Monday, July 30, 2018

Vacation 2018 Day Eight High Falls State Park, Jackson, Ga.

After a little rain during the night our last full day of vacation started out sunny &  hot.  Girl M talked her Dad into renting a pedal boat.  Lucky me, I was the third person so I didn't have to pedal.

The  two peddlers didn't last long and didn't make it the entire hour.  We didn't take any photos because no one was brave enough to bring their phone on the pedal boat.

After a quick lunch and walking the dogs we headed over to the pool.  No signs for directions on where to enter but we figured it out.  $5 per person to swim unlimited for the day.  The pool was huge & clean and we ended up spending a few hours getting wet.

Pool at High Falls State Park

I can't believe that we're headed home tomorrow.  It's been a good vacation, but I'm ready to get home to my own bed, my own pool, my own stuff.

Until next time...........

Bonnie

Friday, July 27, 2018

Vacation 2018 Day Seven Heading to High Falls State Park, Jackson, Ga

The drive from Stone Mountain, Ga to High Falls State Park in Jackson, Ga was about 1-1/2 hours.  We drove all rural roads and the scenery was good, traffic was good and no tire issues.

Be warned High Fall State Park has three different areas.  We went to the first one we came to and of course it was wrong.  The gentleman (park ranger?) at the gate seemed flustered we came to the WRONG one.  He directed us very sternly to to through the campground, exit and go register at the next one that the sign says "REGISTRATION"!!!  How did we know?

I see the falls on our way and I am excited!

High Falls State Park, Jackson, Ga.

The ladies at the park's registration office were the sweetest things.  Very chatty and made you feel at home.  The office smelled like a cabin in the mountains.  I could have stayed in there and chatted forever!

They gave us directions to the third entrance and our campground.  Farther away from the falls and down the road a little bit.

Pulling a camper is slow going, especially on narrow, steep roads that we are unfamiliar with.  We made it to the campground and our section and we found our pull-through campsite just perfect!  Shady, easy to get into and out of and not too far from the bath-house. Site #81.

We set up camp, grilled some hotdogs, relaxed a little bit then we were ready to see the Falls and explore.
Site # 81

From the Park's website:
Marvel at the tallest cascading waterfall south of Atlanta at High Falls State Park, where you can revel in nostalgic recreational pastimes, investigate a rich cultural timeline and natural backdrop, while you throw a line in High Falls Lake which is recognized as one of the nation’s top family fishing destinations."

No way to get near the falls.  No pictures by the falls, nothing!  What in the world?

We decide to drive over to Indian Springs State Park in Flovilla, Ga.  We never saw a spring there.  Looking up on the website while sitting in their parking lot there was a notice of "SWIMMING NOT AVAILABLE" I don't remember that when I was looking to book a campsite.  We didn't dive around and look at their campground but we did see some falls. ????  Took a few photos, drove around looking for the springs but didn't find any, then decided to go back to our campsite and walk the dogs.

Never too old for Dandelions 

I never did see a sign or anything to explain what these falls were from.  A long ago factory maybe? Another self serve park!

Falls at Indian Springs State Park

Girl M & Dear Hubby


Indian Springs State Park

On our way to our campsite we saw a trail for fishing and thought we would go and explore. We found the power plant remains.



  Remains of an 1800's hydroelectric power plant foundation.  Pretty cool.  Great place to take photos.










Farther along the drive back to our campsite we found a fishing trail to the river.  Finally some water.  The water was moving pretty swiftly and we didn't venture far.




I'm not sure what our plans for tomorrow are.  Since we can't get to the falls, we may go to the pool.  The very public pool.....

Until next time..................

Bonnie

Monday, July 23, 2018

Vacation 2018 Day Six Stone Mountain Park, GA

We were up early to head to Stone Mountain Park for the day only to realize that most of the rides didn't even open until 10:30 or 11:00.  Being from Florida you try to get anywhere early before it gets too hot but they work on a different time schedule here.

Everything is pretty much self-serve and we figured out we needed to get our tickets ourself from a kiosk.  We hardly saw any employees or workers.  It's pretty much a self-serve amusement park.  Very odd.

After realizing we had almost 2 hours until anything opened up we walked around a bit and went to the museum.  It was pretty interesting but was a self-guided tour and I never saw an employee.

Stone Mountain Park, Ga
 It's hard to believe that the engraved photo is almost 3 acres, it looks so tiny from here.

Girl M at Stone Mountain Park
 The skylift was shut down due to inclement weather.  (If you would started earlier, you might have been able to let some people ride).  We finally found the 4-D movie about to run at 11:40 and even though it was a short 12 minute movie it was very good.

Then it rained.........and ALL the rides and shows shut down.  If you would have started at an earlier time, maybe you could have gotten things started!

When I purchased tickets to the park I also bought meal tickets.  When we went to eat Lunch, the staff was minimal and there were no clear directions on what food to purchase or who to ask.  We picked out some food, headed for the checkout and the employee said what we chose was fine.  Fine!

After eating lunch the rain stopped but there was absolute nothing to do since everything was still not running or open.  We decided to go back to the campsite, walk the dogs and go to the pool for a while.

The pool at the campground was nice and the swim very refreshing.  The Crepe Myrtles were in full bloom and the trees were huge compared to the bush/small tree types we have in Florida.

Crepe Myrtle & Girl M.
 The weather cleared up and we decided to go back to the park about 4pm to see if there was anything open yet.  Dear Hubby was a good sport but I was starting to feel his frustration with the park.  With our park passes we purchased tickets for the Ride the Ducks, after waiting in line to get onto the ride with our tickets we were informed that we had to get out of line, go into the office, make reservations and schedule to ride.  OMG I'm so over this place.  There was not a sign that said my tickets in hand were not for  the ride no one said I had to make a reservation, no employee was around before hand and those stupid duck noise makers were driving me crazy!

We finally were able to get back onto the ride after about 10 minutes in the office, but nothing was done and we entered the ride with the same tickets I had in my hand to begin with!  There are no pictures of us on the ride because even though looking back it was ok (but not worth $12.95 per person) We can say we did it & we survived.

After getting away from all the duck noisemakers we found the Train.  This was the one thing Girl M wanted to do.  The Railway attendant at the platform was very nice and helpful.  I'm sorry I didn't get his name but a high 5 to him!  The train ride was running about 20 minutes late but it was not busy and we just relaxed a little bit on the benches.

The train itself was much bigger than I was thinking it was.  I was pretty impressed........but it stopped there.
Scenic Railroad Ride


Train ride
 I'm not sure what part of Scenic Railroad we rode, but the view from the train was not so scenic.  Nothing spectacular or even close to interesting.  We really couldn't hear what the overhead speaker was saying so it was just a word here or there.  Maybe he was trying to give us a little history or talk about the mountain but it was very under water sounding so we just rode and looked at garbage and the rocks and more garbage and junk, things broken down or abandoned.  Then we came to some stop that performed a game show that was pretty cheesy.  The players never spoke and the host of the game show talked so fast I couldn't hear a word she said.  So I know Dear Hubby couldn't hear anything.

Please don't think I'm grumpy, but after a week of thinking about the Stone Mountain Park, my opinions have not changed and we really could have spent our day elsewhere.

Waiting for something to open at the park

Patient Dear Hubby
We decided that since nothing else was going to open at the park we would just go back to the campsite, walk the dogs, fix dinner and then see the laser show at 9:30pm. 


Stone Mountain
 Since the show started at 9:30, we made our way back about 9:00pm.  We had reserve seating tickets from when I purchased the package deal.  But the lawn wasn't busy at all so we found great seats on the lawn instead of walking all the way to the bottom to the Georgia terrace reserve seating.

Stone Mountain Laser Spectacular Lightshow
 Ok, to be honest, this was the best part of the entire day.  The lightshow was fabulous!  It lasted over an hour and I was amazed, entertained and really enjoyed every minute of it!  This is the only good thing today that we saw.

Laser Show

But I wouldn't pay for the terrace seating or the snacks, or any of the other fluff they offer, just bring a lawnchair, a drink and snack, sit back and enjoy!

Finally something GOOD!
This is a breakdown of our ticket bundle we bought.  Not one person asked to see our wristband.  We never used the VIP stuff because it wasn't busy, never found a place to take our photo and didn't use the lightshow terrace seating option, snacks or see anyone with glow in the dark necklaces.  Our day was probably only worth $19.99 per person.

3Duck Voucher (Ride The Ducks Tour Voucher)$0.00$0.00
3Meal Ticket Voucher (MEAL Ticket )$0.00$0.00
3VIP Experience Voucher (Voucher VIP)$0.00$0.00
3Adventure Bundle (Adult or Child)
: Georgia
: TERRACEGA, TERRACEGA, TERRACEGA
06/28/2018$49.95$149.85
Subtotal$149.85
Discount$0.00
Taxes and Fees$16.86
Handling and shipping$0.00
Total Price$166.71
We gave the campground an A grade.  We really liked it.  But the park we give a D and the lightshow we give an A.


We're leaving tomorrow to head to High Falls State Park in Jackson, Ga.  Hopefully our trip will get better.

Until next time................

Bonnie

Friday, July 20, 2018

Vacation 2018 Day Five Heading to Stone Mountain, Ga

Our drive from Asheville, NC to Stone Mountain, Ga was almost uneventful.  Nearing Atlanta on I-85 traffic was getting pretty busy and Dear Hubby had enough, we decided to exit and drive as much rural as we could find.  As soon as we exited I-85, traffic came to a complete stop.  We dodged a bullet there!

Stone Mountain Park Campground was great.  Similar to a State Park type setting with beautiful views.  We were in the Red Site, #339, lakeside.  Ours was a narrow sight but since we don't have a slide-out it was fine.  There was a very steep drop to the lake but our view was spectacular of the Stone Mountain.

Stone Mountain

Red Site #339 Lakeside

Stone Mountain
 There's a storm coming!

Girl M
 The dogs enjoyed the walk around the loop, but I think it wore old Lulu out.

Lulu Camping
 Look at that sweet face, Bobo is ready to go for another walk.
Bobo

From the lake looking up to campsite

Of course, it rained late in the evening and during the night.  We plan on getting up early to head to Stone Mountain Park before it gets too hot or more storms.


Incoming storm, Stone Mountain, Ga
Tomorrow we're planning a day of Stone Mountain Park.

Until next time.............

Bonnie

Monday, July 16, 2018

Vacation 2018 Day Four Asheville, NC

We got up early on Day Four to head to Biltmore Estates.  The skies were clear and it was warm.  A big change from what was expected yesterday.

The campground we are staying out was only 15 minutes from the Biltmore.  It was an easy drive and we were there before we knew it.  

The drive up to the Biltmore Estates through the forest was just beautiful.  I had to ride with my window down and enjoy it.  The birds were singing and we could hear water rushing.  I remember the drive from 20 years ago, but I thought parking was closer.  We had about a 5 minute walk from the parking lot to the house.  Nothing too strenuous, very peaceful.


Biltmore Estates
 A very nice lady offered to take our photo.  How kind since we are the worse selfie takers!  We need to take a class.

Family photo
Even though this was my third visit it still impressed me.  The house is just magnificent.  To just imagine life on such a grand scale is astonishing. There is a calm about the house that just makes you enjoy every moment.

Girl M was free so we splurged and purchased the audio guide.  It was only $10 per person and worth it.  I really liked that you could listen to the audio then take your time and look at each room at your own pace.  


Biltmore Estates

Biltmore Estates

Biltmore Estates

Biltmore Estates

Biltmore Estates

Biltmore Estates

Biltmore Estates

Biltmore Estates

Biltmore Estates

Biltmore Estates

Biltmore Estates

Biltmore Estates

Biltmore Estates

Dear Hubby took all the photos because I was in awe of the house's beauty.  I'm glad he did because there was so much to see I couldn't focus on taking pictures too.  He did a great job!

The house was warm but not unbearable.  They had fans and a few air conditioners going and the few windows that were open the breeze was very nice.


Biltmore Estates

Biltmore Estates

We saw a heard of deer and a few turkeys while looking from one of the second floor porches.

Biltmore Estates

Biltmore Estates

Porch Selfie

Family selfie

By the time we were done with the house tour the line to get into the house was very long and the weather warmed up a lot.  We were so glad we got here early and were able to finish before it got too hot.





Making our way to the gardens I didn't realize how large it was.  We tried to take it slow and I am glad that there many benches to rest along the way.  




The greenhouses were just amazing!  There was so much to see & take in that it just overwhelming.  You could smell these gardenia flowers before we even saw it.  I told Dear Hubby & Girl M to smell it and this is what I got for a photo op!  They are good sports!


Gil M & Dad 2018

On Facebook the same day our 8 years ago photo:

Girl M & Dad 2010!

I got Girl M to take a few photos with me.

Girl M & I : Biltmore Gardens


Biltmore Gardens

After walking through the gardens and the greenhouses we slowly made our way back to the main house.  It was very warm by now and we skipped walking over to the three bass ponds.  The steps were giving my hip and Dear Hubby's foot a hard time and we still had to walk back to our truck.  We took it slow and enjoyed as much of the shade as possible.

We planned on eating out for Lunch and found a BBQ place on the way back to the campground called Okie Dokies Smokehouse.  Unfamiliar with the area we always say if we see a restaurant with Police cars/Utility workers/City Workers parked in the parking lot the food is probably pretty good.  Our reasoning did not disappoint!


Okie Dokies Smokehouse
2375 US Hwy 70
SwannanoaNC 28778


Okie Dokies Smokehouse was busy and the only seating was outside on the porch.  Luckily there was a breeze and it was great.  Our waitress was a little overly (sweet tea) nice.  Lots of "honey", "sugar" and "y'all".  The restaurant was nothing fancy, and seemed very clean.  Lunch was served on paper plates but the food made up for ALL that!

Girl M ordered the Smokehouse Wings
Seasoned, slow smoked, and tossed in our own zesty bbq sauce-half dozen large wings, mac & cheese, fried okra, hushpuppies and our bbq ranch $8.99

We never saw the mac & cheese because Girl M must have inhaled it!  She said the wings tasted like chili and everything was delicious.  

Dear Hubby ordered the Smokehouse Ribs with fried okra and hushpuppies HALF RACK $14.99

As our waitress was bringing out our order she hit the tray on the door frame and Dear Hubby's entire plate landed on the floor!  But another was brought out within 5 minutes and all was good.

"The best ribs I ever had"  is the only thing I heard from him!

There were a few choices for me and I chose to order the Smokehouse Plate-Little Combo
Your choice of any two different meats* Served with your choice of two sides and hushpuppies $11.79
*meat choices: pork, beef, chicken, ribs.  I chose the beef and pork
Side choices for me were a little tough this time because the only non-starch, green vegetable they offered were collard greens.  So I just double ordered them.
Everything was delicious but the star of my plate was the pulled beef.  It was the best I've ever had!!  
We've never been to a BBQ place that offered hushpuppies for their bread choice.  Girl M & Dear Hubby loved them.  She wanted to stop by on our way out of town and order some for the trip!
I wish I could have tried the BBQ Sundae: A festival favorite! Pulled Pork bbq, baked beans, and coleslaw-layered yumminess! $6.79 *GLUTEN FREE.  Very interesting!
We give Okie Dokies Smokehouse and A+.  Great food.
I know it's vacation but I still have to be mindful of money and since my way of eating is so limited I think it's easier to eat at home.  Dear Hubby eats out everyday for Lunch with work and I eat out as little as possible, maybe twice a month at the most.  I never realized how much money eating out cost.  I planned $50 per meal and we averaged just a few dollars under.  
After filling our bellies, we went back to the campground, walked the dogs and decided to go for a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  
We drove E on I-40 to Curtis Creek Road then got up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, went up to Mt Mitchell State Park, W on the Parkway then back E on 40 making a complete circle of about 70 miles.  The drive was beautiful and the curvy, hairpin turns is something we don't have in Florida.
Valley & incoming thunderstorm

Mountain View

Blue Ridge Mountains

We drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mt. Mitchell.  The walk to the summit was brick paved but we had to take a break or two.  280 yards of uphill treking isn't something we do everyday!  We brought the dogs with us and they loved every minute of it!

After finally making it to the summit another couple informed us of flying ticks!  We lasted about 2 minutes up there and we couldn't get down quick enough!  YUCK!

Mt. Mitchell

Mt. Mitchell

We loved Savannah, Ga but today was my favorite day of our vacation.  I'm not sure if any other day can beat this day.
We're off tomorrow to Stone Mountain, Georgia.  
Until next time.............
Bonnie