Dan, the kids and I left Missouri ten days ago and headed south. We drove all day, stopping a few times for fuel, geocaches (more on that later), Superman…
…and the kids’ current favorite restaurant (there are plenty of these in the South).
We arrived at Stone Mountain, Georgia that evening. We checked in to the Stone Mountain Inn and unloaded our bags quickly so we could make it to the Laser Show on time. Whew… we made it!
I grew up in Marietta, Georgia – not far from Stone Mountain. I can remember going to the Laser Show MANY times as I was growing up. This year’s show is similar to those I remember from my past, with a new “MountainVision” feature, which is basically a video projected on the mountain along with the lasers. My Southern heart stirred as I watched the Civil War heroes march off the mountain to the tune of Elvis’ “American Medley.” It was surreal to do something with my kids that I remember doing as a kid myself.
We spent the night at the hotel then woke up Monday to spend the day at Stone Mountain. Our first activity was to ride a tram up the mountain (1,683 feet above sea level) and get a view of downtown Atlanta.
We started to search for a geocache on top of the mountain, then quickly realized it was a multi-cache (more than one stop on the “tour”) and the kids wouldn’t last long enough to complete it. So we headed down the mountain and went to the Sky Hike, an outdoor ropes course. Dan and Katie got in line while Jackson and I went next door and did the toddler version of the ropes course, called Camp Highland Outpost.
Dan and Katie’s line was really long, so Jackson and I headed to the Great Barn for some air conditioned indoor play.
We had some lunch and went back to watch Dan and Katie work their way through the ropes course. It was really cool. The climbers put on a harness that’s attached with a rope to a metal track that runs the entire length of the three-story structure. The climbers thread their rope through the track and confront obstacles like a balance beam, tightrope, or rope rungs.
Since the course was so high up, I thought Katie would have to fight through some big fears. She surprised me and was a champ! I loved watching her brave the obstacles with nonchalance and confidence.
We ate a little more then took the kids to a short 4D Yogi Bear movie, which was fun and wet! The kids were tired after such an active day, so we finished up at Stone Mountain and skipped some of the other activities (the rock climbing wall, the Scenic Railroad, mini golf, the museum and the antebellum plantation). But before we left, we checked off another geocache in the parking lot. This one was HARD!
We drove back east a few miles to a hotel closer to my hometown, and checked in for the night. Since we were about 15 miles from one of my *favorite* restaurants (BEST. WINGS. EVER.), we drove a bit to Buffalo’s Cafe. OH BABY! It was worth every mile we drove to get there.
I ended the night with a full belly and a heart happy to be back in Georgia.
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