Today we will go to Atlanta. We hope to visit the Capitol Building (capital two off the list) and to see the Georgia Aquarium. We are currently on top of Red Top Mountain Georgia State Park. It overlooks Lake Allatoona. It's a beautiful place, but one that I don't think we will be rushing to come back to. Getting the trailer parked was C-R-A-Z-Y. Danny's Facebook status read, "Only a very strong, loving marriage can survive parking a trailer in a difficult spot. Camping is not for wimps."
The pictures really don't do the site justice. There were so many obstacles we had to overcome besides the obvious backing over the mountain. I wish I could have video taped the whole process. Danny's a very patient man with some unbelievable driving skills. (Even if occasionally I close my eyes.)
Backing up a little and trying to catch up on the memories...
When we left Suwannee River Florida State Park, we did an amazing job of getting up and getting out. We were actually out of the park by 9AM. I was so excited!! However, that excitement was short lived. We have come to rely on our GPS and as I was trying to punch in the coordinates of where we were heading...GEORGIA...a state other than Florida. The GPS would not acknowledge the address, would not acknowledge the zipcode. Nothing, nada. I even tried to enter New York, NY. Nope! There was nothing outside of Florida. The world ended at the Florida line. We spent another 50 minutes trying to get our 'smart' phones to help us out. We don't have paper maps in our possession; that would be taboo. Well, I have an iPhone and Danny has the 'other'. My good friend Siri (whom I adore, mind you) was refusing to listen to me and kept coming up with all sorts of things that I was just NOT saying and Danny was getting frustrated. He finally pulled up a MAP on his phone, got us turned around and we were at the intersection of I-75. There was a gas station and a restaurant (much to Hannah's dismay). We decided to go ahead and fill up the tank, eat some breakfast and regroup. As it turns out, the food was excellent and quite reasonably priced and, in not time, we were back on the road again!!
We made it to F.D. Roosevelt GA State Park in record time (or at least before the sun went down, which was a nice change), got everything set up and headed out to get some gas and groceries. We were running on fumes and Danny had asked the park rangers where the closest gas station was, so off we went. HA! With no GPS and just some "go this way and take a left, then another and you'll be there" kind of directions, we found ourselves driving around in unknown country again. Danny finally flagged down a passing vehicle and they directed us 'around the bend' and we finally made it to the gas station. After filling up we made it to Columbus, GA a HUGE town filled with all sorts of wonders like, restaurants and actual stores. It was truly a sight for sore eyes. BUT, getting back up the mountain was a whole other story filled with twists and turns and 'turn arounds' that I will just leave to your imagination. We did laugh a little. There's a point where things are just so out of the realm of what you had hoped for that delirium sets in and you find yourself laughing and making jokes just to get through it.
We had pre-purchased tickets to go to Callaway Gardens 'Fantasy of Lights' on Sunday night, so we had all day Saturday and Sunday to explore. FDR is a beautiful park. We were right on a lake. On Saturday the kids spent hours hiking and I spent hours doing laundry. (Danny has joked about putting a washer and dryer on the back of the trailer.) Saturday night we went to the vigil mass at Christ the King, a beautiful church. Rev. Fr. John R. Madden was quite personable. I am sure that the congregation is very small. That night there couldn't have been more than 75 parishioners total. On Sunday morning they were planning on blessing their "Stations of the Cross" that had just been completely refurbished and placed in a new pathway outside the church. We had noticed it on our way in. It was beautiful. A young parishioner had done all of the work as his Eagle Scout project. We had hoped to make it to the blessing or at least to get by during the day to take some pictures, however, that was not to be. Maybe on our next trip through Pine Mountain.
Sunday Danny rented a kayak and we spent time on the lake and did some more exploring. It was a great time, filled with the making of great memories. Sunday night was "Fantasy of Lights". I had reserved a space on the "Jolly Trolley" to ride through the lights. If we ever do again, I will ask about riding through in your own vehicle. The website suggests that you can, but I really thought the "Jolly Trolley" was the way to go. I couldn't have been more wrong. It took us 45 minutes to get through the line and since our reservation was for 8PM, it was getting late. The kids did well. No real 'crankiness' going on. Just tired kids. Poor Jacob actually fell asleep while driving through. My complaints: they drove too quickly, the road was bumpy (enhanced by the fact that I felt the were hurrying), and I could not get decent pictures. Most of my pictures were of other peoples heads! Maybe, just maybe, I would have been more enchanted if we had not just been to the Suwannee Lights. I will admit, there were a few times that I felt the lights were brighter and more beautiful (definitely more professionally done) than Suwannee, but not worth the wait. Now, don't get me wrong. I am not suggesting to anyone reading this that you don't go to Callaway Gardens to see the lights. I have heard countless numbers of people tell me how beautiful it is. In fact, the people that we were camping next to said that they got onto the trolley an hour early (their reservations were for 7PM and they got on at 6PM). However, if you are looking for some fun and amazing lights and you are closer to Suwannee Lights, that would be my choice.
Speaking of the people that we camped next to while at FDR, they were an older couple who were getting ready to celebrate their 53rd wedding anniversary. They were out by their campfire the evening that we pulled in and again the night we got back from church. Danny spoke to them more than I did, but when they were packing up and heading out, the man made it a point to come over and shake Danny's hand. He told us that he and his wife wanted to "thank us" for doing such a great job with our kids. I found it odd, but very pleasing. Occasionally you get a chance to realize that what your doing, you must be doing right.
We stayed at FDR a couple more days, actually extending our time there. I am finding that we really enjoy the parks. The kids are having so much fun exploring, that we aren't getting a chance to do the historical stuff that we have planned, so the day before we left, Danny and the kids headed out to see FDR's "Little White House" and also Dowdell's Knob (I stayed back to get some much needed cleaning done). Everyone came back raving about "having a good time". There was beauty and history and scavenger hunts and they seemed to enjoy it all.
Tuesday night (after all the excitement of exploring history and dinner out), Gracie got sick. She was up all night and not feeling much better in the morning and it was time to pack up and leave. :( Thank goodness we only had a short 2 hour trip to our next destination, which takes us back to the beginning of this post......Red Top Mountain.
I am sure that I have missed a lot. I have LOTS of pictures to post. I have been trying to figure out how to link back to picasa so that you can see the whole album. I will get to it. Until then, God Bless and I hope you are enjoying this Advent season. Christmas is right around the corner.
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