52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (Week 14): Water

Amy Johnson Crow from Generations Cafe is hosting a blog writing prompt this year called 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.  Since I need a swift kick in the you-know-what to get me blogging more regularly again, I thought I'd jump in.  I like that she gives us "permission" to interpret the prompt however we wish and share it however we wish.  It doesn't have to be a blog post; it could be a family video, a letter to a child or grandchild, an e-mail, etc.  I'm probably going to be always behind on this exercise so don't go by the date and week I'm writing about and take it as accurate.  Like I am jumping back several weeks for this post.

I got the idea for this interpretation of the theme from Ingrid of the Stories from Dead Relatives blog with her post Water

Most of my family lived in Georgia or Florida.  While they worked hard, the latter generations also got time to play hard in the form of vacations or weekends spent at the lake or the beach.  I thought I would share a few of their photos here.

My Aunt Elizabeth Taylor Tapley and me at Jacksonville (Florida) beach circa 1973.  Yes, I was named for her.  I don't know that this was my very first trip to the beach, but it had to have been one of the firsts.  

That taller speck is me me with a family friend at Lake Lure, North Carolina, probably about 1975 or 1976.  We vacationed there every single summer for several years, and I spent my birthday there.  (For those of you who will recall, Dirty Dancing was filmed at Lake Lure.  One of my favorite movies!)

Here is my mother at White Sands Lake, Keystone Heights, Florida, probably early 1960's.  My parents and several other members of the family loved to go there and ski.  My dad was quite the skier in his time, but I can't find any pictures at the moment.  

Both of these photos were also taken at White Sands Lake.  This is my grandmother, Ethel Ranney Tapley, showing off her new swimsuit.  

Here is my grandmother, Nealie Drake Tapley (on left), and my Aunt Elizabeth again, showing off their swimsuits.  I don't know where they were, but they seemed to enjoying themselves.  I wish I knew when this was taken, cause Aunt Elizabeth was being downright scandalous in that 2 piece suit!

I realize there is no water in the last few pictures, but if there were swimsuits, there had to be water somewhere nearby!

Here is Aunt Elizabeth again on another visit to the lake. She seems to be having a great time.

I definitely inherited my love of the water from my family members.  It is my happy place.  I could just sit and stare at the waves for hours.  It clears my mind like nothing else can.