Down Home, Down the Street

Down home, down the street, is not only referencing the Piggly Wiggly. This past weekend and old friend and I went up to Rock Bluff and visited the Torreya State Park. Both Tim and I have been several times but I hadn't been since I got home and we had never been together. He was in town for the weekend so we raided his sisters fridge (thanks mrs. Becky) and camera in hand took off to the park. It was a beautiful afternoon and we enjoyed ourselves in spite of the fact that we both forgot about bugs in the summertime in Florida. Needless to say we were quickly reminded. There were so many mosquitoes that we could have been levitating and not known it! But that is the price you pay for being outdoors. I really didn't mind it at all. The crowning jewel of the park is by far the old time mansion sitting on the hill. The Gregory house has always been special in my family. Before it was moved to Rock Bluff it used to be up in Jackson County and my Grandma Kennedy played underneath it as a small child. It was up on bricks and they could park the horse and buggy underneath it. That is where grandma would always find herself on those hot summer days, complete with dirt it was a younguns dream. The house was eventually floated down the Apalachicola river and set to rest looking out over the banks in the Torreya State Park. The house has made many pleasant memories for my family since it arrival here in Liberty County. Several of our bunch have been married there including Aunt Randy and Uncle Jamie, Aunt Shannon and Uncle Craig, Kirstin and Anthony, and Sloan and her first husband Cliff. Many field trips have been conducted there and even more ghost stories told about the place. They have trails you can hike, a picnic area, a candle light ceremony every year to commemorate the soldiers complete with a reenactment, scheduled tours of the mansion and of course, a beautiful view of the river. Peace speaks from the pines and the moss waves in the wind reminiscent of days gone by. A much simpler time. As you walk up to the house you can almost picture a youngun and dog on the front steps licking a melting ice cream cone in the hot summer sun, or a few teenage boys beating a rut down to the river bank to cast a line. In its preservation, the Gregory house gives us the opportunity to step back in time and pause, enjoying the beauty of yesteryear in great detail. I hope that you can all take a minute and stop by for a visit. Take a glass of pink lemonade and have a seat on those old front steps. Share a story or two and get back to what really matters, down home, down the street.