77 and Counting

... the Pounds! 

Oh, My, what a delightful birthday getaway!  I used very little restraint, but after eating light on Friday I find I only gained 1.5 pounds.   Anyway, here's the wrap-up.

On Tuesday we arrived at Fall Creek Falls State Park a little early and since the lodge lounge opened at 3 p.m. we decided it would be a nice time to make friends with Mary, the bartender (and it paid off in the end).  I'll just say the locally brewed Calfkiller Ale is a killer winner!  We finally got checked in and poured our first glass of wine to enjoy on the patio outside our ground-floor room.  Check out the view:

We were soon joined by our son and daughter-in-law for an early libation and they brought me a "Snip'n' Gro" lettuce bowl (colander).  

Water daily, harvest from the outside, and it's supposed to keep producing.  We'll see how soon I can kill it.

We eventually made our way to the dining room; however, since they were short of servers, we opted to dine in the bar (with Mary).  I had steak-smothered nachos (and a lot of heartburn later) -- delicious!

On Wednesday we met the kids for breakfast after their walk, then bid them safe travels home as we headed to our walk in the park (otherwise known as golf).  

My first outing of the season and I had to lie about my score on every hole, but it was great to be outdoors in the sunshine and 70 degrees.  After lunch in the course snack bar, we stopped at a little overlook ...

... then proceeded to the nature center where the falls are a little bigger ...

Again, we had dinner in the bar, this time fish and chips for each of us.  We could have split an order but it sure was delicious!

Thursday morning our plan was to see the "real" falls that the park is named for.  We woke to this view from our patio:

By the time we got to the other side of the lake, however, the fog had lifted.  We checked out the boat dock procedures for future kayak launches, then headed to Fall Creek Falls which plunges 256 feet into a pool.

Frankly, it's a little underwhelming, but it is the tallest waterfall in the Eastern US.   From there we motored on to the Piney Creek Falls.

It was a rugged walk over big boulders but our newly-purchased hiking poles helped.  It was worth the hike!

I wish you could hear the roar!  We had to head back to the lodge so that I could catch the NCAA Women's Gymnastics semifinals at noon.  I harvested some salad greens and prepared my version of a "charcuterie" tray for our lunch.

Another visit with Mary at 3, where we ordered chicken linguine to take out as the second session of gymnastics conflicted with dinner time.  Mary, knowing it was my birthday, treated me to cheesecake for dessert.  (I told you it would pay off in the end.)

All-in-all, a great birthday!