Friendly Turf

I am lucky to be part of a large extended family. I have 27 first cousins - about half from each side of the family - and with many of them married and having families of their own it can sometimes be difficult to keep track of everyone. This week we had the pleasure of visiting my cousin Justin and his family in Georgia. I haven’t seen him for a couple of years, but was determined to visit if we were going to be in the neighbourhood. The girls didn’t really remember Justin from past family gatherings (too many cousins!) and I’m glad they had the chance to meet him, his wife Joyce, their son Christopher, and their grandson Oliver. 

  

We met Justin at his workplace in Chatsworth. He has a company that manufactures turf, and we were lucky to be given a tour of the plant. It was very cool to see the giant machines that sew the rolls of turf, especially the large arrays of yarn that were feeding them machines. The girls got to press the button that controlled the machine that was making one of 43 rolls of turf destined for a football field. At the plant we also got to see a neat wire cutter that cuts foam padding that is placed under the turf as well as an injection mould for creating honeycomb-like grids for the concrete base. We got to see the plastic beads that are placed into the injection-moulding machine and learned that they were made from recycled plastic. The tour felt like an episode of ‘How It’s Made’ and it was clear that Justin is really proud of what he has built there. We are grateful that he took the time to show us everything.

After the tour, we followed Justin along a breathtaking road up into the mountains on our way to his family home. In some places, the trees were coated with a beautiful layer of white caused by passping clouds. We stopped at a couple of lookouts and were surprised to see the rolling hills continue as far as our eyes could see. After about an hour we arrived at the house and got to meet Joyce and Christopher. Their place is lovely and we felt at home immediately, and not just because we were happy to avoid the -8C temperatures that Cloudland Canyon had in store that night! We enjoyed some of Joyce’s birthday wine and some epic show-and-tell that only Justin’s other guests could understand. Justin and Joyce have a large collection of books, artefacts, and other items of interest. Every time Justin left the room it was impossible to guess what he was going to bring back to show us. 

Later that evening we piled into the car and went out for a late supper at a Japanese restaurant and the meal was great. Our conversation continued through dinner, the drive home, and back at the house again (where show and tell continued) until we couldn’t keep our eyes open any longer. The kids had warmed up to one another as well, and Christopher showed off his slime collection. We slept very well in our warm, cosy beds. In the morning we got to meet Oliver who kept us all entertained. My only regret was that we had to leave so soon; there are very few activities we have booked on our trip, but we had concrete plans in Savannah that could not be changed. We promised Justin and Joyce that we would come back again someday for a longer visit and to enjoy more of what the area has to offer. I know they will read this, so what better way to be held accountable for a promise than to declare it publicly!

It was an absolute pleasure to spend time with Justin and Joyce. Their kindness, warmth, and generosity made us feel comfortable and loved despite the time and distance that separates us. I’m wondering if anyone ever leaves their house empty-handed!?!...we left with an additional tarp as well as some lovely gifts that will certainly be treasured. 

Thanks for a short but sweet visit, cousins!