Holidays! (Part I)

Happy New Year! I can't beleive it has been 6 months since I have moved to Georgia! This are going well, but of course we are still adjusting to the new jobs, new area and new weather.
We really enjoyed the fall. And the changing colors. Pictures can't shown how beautiful the Atlanta area was with the bright fall colors.

Gorgeous red tree across the street from our house

This is our street

We spent the holidays with friends and family.
For Thanksgiving our dear friends Greg and Linda Tomko spent a long weekend. We had a good time showing them the area, hiking and spending time together.

From here you could see downtown Atlanta

Climbing to the top

Cival War Heros etched into the mountain
(sorry, not sure who they are! guess I'm a bad southerner)

Another hike at Lake Lanier

Thanksgiving day we invited Jim's co-worker Daniel and his family.

Daniel, Julie, Rachel and Emily - their first American Thanksgiving.

They recently came to Atlanta from Korea and were experiencing their first US thanksgiving. We made that traditional meal and they said "Wow, it looks like the cinema". Linda and I were able to coordinate cooking together even though the kitchen here is room for one only!

After dinner we took a walk around the neighborhood.



Out for a walk

 Eric was here for the holiday but left on Friday. He was deployed to Kuwait on Monday, Nov. 28th.

Trip to Pensecola

We took a weekend trip to Pensacola FL. to visit Eric Nov. 5th and 6th. He had been scheduled for deployment the following week. He was told before we got there that he wasn't sure when he was leaving but we wanted to see him before he left. He wasn't sure if he would or would not be around for Thanksgiving.
We decide to stay on the beach and the Pensacola Hilton turned out to have awesome views of the Gulf of  Mexico and the city

Pnsacola Bay Bridge

Pensacola Pier

We spent the time walking on the beach, soaking in the hot tub and laying by the pool. 

 

It was a relaxing time with Eric.

Beautiful sunset in Pensacola

Oktoberfest in Helen GA (sorry, I thought I posted this quite a while ago)

We took a drive up the mountains to check out Helen GA. It is a replica of a Bavarian town - very cute! And of course every October they celebrate the art of drinking beer. We just had to check it out.

I liked the Dutch store and bought me some "wooden shoe" slippers!

Of course, they had the Bavarian Hall with the polka band.

We stopped and had food and a beverage at one of the local pubs. It was right along the river so the view was outstanding. As you can see this was early fall before the leave started changing.

It was about 1 1/2 hours from home, up into the Appalachians. It was well worth the trip, lots of shops and sites. I do think next time we will be heading to the local vineyards!!!