lots of antique stores to buy more "stuff" to clutter the garage with. Buying "stuff" is what Gary likes to do best of all. I guess he could be doing worse things. If it makes him happy, then that's fine with me. I would've been lonely while Gary and Casper were gone if not for my buddy Dodge. He kept me company. I can always count on him. I miss going camping, but I've got some frame issues that keep me from traveling right now. These things happen when you get old. Speaking of getting old, I'll be FIFTY on February 19th. Can you believe it? I'll be eligible to join A.A.R.C. (American Association of Retired Campers). I was thinking I could join A.A.R.P., but that's only for humans. Gary and I have the same birthday, but he's MUCH older than me, 17 years older to be exact. He still does pretty well for an antique, or should I say Mid Century Modern? HaHaHaHa!!! I told you previously about the 4.39 acres of land we bought in Lexington Georgia. Well since then, we also bought an 8.91 acre parcel in Dry Branch, and a 3.00 acre property in the Georgia mountains in Ellijay. We've become land barons! We also sold a 1 acre lot that we owned here in Florida, and have another 1-1/4 acre lot that is currently up for sale. The goal is to eventually move out of Florida. We're working on it! That's the latest news from an unusually crisp and cool day here at the Green Acres Garage. Until next time, have fun and stay out of trouble! Your pal, Toaster.