Atlanta: family, fabrication & fun
We have enjoyed Atlanta so much. The weather has been BEAUTIFUL! cooler and lower humidity! We stayed at the Stone Mountain Resort, about 15 miles east of downtown Atlanta. A gorgeous area, with a lot of forest surrounding it, a nice clear lake and one BIG ROCK!! The huge granite monolith has 583 exposed acres of rock with a memorial carving of figures of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and General Stonewall Jackson. We took the sky rail ride up to the top of Stone Mountain, walked around and enjoyed a wonderful 360 degree view of the surrounding areas, Atlanta was quite visible. That night we went back and enjoyed their laser/fireworks patriotic show that is performed on the “rock”.
Sunday we went into Lawrenceville and met up with our nephew Scott. Mike had made him a stained glass window for Christmas and we were there to install it. After an initial look it was evident that it was going to take a bit of creative thinking and fabrication to the current opening to make it all work. A visit to Home Depot, some more trim, nails and a bit of custom sawing the guys were able to set the window in its appointed place. It looks just like it was meant to be there. Scott was very pleased and is all excited to add some new paint color to the wall as a room accent. A great lunch followed: margaritas, fantasico guacamole and yummy Mexican meals.
Monday morning we headed back into Atlanta and visited their incredible Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the U.S. This was a wonderful place to see. We were so impressed with their displays, tanks and the incredible number of fish. We had to laugh at some of the little visitors that were there from a local school, such enthusiasm!!! Our favorite were the tropical tanks hundreds of fish, sharks, rays and the 3 whale sharks, they are HUGE!! It was fun watching them swim around us in the tunnel, and in the very large tanks that were on either side. We remembered our adventure in Australia swimming with some of their cousins. This was a much better view than we had gotten there. I could be tempted to try scuba diving again, in that tank, one would never see so much in the wild. Across the plaza from the aquarium was the World of Coke, this was an interesting display of the popular soft drink, a lot antique memorabilia, commercials from around the world and a very entertaining 4-D movie – What Makes Coke a Coke? Complete with “Disney-like” experiences: rocking seats, spritzes of water, puffs of air and a poke in the back that simulated a sting.
We had Scott over to our camp site for dinner on Monday night. The guys roasted a pork loin roast over a campfire with the help a “couple” of beers. It turned out great, so whatever the system was, it worked. We enjoyed a nice dinner, lots of laughs over Karen’s bourbon jelly. We finished with wom-poms for dessert with grand Marnier strawberries--- YUM!
Tuesday morning the Safari MoHo went in and had an oil change/lube at the Cummins Dealer we had visited on our last x-country adventure. All was well and we were on the road and into Selma AL that evening.