The Leake Times

July 16, 2005            Vol. 13 No.2           Rosa Leake, Editor

LEAKES HAVE 13^th FAMILY REUNION

          Who said 13 was unlucky? We just had our 13^th consecutive Leake Family Reunion. What can I say? It was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. We have proven that we are survivors. Hurricane Opal tried to blow our meeting place away and finally last year Hurricane Ivan succeeded. He destroyed our annual meeting place in Pensacola Beach, Florida. Or as little Hunter used to refer to it as, “my little house in Flaaaada.” We had been meeting at the Clarion Suites for 11 years. Ever since they had been open. Folks got on the internet and we were fortunate to find a lovely place in the mountains in Northeastern Georgia that could accommodate all of us and on the third week of June. Everyone loves the mountains as much as we love the beach. We had 41 people in attendance.

          We met at the Twin Rivers Resort in Demorest, Georgia. An idyllic place owned and operated by Greg and Kathleen Holcomb. They are a lovely couple with two adorable little girls. We rented all of the cabins so we had the entire place to ourselves, which made it really nice for the couples with young children. They didn’t have to worry about watching them every minute. There was a lovely playground and the children really enjoyed it.

          All of the cabins were beautiful and fully equipped. All had a Jacuzzi    , screened porch, rocking chairs and a gas grill. Every cabin had a gas log fireplace and at night it could really feel good. The kitchens were fully equipped, but you certainly didn’t have to use them if you didn’t want. If you didn’t want to cook or even make a sandwich, there were restaurants within 15 minutes or less to satisfy any taste bud. The weather was perfect. Warm to hot in the daytime and very cool at night. What a lovely place to stay.

          The Resort is located (obviously) where the two rivers the Chattahoochee and Soque come together. For the sun lovers there was a beautiful private beach, even though it was some distance from the cabins. For the fishermen, it was paradise. There were trails to hike and porches to sit on and rock. The peace and quiet was deafening. The only down side was the somewhat hilly terrain that was kind of tricky for some of us seniors who have to place our steps carefully. But the Holcombs were kind enough to provide a golf cart for our use. We also had accessibility to the Lodge which was centrally located.

          Paul came through again with great T-shirts he had made for us. Greg and Kathleen gave us permission to use the Twin Rivers Logo. Thanks Paul, for all your hard work. We do appreciate you and love the shirts. What a great souvenir.

          There was never a loss for something to do. Everything was new, so we had the whole countryside to explore and enjoy. Helen, Ga must be the best kept secret in the USA. It is a lovely little village that looks as if someone packed it up in Germany and brought it over and opened it up. It is beautiful. Blocks and blocks of GREAT shopping. Anything you can imagine and things you can’t imagine. There is an incredible little river that runs right down the middle of town and the best Tubing in the world. All of the folks under 60 went tubing and liked it so much they went back a second day. Paul and Donna James, Christina, Taylor and Matt Crump also went white water rafting. The pictures of them looked like National Geographic.

          Most everyone went to the gold mine and panned for gold. We now have a new respect for the old prospectors of ’49. They weren’t really old, that’s just the way you look after a day of panning for gold. But we did have success. Everyone found gold. Several also went hunting for gemstones. Again, hard work but everyone got something for their money.