November 8, 2010 - Monday

     We knew it would take about an hour and twenty minutes to get to Patty and Bill’s house in Lawrenceville, GA. But I was a little nervous about the directions – go South then go back North to go south! Not Kidding!
     We made it at about 10:02 with only 1 u-turn and then we drove past the house when we realized the house numbers were going up by 10’s not by 2’s.
     Lots of hugs and then time to check out the clean bathroom. (Really it was just the coffee had kicked in and I had to go!) Bill came up from his office downstairs. Patty and I left Bill and Sam to talk while she gave me a tour of the house and yard. Very nice with a nice cozy feel.

Lee is in the center

     After the tour Patty, Sam and I left for Stone Mountain. Patty drove and after we told her of our u-turn, she explained that’s how they learned to drive in GA – lots of u-turns. She likened it to someone dumping out a bowl of spaghetti – AND it is so true!

"What caught their eye?"
Patty and Sam on top of Stone Mountain

     We walked up to the area in front of the mountain where the stone relief is carved. It’s like an optical illusion. It just doesn’t seem that big – but then when you start reading the statistics you are shocked! A sit down meal was served on Lee’s shoulder for 18 people. The carving is 47 feet deep at that point. I’m not sure but I think I might have wanted a seat belt on my chair. The carving is taller than the Statue of Liberty!
     Even though Patty is a bit afraid of heights she braved the tram and rode to the top with Sam and me. Once at the top there is a building with a small gift shop, a snack bar and lots of pictures with information on them. There is an area on the side of the mountain that a Yellow Daisy Festival is held each year. There are also plants growing around the area that are endangered. (Patty told me about an endangered trillium that grows in her back yard that smells like rotten meat when it blooms. I think I understand why people got rid of them whenever they could!)

Maybe it was this - View from the top!
Atlanta Skyline

     The top of Stone Mountain is incredible and you can see views for miles and miles! After we went inside we sat at a table in the snack bar and talked. At some point Sam decided to go ahead and look around some more. Patty and I just kept talking! We finally realized he had been gone for awhile and we decided to head on down the tram and go to the museum. We caught up with him for a few minutes at the museum – he was finishing as we began. After Patty and I viewed everything in the museum we caught up with Sam, who was outside reading his book.

Yellow Daisy

     We then did the 5 mile drive around the mountain. Patty recalled when they first moved to the area taking the kids and going for a Sunday afternoon drive around the mountain – they did it only once – way too much traffic and too slow! We then went for lunch at Zaxby’s. It’s a fast food chicken restaurant – we all had chicken strips served with a slice of texas toast. Sam and I had the Zaxby sauce – a little spicy. After eating and more talking we went back to Patty’s house. We were trying to get there as close as possible to Mary and her five kids getting there.
     They weren’t there yet so we went back out to Barnes & Noble. Sam had mentioned to Patty that he had been looking for one to get the latest book in The Wheel of Time series. We went back to the house and shortly after that Mary came over. Then Michael & Kimberly and their 2 daughters and then Daniel all came over. Bill went to pick up pizza. It was a nice noisy time – just like home. Sam and I left about 7 or so – we still had about 1 ½ hour drive to find our way back to the RV. Patty gave us route with fewer turns and we made it back without any problems.
     It had been a nice day but we were both tired so sleep came early.

Sisters at Zaxby's