When the kids were barely toddlers, we began spending one week every summer in a cabin at Tugaloo State Park.
Perched on the edge of sprawling Lake Hartwell on the Georgia-South Carolina border. Just outside the small town of Lavonia.
We began to go there because, frankly, it was an inexpensive destination for a young family on a tight budget.
And it was stunning. And isolated. And a place where our kids could get in touch with their inner savage.
There are memories here. Of Andrew running along the shore and throwing stone after stone into the water. Of Jenny doing gymnastics on the dock.
Of taking the kids to the public beach for frozen lemonade and a round of put-put. Or climbing into the car to visit nearby Energy World (a nuclear power plant propaganda mill) or the ‘birthplace’ of the Cabbage Patch Kids.
One summer we went with three families and I can’t remember how many kids. We rented a boat and towed the kids on inner tubes.
Once we drove to nearby Sliding Rock, and in trying to dissuade Andrew from plunging down a particularly dangerous looking rock, I slipped and plunged down it instead. And split open the back of my head.
Because kids are known to be a health hazard to adults.
At night, when the kids were finally in bed I liked to go down to the dock, drink scotch and listen to Jimmy Buffet’s Banana Wind and Barometer Soup. I loved Jamaica Mistaka.
Andrew on the other hand loved Raffi’s Baby Beluga. We had to play it over and over and over.
Our last Tugaloo family vacation coincided with the Atlanta Olympics. We took the kids in for a day of Olympic events and they played in the fountains.
Arriving back at the cabin we sat on the dock and ate KFC. That’s where we learned about the bombing. Which occurred where the kids had been playing only hours before.
Last week, Jill and I returned to Tugaloo after an absence of too many summers. Sans kids but accompanied by our new ‘child’ Zoey.
And we discovered that Tugaloo had lost none of its summer magic.
Jill even managed to lure water-adverse Zoey onto our paddle board for short cruises.
Unencumbered by small children, our days were spent playing cards, swimming in the lake and generally lazing around.
Jill took Zoey on long walks on forested trails while I exhausted myself pushing my touring bike up and down Tugaloo’s hilly roads.
One day we drove into Lavonia to a new brewery that was both dog-friendly and Gatorade-friendly.
And we found ourselves looking at an old familiar vacation spot with brand new eyes.
After five days we came home to GNV. Resolved to return to Tugaloo sooner rather than later.
And who knows. Maybe next time we will bring our adult children along for the ride.
FreeGNV 