Broken Butt in Paradise

Sit down, grab a mexicoke, and get comfy. I want to tell you about the day I broke my butt.

Cue birds chirping, a gentle cool breeze, sun shining, happy kids laughing.... all is right with the world...

We pulled up to this beautiful RV park in Townsend, GA.

Lake Harmony is a little piece of heaven. I have never felt more at home than our time we spent there at the lake. The owners are the nicest we have met yet. Here is the view from our front door.

There was just a sense of peace and calmness unlike any of the other places we have been to. We ended up with THE BEST spot in the whole park. If you go, see if you can have site 46! 

Once we got set up the kids were dying to go fishing. We got them all set up with their poles and they were having a blast. Perfect day, perfect weather, so I figured, perfect time to get out a hammock and set it up right by the perfect lake:)

Adali sat it in at lunch time just chilling out. I snapped a few pictures of the kids fishing so that we would be able to remember this awesome spot.

While the kids were content on casting their lines, I thought, I’ll just lay here and enjoy the peace and quiet!

One leg up in the *high* hammock, then SPLAT! THUD!! SCRREEEEAAAM!!!! Holy Butt Crunch!! The sky went dark, the birds quit chirping....(ok, not really, but...) I’m pretty sure I have NEVER been in that much pain before. I can honestly say that I would take the pain from any of my 4 C-Sections over that hammock fall, any day. Wowzers!  A word to the wise... ***USE THE HAMMOCK WITH THE CLIPS OR S-HOOKS IT COMES WITH***

Once I landed, I remembered that I had switched out the S-hooks that the hammock came with (for some reason I thought they didn't look safe) and replaced them with caribeaner clips that I thought were weighted for the kids (not adults). I am SO THANKFUL that it was me instead of one of the kids, but crap, what a painful lesson!

When I landed on that crazy HARD ground, I landed just above my tailbone. I still am not sure if I broke it or cracked it, but I’m 99% sure it had to be one of those two. I’m not sure how long I laid there screaming in pain. Thankfully I have a calm husband and he was able to get me to shut up. My poor kids were so scared. I remember Ada crying saying, “I just want a mom that doesn’t cry!” and I tried to quit crying, I really did. But the pain was just too much. My right leg was tingling for the rest of that day and the next. I could barely move. Every shake of the trailer made me cringe. This is how I spent the next few days.

I’m glad to report that now, as of almost 2 weeks later, I can walk without pain and getting better each day. Soon I expect to be able to walk up the stairs without any pain and hopefully be able to squat and bend over without making weird noises. One step at a time...

What a terrible way to spend a week at an amazing RV park, but I am thankful that we were at a place so peaceful for me to try to recover. The workers even checked on us when they saw us out. They must have heard the screams...  Thankfully the weather was perfect that week. We were able to enjoy a fire and many amazing sunsets while we were there.

We had talked a few months back about getting an inflatable kayak. The kids all loved the few times we have gone out. Jonathan’s birthday was the Wednesday and I had my eye on the Sea Eagle 370 Pro. I was able to snag one without him knowing and surprise him on his birthday! We hope that when we get to the Florida Keys we will get a whole lot of use out of it! 

For Jonathan’s birthday, he wanted to go walk around the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge. I was feeling okay enough to go walk for a little bit so off we went that morning. We didn’t see many humans but the first path we came to we parked the truck and went exploring. That’s when we saw our very first alligator! Up close and personal.

We weren’t sure what to do. He wasn’t moving so should we walk by him to the other side of the pond? Would he come at us or head back to the water? So I, the crippled one, thought what a great opportunity to walk a little closer to get a better picture. His eyes were closed and he was breathing really slowly. I snapped the picture then he raised his head towards us and hissed! Holy crap!! Get away!! We were probably 6 feet away from him, (kids a little further) but we decided it was time to get in the truck and find another place to adventure.

We found several cool spots. Saw some pretty amazing birds fairly close up.

We even saw what we think was a water moccasin! While it was a very cool experience, I am thankful we all made it back in one piece and we were able to have a great time for Jonathan’s birthday!

After our adventure at the refuge, Jon took us out to lunch at Skipper’s Fish Camp, a seafood place recommended by some friends we had met on the road.

We had some amazing shrimp and calamari and when we got back home, I had a homemade Key Lime Pie waiting for the birthday man!!

I whipped up some homemade whipped cream to top it off! I make it every year for his birthday and now we have all come to love a good key lime pie! I will have to make one next month while we are in the keys! My parents are coming to visit us after Christmas, in their new-to-them travel trailer,  so what a perfect time to make another :)

We had a great time at Lake Harmony and we will definitely be back when we are in Georgia again. I highly recommend you check out this park if you are in the area or traveling through the area! Tell them the BareNecker’s sent you and ask for site 46! You won’t regret it!

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About the Author

Ashley Longnecker is the fiercely independent tattooed and dreaded half of Tiny Shiny Home. She's a woodworker, photographer and maker of delicious baked goods. She loathes schedules and makes every day an adventure.

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