Today we took it easy and relaxed some. When we got hungry we decided to go out the Sunflower Restaurant – a Chinese Buffet. It was really good and cheap! $5.99 a person.
After eating we went to Wal-Mart to pick up stain and sandpaper. Our plan was to finish the TV cabinet and the crown molding that David had built in the RV. We also picked up a few other supplies and then headed back to the RV.
We did more of what we are getting good at – just relaxing!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
November 11, 2010 - Thursday Happy Veterans Day
We planned to leave for Atlanta about 8:30 am so we would miss the rush hour traffic. Our plan worked really well – there wasn’t too much traffic and we could use the HOV lanes. (In Georgia HOV are 2 people in the vehicle!) We followed the signs to the Aquarium without any problems. We had read on line that parking was $10. So when we saw the parking garage at he hotel across the street from the Aquarium for All Day parking for $5. we took it. The walk to the Aquarium was a block but we got a parking spot right next to the elevator.
We rode the elevator with a young couple and their 2 year old son. It ended up that they were from Towson. She attended Towson University and had been VP of NASA. She knew Scott Zoltak’s name but she was there right after he left. Small World!
We got our tickets at a kiosk and went straight into the Aquarium – didn’t have to wait in line! The Aquarium is set up really interestingly. There is a section of Georgia Waterways and fish native to here. (Also some that have become invasive and are destroying some of the habitats. Mostly ones that were brought for home aquariums and then when the fish got too big are dumped into the lakes and streams.
Then there are other places where fish live – there is a river area that you walk thru. There are exhibits on each side of you and even some right over your head so you can see what the life that lives on the bottom of rivers.
One of my favorites was the area with 2 Beluga Whales. The area we were in was dark and had classical music playing. It was as if the whales were performing and underwater waltz. So peaceful and calming. They should record it so people could play it and watch just to lower their blood pressure.
There was this funny place with penguins. Not only were they funny but there were tubes that kids and people with better knees than mine could crawl thru. Then along the tunnel were places with clear plastic bubbles you could stick your head up and be in the middle of the penguins. I don’t know which was funnier the look on the penguins or the look on the human “floating” heads!
We then ate a quick snack – I had a hamburger and Sam ate a hot dog – no fish meals here!
Then it was time to go to the exhibit that was one of the main reasons we were here – the walk thru aquarium tank. There are more than 8 million gallons of water in the entire Atlantic Aquarium. AND more than 6 million gallons are in this one exhibit! Amazing doesn’t even begin to cover the feelings. It is even bigger than I thought! You stand there and hundreds, maybe 1000’s, of fish are swimming on each side of you and over your head. Whales Sharks – 4 huge ones, Black Tip Sharks, Manta Rays, Grouper – just to name a few. You keep going around and different views and angles, caves, ceiling circles – all kinds of effects.
Then you walk into a huge darkened room where there are benches – like stadium seating. One wall – maybe 40 feet high and 150 feet long – floor to ceiling was the tank wall. Made from Plexiglas 2 feet thick! You could sit and become mesmerized by the beauty, size and grace of the fish. There were 2 divers in the tank and a Manta Ray was playing in the bubbles – curving, flipping, and sailing thru the bubbles. It was easy to tell it was doing it just for the fun. We were told that all these fish could live together without eating each other is because they are all fed.
After we left that area we still had smaller exhibits to see. The Asian Seas had so many small fish but there were fish of every color of the rainbow – so pretty! Even the kind of angel fish that Monique had to make a report on when she was in the 5th grade!
There was a whole section on different jellyfish! What a great trip – I even touched a ray and a shark!
I went ahead and took the tour. Kind of cool – kind of hokey. When you walked in in you had to stand and wait for the next tour to begin. The area was full of huge decorated Coke bottle – my favorite was a beaded one! The first room was full of memorabilia from all over the world. Then the next room was a theater where a commercial was shown. Then you could go to a small bottling line – it is the smallest and slowest in the world! No really it is!
Then onto another room of memorabilia. Then into a 3-D theater. We were shown a film about people trying to figure out the recipe for Coke. The seats were rigged so they shook – wind blew in your face – you were sprinkled with water and the seat punched you in the back. Very weird – but interesting. They did have seats in the back that didn’t move. But my favorite part? The tasting room! 60 flavors of soda from all over the world! It was all self serve – you could taste any and as many as you wanted. I really liked Bitter Lemon from England. It was also great to taste coke, diet coke and coke zero! As I left Coke World I was give a 7 oz. souvenir bottle of Coke. The kind that was made in the tiny bottling room!
When I exited the building into Pemerton Park, named, by the way, after the man that invented Coke a Cola, I was in a totally different area than were I entered the building. After finding my way back I had to find Sam. He was on the other side of the park where he had found some shade. All day long we kept commenting on how many Ravens fans we saw – lots & lots of dressed in purple.
When we were walking to the Aquarium we walked by the lounge –restaurant, Legal Seafood, in the hotel and decided when we were done we would each there. We ordered our meals. Sam had blackened Trout and I ordered a crab cake with orzo. While we were waiting we found out there was going to be a football game at the stadium and the Ravens were playing. Oh, now I get it!
Sam’s food came and he was almost done and I still hadn’t received mine. – the waitress came over and realized I hadn’t gotten my food. After checking she found out they had run out of crab cakes and were making more. Finally after another 15 minutes my food came – it was really good and made better because I had to wait we weren’t charged for my meal.
We pulled out of the parking garage and followed the signs back to 85N and 985N. We must have missed a sign and we ended up in a residential area – and not a very nice one! We just kept heading in the direction we felt would take us where we needed to be – it didn’t help that it was rush hour traffic. But Sam made it back to the interstate and home to the RV.
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| Lion Fish |
We got our tickets at a kiosk and went straight into the Aquarium – didn’t have to wait in line! The Aquarium is set up really interestingly. There is a section of Georgia Waterways and fish native to here. (Also some that have become invasive and are destroying some of the habitats. Mostly ones that were brought for home aquariums and then when the fish got too big are dumped into the lakes and streams.
 |
| Beluga Whales |
One of my favorites was the area with 2 Beluga Whales. The area we were in was dark and had classical music playing. It was as if the whales were performing and underwater waltz. So peaceful and calming. They should record it so people could play it and watch just to lower their blood pressure.
There was this funny place with penguins. Not only were they funny but there were tubes that kids and people with better knees than mine could crawl thru. Then along the tunnel were places with clear plastic bubbles you could stick your head up and be in the middle of the penguins. I don’t know which was funnier the look on the penguins or the look on the human “floating” heads!
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| The Tunnel! |
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| Sam and "Friends" |
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| Just for FUN! |
After we left that area we still had smaller exhibits to see. The Asian Seas had so many small fish but there were fish of every color of the rainbow – so pretty! Even the kind of angel fish that Monique had to make a report on when she was in the 5th grade!
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| Cool Jellyfish |
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| Pemerton Park |
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| World of Coke |
After leaving the Aquarium we headed across the park called Pemerton Park.
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| Beaded Huge Coke Bottle |
We were headed to the World of Coke. After taking our tickets we had to go through the metal detectors. They wouldn’t let Sam in because he has the knife as a necklace. Well I guess he could have given them the knife – but he chose not to.
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| Coke used to be bottled by States |
When I exited the building into Pemerton Park, named, by the way, after the man that invented Coke a Cola, I was in a totally different area than were I entered the building. After finding my way back I had to find Sam. He was on the other side of the park where he had found some shade. All day long we kept commenting on how many Ravens fans we saw – lots & lots of dressed in purple.
When we were walking to the Aquarium we walked by the lounge –restaurant, Legal Seafood, in the hotel and decided when we were done we would each there. We ordered our meals. Sam had blackened Trout and I ordered a crab cake with orzo. While we were waiting we found out there was going to be a football game at the stadium and the Ravens were playing. Oh, now I get it!
Sam’s food came and he was almost done and I still hadn’t received mine. – the waitress came over and realized I hadn’t gotten my food. After checking she found out they had run out of crab cakes and were making more. Finally after another 15 minutes my food came – it was really good and made better because I had to wait we weren’t charged for my meal.
We pulled out of the parking garage and followed the signs back to 85N and 985N. We must have missed a sign and we ended up in a residential area – and not a very nice one! We just kept heading in the direction we felt would take us where we needed to be – it didn’t help that it was rush hour traffic. But Sam made it back to the interstate and home to the RV.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
November 10, 2010 - Wednesday
We had finished wrapping gifts and getting two boxes ready to mail back to Edgewood so after eating breakfast we headed on to the Post Office. The woman working in the Post Office was from Severn, MD. She and her family are getting ready to move back there after the first of the year. Tier, the woman we met at Prairie Trails had sent a message about a place that she really likes to visit. She felt that since it was on “Wild Cat Creek” that it would be appropriate for us to visit. We wrote down the directions and headed on out. It was quite a drive – but it was pretty. We turned on to the road and drove down about a mile and then realized we went West when the directions said East. We turned around and found East Wild Cat Creek. You would think it would be right across the highway but this is Georgia and none of the roads seem to be where I think they should be. We drove the entire road – a gravel one lane road that went around a lake with multi-million dollar homes. (One of the real estate books showed one – which we saw – for sale for 10 million dollars.) Beautiful Lake but we never found the waterfalls on the creek that we were looking for. (We talked to Tier later and she had meant to tell us West Wild Cat Creek. Oh well – I guess we weren’t meant to see the falls!)
On the way back we stopped at Old Batesville General Store and Restaurant. We had seen signs saying it was the best restaurant in Batesville. The food was good but really they could have made the claim no matter how the food was. Not only was it the only restaurant in town but it was the only building!
When Sam bought his rifle they gave him directions to a free gun range and we had planned to go there. After not finding the falls and then almost all the way back to the RV we headed to the range. However when we had gone a couple miles we saw a sign that our first turn, of many, was 16 miles down the road we decided just to go back to the RV.
We knew tomorrow would be a lot of driving and walking so we just decided to stay home and relax for the rest of the day.
We knew tomorrow would be a lot of driving and walking so we just decided to stay home and relax for the rest of the day.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
November 9, 2010 - Tuesday
On Sunday one of the TV shows we watched was “Georgia Traveler”. They talked about Dahlonega, the site of the first gold rush in the United States. The Smith House was also talked about on the show. Because of that show we decided that would be the goal for the day.
First we had to stop at the Mountain Gun Shop. Sam had found a rifle for $100. and he decided he wanted to get it. It ended up being a really good deal – it came with bayonet, sling and all kinds of accessories. Because he was a Veteran, Sam got 10% off and 2 boxes of free ammunition. We took the rifle back to the RV before heading to Dahlonega.
It was a very pretty drive to Dahlonega. We found The Smith House just off the square. The Smith House is a hotel and restaurant. One of the interesting things about it is a few years ago when they were remolding, they found a gold mine that one of the previous owners had dug. He wasn’t able to continue the mine because the vein ran into the center of town. The town would not allow digging on his property. So he went as far as he could in secret!
The Georgia Traveler also talked about how good the food was at The Smith House. Everything was served family style. On the table was a jar of squash pickles – good. Made me think of the ones I canned a few years ago. Then the food parade began! Fried Chicken, sliced ham, rice, black eyed peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, greens, creamed corn and that was only what I can remember. It is family style but it was only Sam and I at the table. If you wanted more all you had to do was ask – but we couldn’t finish what we had! Oh and then there was dessert – Strawberry Shortcake – we got one and split it! They were right, the food was good and there was way too much!
There is an area by the restaurant downstairs where you go to the gold mine and can look into the 30ft. hole. There were displays of all the items found at the base of the shaft. And pieces of quartz with gold. Also lots of information on what to look for when hunting gold. We then looked around the gift shop and headed outside. The outside of The Smith House was in the process of being decorated for Christmas. We were greeted by the owner – what a nice guy.
We drove to the town square and started window shopping. The building in the middle of the square used to be the Court House and is now a Gold Mine Museum. There were a lot of interesting shops around the square. There was a jewelry store that specialized in making jewelry from the gold that is found in Dahlonega – very pretty and very delicate.
Sam sat on the bench and smoked his pipe and enjoyed the day as I shopped! One of my favorite places was the General Store. There were lots and lots of rocks of every kind!
One of the things I had discovered was that I had only brought one t shirt. I’m not sure how that happened but I needed more! I had winter shirts and summer tops but I needed some in between shirts. So we headed to the Wal-Mart in Dahlonega. Not very good luck – I found only one shirt on a clearance rack but that was it. (I did get it for $1.00 so that was good.) There was a Cato in the same Shopping Center, so I got four shirts there.
It was late in the afternoon when we decided to head back to Yonah RV Park and to our RV to relax for the night.
First we had to stop at the Mountain Gun Shop. Sam had found a rifle for $100. and he decided he wanted to get it. It ended up being a really good deal – it came with bayonet, sling and all kinds of accessories. Because he was a Veteran, Sam got 10% off and 2 boxes of free ammunition. We took the rifle back to the RV before heading to Dahlonega.
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| The Smith House |
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| Gold Ore |
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| Gold Mine Shaft |
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| Gold Mine Museum |
Sam sat on the bench and smoked his pipe and enjoyed the day as I shopped! One of my favorite places was the General Store. There were lots and lots of rocks of every kind!
One of the things I had discovered was that I had only brought one t shirt. I’m not sure how that happened but I needed more! I had winter shirts and summer tops but I needed some in between shirts. So we headed to the Wal-Mart in Dahlonega. Not very good luck – I found only one shirt on a clearance rack but that was it. (I did get it for $1.00 so that was good.) There was a Cato in the same Shopping Center, so I got four shirts there.
It was late in the afternoon when we decided to head back to Yonah RV Park and to our RV to relax for the night.
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.
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!
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!)
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.
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.
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.
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| Lee is in the center |
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| "What caught their eye?" Patty and Sam on top of Stone Mountain |
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!)
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| Maybe it was this - View from the top! Atlanta Skyline |
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| Yellow Daisy |
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.
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| Sisters at Zaxby's |
November 7, 2010 - Sunday
We slept late. We didn't have too much planned. One of the things I had gotten at Wal-Mart was Christmas wrapping paper and a shipping box.
We watched TV, wrapped Christmas presents and ate whenever we got hungry.
A good down day!
I called Patty about 8:00 pm and told her we would be at her house about 10:00 in the morning. She told me she had stayed home from Church that night to clean her bathroom. I knew she was as nervous as I was about the next day.
AND again when we know we have to get up and get moving early the next day we have a hard time getting to sleep!
We watched TV, wrapped Christmas presents and ate whenever we got hungry.
A good down day!
I called Patty about 8:00 pm and told her we would be at her house about 10:00 in the morning. She told me she had stayed home from Church that night to clean her bathroom. I knew she was as nervous as I was about the next day.
AND again when we know we have to get up and get moving early the next day we have a hard time getting to sleep!
November 6, 2010 - Saturday
Today we needed supplies so we went on the search for Wal-Mart. Sam had looked one up and had put the directions into his phone GPS. I don't know what it is about Georgia but the roads don't make sense to me and apparently not to GPS or Mapquest either. Anyway we followed the GPS and ended up out of town and were told to turn on a "local road - no name" which was a gravel drive to nowhere. Sam ended up calling Wal-Mart and got good directions. We picked up lots of supplies - broom, dustpan, water, boxes - just to name a few. We then headed back to the RV to put everything away.
We had planned on going to Helen to eat a late lunch at Hofer's - Sam wanted Schnitzel. We had made arrangements to skype for Victoria and Dave's birthday party. We decided to leave the RV about 2:00pm. That was a mistake - Helen was packed - it took us more than 1/2 hour just to get to the restaurant once we got to Helen!
One cool thing was they have horse drawn carriages on the weekend! We saw one that looked like a white wire pumpkin and had seats going around the edges for probably 10 people.
The food at Hofer's was good, I had a butcher's platter with a smoked pork chop and 2 different kinds of wieners. One tasted just like a regular hot dog. I really liked the red cabbage - hot but a little sweet. I wasn't crazy about the regular sauerkraut with rye seeds. Sam liked the schnitzel and I agreed, with the one bite I got, it was yummy!
We were worried because of the time so we didn't buy any deli or bakery "stuff" because we didn't want to be late to the birthday party!
Skyping is one of those thing that's amazing because you can do it and view people in real time but also a little creepy for the exact same reason! The picture has to focus on one thing so when there is a lot of movement or a lot of people - like at a birthday party - there is lots of freezing and restarting, freezing and restarting - you get the idea. But with the choice of not "being there" at all it's a good thing.
After the party we just relaxed, I did some beading and we watched TV and movies until it was time for bed.
We had planned on going to Helen to eat a late lunch at Hofer's - Sam wanted Schnitzel. We had made arrangements to skype for Victoria and Dave's birthday party. We decided to leave the RV about 2:00pm. That was a mistake - Helen was packed - it took us more than 1/2 hour just to get to the restaurant once we got to Helen!
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| Part of downtown Helen, GA |
The food at Hofer's was good, I had a butcher's platter with a smoked pork chop and 2 different kinds of wieners. One tasted just like a regular hot dog. I really liked the red cabbage - hot but a little sweet. I wasn't crazy about the regular sauerkraut with rye seeds. Sam liked the schnitzel and I agreed, with the one bite I got, it was yummy!
We were worried because of the time so we didn't buy any deli or bakery "stuff" because we didn't want to be late to the birthday party!
Skyping is one of those thing that's amazing because you can do it and view people in real time but also a little creepy for the exact same reason! The picture has to focus on one thing so when there is a lot of movement or a lot of people - like at a birthday party - there is lots of freezing and restarting, freezing and restarting - you get the idea. But with the choice of not "being there" at all it's a good thing.
After the party we just relaxed, I did some beading and we watched TV and movies until it was time for bed.
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