Seventeen Days in June

Day 12, Sunday, June 12, 2005

It poured Saturday night and all morning Sunday. After breakfast, Connie and I remained in the club house while waiting for the rain to abate. Most of this time was spent conversing with Tommy and Joan, Grove regulars. I don't think we solved any of the world's problems, but we had an enjoyable time nonetheless.

The ground became so saturated that pools of water began forming on the ground surrounding our tent site. Thankfully, the rain stopped around 12:30 pm; had it continued a few more hours, the air mattress would have been floating in the tent. Buddy graciously offered Connie and me the use of the Creekside cabin at no cost. We were extremely grateful for this act of thoughtfulness and generosity.

Mid-afternoon, Doc was feeling frisky. He asked Connie to join him in the shower and she agreed to do so. It was not the first time the two of them had engaged in water play. Slowly and sensually, they washed each other all over. The visual was arousing, and when they finished, I led Connie to the Creekside for stress relief. And would you believe? She fell asleep during foreplay! I am either a decidedly unexciting guy or she was still recovering from the weekend.

With nothing else to do, I returned poolside to read and swim. Around 6:00, I got hungry and fixed soup and fried baloney at the cabin. I prepared a plate for Connie, climbed half-way up the stairs, heard snoring and went back down. Around 7:30, she joined me poolside in a semi-conscious state and we enjoyed a pleasant evening together.

Connie has limited camping experience, and during her weekend visits, she commented a number of times how much she enjoyed the tent. And I agreed – 'roughing it' can be a lot of fun. But that night, we made love on and slept on a real bed, sheltered from the elements by real walls and a real roof. After eleven consecutive nights on an air mattress, it felt good.

Day 13, Monday, June 13, 2005

No rain today! It was the first rain-free day since my arrival twelve days ago.

The afternoon was beautiful and very hot. Connie and I did the usual poolside stuff – swimming, reading and more swimming. It was so hot and sultry that we did most of our reading in the pool, either on a float or standing with our books resting on the edge of the pool.

Through-out the day, we remained in the Creekside and used it as a love nest. Late afternoon, the cleaning lady walked in on us as we were making love on the futon by the front door. No stranger to witnessing sexual activity, she politely excused herself and moved on to the next cabin.

There was no reason for me to vacate the Creekside since it was not cleaned. Thus, I spent another night sleeping in a real bed, albeit alone. We discussed the possibility of Connie staying over and commuting to work in the morning, but she decided against it, lacking appropriate work attire. After dinner at La Cabana's, Connie headed home around 9:30.

Day 14, Tuesday, June 14, 2005

I have no cell phone reception at the Grove and the office closes in the evenings, so it was impossible for Connie to notify me of her safe arrival home. We speak every morning on the phone and this morning I am secure in the knowledge she is safe. But, at night, I worry. Also, when she leaves, I experience a fleeting sense of emptiness. It seems strange that we are not leaving together, even though I am left behind in a wonderful place.

Once again, no rain today, but it was very hot and sultry. I was concerned about it being too hot in the tent to sleep well; however, when evening came, it cooled down nicely. The mountains sure are nice!

Upon returning to the tent for the first time in two days, I discovered a problem with the air mattress. Apparently, it was not designed to withstand the passion that Connie and I unleashed on it during her two weekend visits. That, combined with high temperatures, caused it to become one big balloon. I'll purchase a new one tomorrow.

I've grown weary of my cooking, if you want to call grilling meat and heating soup cooking. For my evening meal, I returned to La Cabana's for dinner. Afterwards, I walked the Chattahoochee river front. As expected, the water was high and rapid. I enjoyed the walk tremendously, finding it to be a refreshing change of scenery, almost idyllic. But I did not stay long; having been disconnected from the threaded world for two weeks, I was anxious to get naked again back at the Grove. Nakedness is somehow more natural, more me.

Day 15, Wednesday, June 15, 2005

After working for a few hours at Cathy's, I drove to Walmart located in Cornelia. My mission was successfully accomplished by replacing with a brand new model the air mattress destroyed by Connie and me during her weekend visits. After informing Connie by phone about the need for a new mattress, she asked with a chuckle in her voice, "Are you bragging or complaining?"

As usual, I read and swam during the afternoon. It was very hot and sultry but, for the third consecutive day, it did not rain. Several new couples arrived, getting a jump on the weekend. This is consistent with last week's pattern; newcomers arrive on Wednesday, with more to follow on Thursday and even more on Friday. I always look forward to the company.

Brad is a Grove resident, and Valerie, his girlfriend. They were the stars of the photo shoot done by Michael and Vicki at the CH one weekend (I don't remember which weekend, having completely lost track of time.) They graciously invited me to dinner where we were joined by Tanya and Keith. Valerie is a wonderful cook and we enjoyed a great dinner featuring grilled pork chops.

The hot tub was rocking late into the evening as both newcomers and local regulars swelled the ranks of the naked soakers. I chose not to join in; the evening was cool and I had already changed into my sweats. And before long, consistent with all of my weekday evenings, I went to sleep poolside before making the trek to the tent.

It was a good day.

Day 16, Thursday, June 16, 2005

After two torrid days, the temperature moderated. It became possible to read on a lounge chair while sunning, instead of reading in the pool or on a raft in the pool. In spite of the very hot daytime temperatures the past two days, the pleasantly cool evenings refreshed me. I love the North Georgia Mountains and this vacation has certainly deepened the love affair.

Brad and Valerie once again invited me to dinner. I refused at first, not wanting to impose a second time. I told them that I had nothing to bring to the party, since I had used up most of my food supplies and would not be purchasing any more. Valerie suggested that I go to Helen and purchase a twelve pack of Southpaw Light; she loves the stuff. I gladly did so and she was delighted when I returned with a full case for her personal consumption. We were joined by Denise and Robert who just arrived that afternoon. Once again, Valerie did a masterful job at the grill and we all enjoyed her cheeseburger and corn-on-the-cob meal.

Tomorrow, I'll drive to Atlanta to pick up Connie after work. We plan to meet Mat and Cathy for dinner at Edelweiss at 7:00 pm before heading back to the Grove. We'll gladly pick up the tab; it represents a very small token of our gratitude for Mat and Cathy's generosity. My Grove vacation would not have been possible without cell reception and PC connectivity during the past two and one-half weeks. My one-person business just does not have a lot of coverage when I am AWOL.

Saturday afternoon, I'll fold the tent and Connie and I will be on our way to Louisville to pick up our daughters. Sure, I've missed them, but there is little doubt that the break from child-rearing responsibilities has been good for all of us. We'll return home sometime Monday.

At night, I star gaze. I do it every evening poolside before falling asleep. In the city, star gazing is not possible because of the lights and smog. But the mountain sky has been beautiful every evening since the heavy clouds and rain went away. Last night, a half-full moon shone through an opening in the clouds. The sky was covered with thinly veiled clouds, forming all kinds of interesting shapes of various sizes. Through the openings in these formations, the stars could be seen. It was romantic and I wished Connie could have been there to share the experience.

Day 17, Friday, June 17, 2005

This morning felt a little different than most. There is a weekend Grove and a weekday Grove and each has its own unique feel. On this morning, my last weekday at the Grove, I swam a little longer in the pool and soaked a little longer in the hot tub. It was my way of paying homage, of saying goodbye.

I spent most of the morning at Cathy's paying bills; after two plus weeks, they have a way of pilling up. Then, I packed up my laptop, ate my last Reuben at Creekside Deli and pointed the Crown Vic south. As planned, I picked up Connie at her office in Atlanta around 4:00 pm and then did a quick turnaround back to the Grove (well, not so quick since I85 traffic was horrible).

Connie and I met Cathy and Mat at Edelweiss for dinner a little before 7:00 pm. We treated as a way of thanking them for their generous hospitality by allowing me to share office space during my stay. Before we finished eating, Susan and Rick, friends of ours who live in the area, made a surprise appearance. The six of us had a nice time.

After returning to the Grove, Connie and I noticed that the crowd was smaller than that of the past two Friday night socials. This was probably attributable to Father's Day weekend. I devoted much time and energy the past couple of weeks to being a one person welcoming committee and was no longer in the mood to socialize. Connie and I mostly stayed together, spending much of our time catching up on the events of the past week.

Connie got tired from working all day and we retired early, around 11:00 pm. Sex would have to wait until morning.

Day 18, Saturday, June 18, 2005

After breakfast in the club house, Connie and I drove to the CH for a final blending of body and soul. Connie asked about using the tent, but I was fearful of destroying our new air mattress. She is indeed a passionate woman and I didn't want to take any chances. I think it was a wise decision.

I didn't fold the tent immediately, desiring to give it time to thoroughly dry out. Over the next couple of hours, Connie and I enjoyed the usual poolside activities for a final time. Later, we broke camp and returned poolside for a shower and final dip in the pool. All too soon, we said goodbye to friends and departed around 3:00 pm for Louisville to pick up our girls.

I spoke to a lot of people over the past couple of weeks inquiring about the best way to get from the Grove to I75 north. Everyone had an opinion, but no one could come up with an efficient way to accomplish this daunting automotive task. The only consensus of opinion was to stay off of SR 52 because of all of the curves. On a map, it looks far out of the way, but we nonetheless decided to take US 76 out of Blairsville to Dalton, since it was mostly four lanes and relatively straight. We had no regrets; it was a beautiful drive.

Soon, it'll be back to the real world of wearing clothes, working and getting the girls ready for bed each night. There is comfort in the normal routine of daily life; yet, I'll always look back on my Grove vacation with a smile on my face. In many respects, it was special and will not soon be forgotten. My thanks go out to Connie for allowing me this time away from home. I also wish to extend thanks to you, my friends, for living vicariously these seventeen days in June through the reading of my journal; it would have been very lonely at times without you.