Mini Trips

Have you ever been to Lake Winnipesaukah?  It's just past Chattanooga into Georgia.  I have always heard people talk about it, but had never been until July.  You know how fun the county fair is?  Well, it's like the county fair bolted to the ground.  But cleaner.  And with better rides.  And oh yes, the small lake in the middle.  They have all the same yummy fatten-you-right-up fair food and they are pretty inexpensive.  Anyway, we went and it was seriously fun (well, except for that one ride that takes you up and just drops you- that made me see my life flash before my eyes.  Not fun.). 

Also, there were these huge, huge carp in the lake so when you were on the lift ride that takes you across, you could see them from above. 

No carp in this picture, but I swear they were there.  They were about the size of Kenzie.  Seriously. 

I actually took quite a few pictures, but on this particular day, it was hot enough to make the devil sweat, so very few were post-worthy.  You can tell it's bright and hot by Kenzie's face- she's doing the "peep-eye".  That's what my grandmother would say when she would turn on the light in the morning when Collen and I would wake up at the farm.  When it's so bright you can only hold one eye open, that's the peep-eye.

Next up, The Lost Sea!

If you have never been to The Lost Sea, that's another place that is worth visiting.  It's this big cave near Sweetwater.  After you walk through for awhile, you end at a room with a lake.  And who doesn't enjoy a boat ride on an underground lake?  They stock the lake with rainbow trout but over time, due to there being no light in a cave, the fish lose their rainbow colors and also end up almost blind.  It's actually kind of sad now that I think about it. 

There are people who have gone diving way under the cave walls and found that the lake actually extends over twice as far into a different room, but it's entirely filled with water and no one knows how big that other room is (their sonar devices wouldn't reach any further).  Anyway, it's very interesting.  Kenzie wasn't really a fan at first.  I think she thought we were going to a haunted house or something.  It didn't help that once you're really far into the cave, they turn out the lights to show you how pitch-dark it really is.  On the way out there is this rock (shown above) that's supposed to give you good luck if you touch it.

Kenzie took the above picture.  I think she did a pretty good job for a four year old!

Kenzie is wearing a frog hat and Erin's is a pizza hat.  They are at the Crazy Hat Shop near the cave entrance.  I am still trying to figure out what crazy hats have to do with an underground lake.