267 Escape from Atlanta

I was woken up Wednesday with the suggestion that we go on an "adventure". We haven't had an adventure since Katie was three and we suddenly decided to take a detour on the way home from South Carolina to hit the beach. We asked Katie whether she wanted to go North or South and she chose South, so off we went. We decided to head down to Callaway Gardens and Pine Mountain, GA. On the way, we also took a lovely tour of parts of downtown Atlanta, and by "lovely" I mean SCARY ... darn HOV lane turned into an exit unexpectedly. I would have taken pictures if the site of my camera would not have inspired a car-jacking ... and if I wasn't the one driving. Normally I can snap a few pics off AND drive, but when I had no clue where in the heck we were I was not feeling confident enough to bring the camera up. We were VERY happy to see the ramp to 85 South!
The drive down was not bad at all, and if I lived in Atlanta I could see myself visiting Callaway Gardens several times a year. There was a lot more there than I would have though. We barely scratched the surface, and there were a few things I really wanted to do, but we ran out of time. I really wanted to see Mr. Cason's Vegetable Garden where they do The Victory Garden!
First we hit a concession stand to get a bite to eat ... Katie was not impressed by the chicken, but she had to eat to get her energy up. Or at least that is what we told her!Then we loaded up and we went in search of the Butterfly Garden. Thank goodness they give you a map on the way in because this place is HUGE!! We finally found our way to the butterfly exhibit, and it was fabulous! AND IT WAS HOT! I knew it would be humid and warm, but it was excruciating! Five minutes in and I was dripping with sweat. The butterflies were gorgeous though. Katie's favorite plant ... the Chenille Plant. Hot Pink and fuzzy, what's not to like?
And while the butterflies were pretty, they were also VICIOUS ... or at least Katie thought so. Katie freaked out and ran (and fell) when one flew at her face. To be fair, the thing was about the size of her head. If you saw this face attacking you, then you would run too. (not an actual picture of an Attack Butterfly)And then we headed down to the beach. Apparently the largest man-made beach in the world is at Callaway Gardens. Chip said I couldn't take them to the ocean, so we got the next best thing. Connor loved the sand, and we were able to splash around for a while. My knee got nibbled on by a fish, which always freaks me out. My Mom only took pictures of us walking into the water and when we walked out of the water, so I will have to refrain from posting them on the grounds I am in them in a swimsuit!
And then Katie HAD to ride this waterslide. THIS THING IS HUGE! Much taller than our house, and she had to climb all the way to the top! She looked so tiny standing up there, but she loved it! She went twice, and she would have gone more if we let her.
And then we had to get ice cream, of course. Although we opted out of getting actual scoops of ice cream. Katie even deigned to share a little with Connor.
We drove over to check out the Ida Cason Memorial Chapel. A really serene spot .... although
Katie just said it was SPOOKY.

Mom wanted to look at the Azalea Gardens, but there wasn't muchblooming. I took the kids walking on the path through the Azalea Bowl, but I ended up turning around, and it is a good thing that we did because we barely beat the thunder back to the car. Besides, the azaleas weren't blooming anyway.

Katie had taken over Connor's stroller, and Connor was trucking along ahead of us, but he got going too fast and took a tumble.

So, I doubled them up. The tires were none too happy, and I had to re-air them the next day, but I did not have to carry one of them on my hip, so I will count it as a win. And the hills were a much better workout with them both in the stroller.

We ended up driving into Pine Mountain to find a room for the night. We also drove to the next town to get some food at the Subway, and we had the BEST Subway sandwiches ever! That girl really knew how to make a sandwich, and there is no way that Subway made money on that deal! They had to have weighed 5 pounds each.

So, that is the condensed version of the first day of our adventure ... and the much pared down array of pictures.