When I was a girl, how the hills of Oconee made a seam to hem me in

Got back last night from a fantasticly wonderful vacation on Keowee Lake in Salem, SC (in Oconee County, if you're confused by my choice of subject line). It was a beatufil extra-long weekend full of fun, sun, freezing cold water, cocktails, and trivia challenges.

Lovely view of the lake off the veranda. That damn tree kinda blocks the view, though.

The ladies' bedroom. And by "ladies" I mean Emily, Abby, and myself. We're very ladylike, I assure you. No one slept on the top bunk. Doing so would have resulted in certain death.

Em and I slept here.

Living room. Many a trivia battle was waged in this space. My team was always victorious. Kerry and I are an unbeatable combination. He knows all the sports questions, and I know everything else.

Oh yeah, Abby graduated. Way to go, babe.

It's kinda obscured by the trees, but there is a quite fun jet ski down at the dock. Also, there is a Tom and an Emily Bessman hangin out. I had my first jetski experience over the weekend. The water was a little choppy, Abby almost flew off the back a few times. I'm glad she didn't though, I would miss her. The second time I went out was with Emily. Tom had mentioned some boys, so obviously Emily and I had to investigate. We were disappointed to find that what Pa Bessman had called "boys" were actually "balding middle-aged men and their wives."

Lake, from a different angle. Pretty pretty. That water is deathly cold, by the way. One day Abby and I were sitting on the dock with our feet hanging off. After a while the sun beating down made us quite warm. So we decided it was a good idea to get in the water. It wasn't. The first four inches were actually an enjoyable temperature. After that, however, it was like ice. My chest hurt and my arms went numb.

The view out the front door. You can see Van Meter's legs through the flowers and the top of Kerry's head over by his car. His car has a fresh dent in the hood from a collision with a turkey vulture. I'm pretty sure I've never seen as many animals in the road in such a short time span. It was insane. On our way out to the lake house for the first time we passed a turtle in the road. Around the next curve we passed some pheasants. Then as we turned on to the hill, there was a deer in the road! I was getting nervous; at the rate the animals were progressing, we were sure to run into a bear next.

Flowers. Pretty.

Front of the house.

Quite possibly the worst picture of me and Abby. Abby doesn't actually look that bad, I however, look terrible.

So, moral of the story, it was a great vacation.