Last week was my mom's last week of school (hooray summer!) and when I called to congratulate her, Mr. Chuck Duck (who also went to Jacksonville State) said I should go to Lake Haven sometime. It's only a 15-minute drive from campus and he said it was the spot of his first date with his now lovely wife, Paige.
I asked Bryan if he wanted to grab some food and go have dinner at a fun pic-nic spot and he was up for spending some time in this beautiful weather we've been having. We didn't suppose what we would find upon arriving near our destination.
Chuck, I'm sorry to say, but this is as far as the little red Honda made it before the road gave out while following the directions. We went to a nearby house and a nice woman said the lady who owns the Lake Haven property is in the nursing home and her children aren't selling the property. She explained this place used to be a wonderful retreat 30 years ago before people stole everything on the property (paddle boats, diving boards, pic-nic tables and more) and nature took over; kudzu is climbing over the old pool house.
We decided we still had food, good weather and good company, so we drove as far as we could, parked the car and went walking to find this lake.
(Kyle, you're the expert here, but isn't Bryan stepping in poison ivy? If so...he must not be allergic. You would have had fun adventuring with us, but you would definitely be covered with red bumps:)
We did forget that with good weather comes hungry mosquitoes. Bryan thought vinegar would ward them off, so he had the idea to open up the jar of olives we had and rub the juice all over his arms and legs. I wore jeans, so I opted to just eat the olives:)
Walking into a clearing, we found it: Lake Haven. Nature has kept this place looking beautiful--it's a shame humans haven't.
With a little bug spray, this still makes for a lovely little spot:) Thanks, Chuck!
2 comments:
Hi Erin! I noticed under your name on Blogspot you wrote: "my life is a culmination of many experiences." How so very true, and what I find interesting about the comment is that for the last 6 years you have been in the same place where I too spent some time, albeit 20 some years ago. Not much has changed,and I love that things & places are much the same as they once were! Bibb Graves,Stone Ctr,Brewer Hall,Paul Snow Stad,Rudy Abbott Fld,Pete Mathews Col,Pelham Rd,Abercrombie(Gone!:( ),Cecils Place,Rocket Drive Inn, Crossroads Tavern(now Cooter Brown's),Sparkman,Houston Cole Libr,Marching Southerners are names that have meaning to me and I'm sure to you as well,but when your mom called and told me to read up on your latest bloggin', I was blown away by what you wrote and the pics you took of Lake Haven. I don't tear up often or easily but I couldn't help myself as I guess the place means more to me than I thought. I know it's not just the beauty of the lake and mountain backdrop,it's a "culmination" of visits there with friends long ago. I'm planning(yes KC planning) on visiting LH this summer! Thanks for the memories and Pictures! Sorry to ramble....Your next task is for you and Bryan to find Janey or Janney Furnace........CAM
Dang that looks like a awesome spot. I keep wondering why the heck didnt I go to JSU?! Good for yall for finding the place and enjoying your day despite setbacks. Its hard to plan for an unsuspected adventure so its cool when it happens.
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