Chapter 30 ~ 2.8.2020
High Falls State Park - The Detour
In walks Mother Nature in a whole mood. Ya’ll, I woke to text messages, instant messages, and weather notifications that prompted an abrupt change of plans. No worries, though, we stay ready, and always have a backup. We can re route to Vickery Creek, Cochran Shoals or High Falls in a heart beat, and guess what? That’s exactly what we did. I called on a few superheroes to help inform the group, while I changed the information on the GirlTrek national map as well as in the event within the GirlTrek Atlanta Facebook group. Ya’ll this ch8se champion was doing all of this while putting on her clothes, and shoes, and packing her last minute ch8se essentials. I am so thankful for my squad, so thankful.
With the original plans out the door, we needed a new lunch spot. I did not want to go back to the last place we went for lunch, I wanted there to be something different for this ch8se, considering it had not been long since we were at this location. One call, that’s all, and in steps our Rocket, Ravashing Rhonda to the rescue. She researched and not only had a new lunch location, but also dropped it in the event to help prepare our ch8sers. Our ch8sers are the absolute best.
We are now at the meet up spot under a beautiful winter sky. Publix on Pleasant Hill in Duluth, our old faithful. This is one of the first indications to me of who is actually narrating this chapter of the ch8se. It is here that we see who shows up, and whose truly about this ch8se life. To my surprise, this ch8se squad showed up. Well, I wasn’t that surprised; however, you don’t know until ya know, you know? Ha, so, some missed the memo, didn’t know there was a change, and were committed to the ch8se nonetheless. Ya’ll just know that we ch8se in all seasons, rain or shine, and even light snow. What we never do; however, is jeopardize our safety, nor cancel. We will bundle up, layer up, and dawn our rain gear, we will even abruptly change our location, but we don’t play when it comes to our safety, nor do we cancel. That is not how we roll.
With that in mind, and Mother Nature in her mood, we were not at all interested in taking a chance in the North Georgia mountains with the two to four inches of snow that was predicted. Furthermore, as much as we love to embr8ce the ch8se, everyone returning to their families, safe and sound is the ultimate embr8ce, right!
Back to the meet up. We pile in, and head out. We leave a little later than projected, but we are on the road nonetheless. Ya’ll for some weird reason, Google maps would not let me be great, so this ch8se champion had to rely on someone else's phone and navigational assistance. This forced a missed exit, and a minor detour, but nonetheless, we were on our way south, away from the mountains, the snow, and the possibility of getting stuck there somewhere on the road. The van is filled with energy and good vibrations. We are chatting, getting to know one another, sharing, and embr8cing this first part of the ch8se. We are doing good.
A call comes in from someone whose already at the park, well dang. I thought we were doing kinda ok with timing. The caller intended to surprise me; though it was a great surprise just to receive a call from her, and even more so that she was my second #GirlTrek #LoveAmbush. This day was determined to be great. You see, GirlTrek was in the midst of an amazing LoveAmbush campaign where they are surprising the volunteers of the movement with a love ambush as a way of saying thank you for the work we do in the movement. I had just received a surprise ambush from our amazing Cosmic Carla, and now this. Blessed, absolutely blessed, and feeling the love. Yep, I am still all in my feelings.
Chyna, ya’ll Chyna was my second love ambush. She embr8ced the ch8se with us. Chyna Johnson is the Director of Data Management, a member of the GirlTrek national staff. Who gets two love ambushes is one week? The chick who was at an all time low. This chick who was struggling in need of prayer, a ch8se champion who was emotionally, and mentally exhausted, the ch8se champion who was near to breaking when right on time the universe sent just what she needed. When I tell you, the love ambushes were perfect, perfect timing, I cannot even begin to tell you how timely they both were. Sometimes we all just need a little bit more, and that is exactly what GirlTrek, Carla and Chyna did for me that week. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Now wait, where was I? I digress…..
We arrive at High Falls and are greeted by several cars of ch8sers who met us there. We ended up twenty one deep in thirty degree weather, narrating chapter thirty of ch8sing waterfalls. Though this was the third time we’ve ch8sed this location, it was the first time this ch8ser has ever seen a beautiful fog emanating off the water, creating an eerily beautiful sight. It was the first time that the waters roared so loud that we could barely hear one another speak without lifting our voices. It was the same location with a very different experience. It was the perfect last minute detour, the perfect goto avoiding the idea of snow in north Georgia, going south proved perfect.
The trail is a little muddy, and tricky in some of the places where there are hills, and tricky in some spots, so we proceed with caution. We safely make it to the base of the falls, and continue to embr8ce the ch8se. We are sharing, laughing, learning, receiving and giving. It is the ch8se way and we are loving every moment of it. Early in the beginning of the ch8se I receive a call from hubby asking if we were on the way back. Confused, I ask why, and he lets me know it is snowing in Gwinnett. Thankful we had not gone North, I let him know we had just begun, and there was no snow in our area. Shortly after the call, it began to sprinkle, but not snow.
We are stopped and enjoying the massive waterfall and it’s amazing sights and sounds. Here Remarkable Rhonda shares a picture she has received from her husband of her snow covered neighborhood. In amazement, it is now that we decide to forgo lunch to allow each ch8ser the opportunity to make it safely back to their homes. We were not taking any chances, no ma’am, no ham, no turkey. We share the picture of the snow covered area with the ch8sers and collectively agree that skipping lunch is best. Sadly, so be it.
Lunch is a very special time and often a powerful bonus experience to the ch8se. Lunch is where we each share a meal, moments, and memories from the day. We express our take aways from the adventure, and even share what we may have left behind to figuratively flow away, down the waterfall. It is precious time, that this ch8se champion and most ch8sers look forward to. This would be the first ch8se, other than the very first ch8se, when I didn’t know any better, that we did not share lunch time afterwards. Bitter sweet, but safety prevailed.
Victory is mine, victory is mine, victory today is mine……yep, we came, we saw, we ch8sed, we conquered. We are now back at our vehicles, back where we started and almost ready to go. We caravan to the visitors center for patches, pins, potty. No woman, no ch8ser is ever left behind, ever. After assuring each lady was present and accounted for, we all head home. Twenty-one ch8sers chose to embr8ce the ch8se, and twenty-one ch8sers made it home safe and sound. Some had no snow in their areas, while some of us had a dusting, and others, inches. Either way, we all made it home safely to ch8se again.
This ch8se champion is grateful for your continued support and appreciation of her passion. We are elated to have you embr8ce the ch8se with us and look forward to continued future ch8ses. Know that the adventures will only get bigger and better.
Will you #Embr8ceTheCh8se with us? Leave us a comment below. We love to hear from you.
Until we ch8se again.
Love, Peace & Waterfalls
Your Ch8se Champion
Dynamic Deb aka Deborah McGlawn
2.12.2020