Even though I didn't start actually packing until 3 days before our for-sure-leave-date, this was quite possibly the most prepared we have been since our very first trip 5 years ago! After going back and forth and back and forth trying to figure out if we should get out of town early before Alberto hit, we finally decided to wait until our planned date. As per our tradition, we met Grandpa at Bagelheads for breakfast to say our goodbyes and so I didn't have to cook!
We were on the road by 7:30am and headed to our next first day tradition - Priesler's Pecans in Ft. Deposit. The kids had been anxiously waiting to read their new books on their Kindles and listen to their newly downloaded music so I had a quiet first few hours of driving. They weren't too happy when I said they couldn't have the travel candy Dave had bought them until I mentioned we'd be stopping at the jelly bean place.
Unfortunately, the kids have been ruined by Bean Boozled. Ever year we'd driven this route we stopped at this same place to pick up a 1/4 pound scoop of jelly beans for everyone to gorge and share. Just the site of chocolate pudding, juicy pear, and strawberry banana smoothie jelly beans had all three of them holding their stomachs with memories of eating dog food, boogers, and dead fish instead. They decided instead to get candy legos and gummy worms.
Once we hopped back on the interstate I realized I'd forgotten to top off my gas tank with the always-cheaper Alabama fuel so we found a stop with a Redbox machine as well to grab a movie. With this being our first day it was our longest drive so it was a good time to grab The Greatest Showman and sing loud as we logged the miles.
The drive was beautiful most of the day until we made it just north of Atlanta. There were dark clouds everywhere and we were slowed with heavy rain about every 30 minutes. I was just hoping we were driving through what had already past our campground!
After a 45-minute winding drive up and around the mountain we finally made it to our campground and got to work setting up. I'd checked the forecast at the registration desk so I knew there would be rain for about the next 36 hours so we decided to all stay together in one tent. I'm a little gun-shy when I know rain is coming after the windy downpour in the middle of the night last year when we ended up in Grammie's RV!
When we pulled into our site we noticed a group of 4 guys having a little trouble setting up their tent next door. They were giving us quite the stink eye once we were all set up and ready for the night!
We took a walk down to the lake to check out the area then cooked a quick dinner. Our neighbor's companions showed up with what looked like enough supplies for a week of partying. This was going to be a long two nights!
We'd picked up some firewood and the kids requested some marshmallows so we ran back up to the trading post to grab some but they were already closed. On our way back to the campsite I missed the turn and we ended up near the trails I had on our list for the next day. With all the rain coming we decided to hop out and go ahead check them out.
Brayden spotted a bird having fun in the wind currents!
Next stop was the once operational fire tower that had recently been restored as a historic building. We talked all about how parks treat fires differently these days and the kids remembered a lot of what they'd learned in Yellowstone and Glacier the year before where fires were active around us. Notice the heart-shaped rock a little above the windows!
On our way back down we visited the stone wall archaeological site. There were a bunch of legends and stories about the purpose of the walls from astronomy to protection. The kids enjoyed thinking about standing in a place where people once built and stood a thousand or more years ago. We often seem to stumble on this wonderful historic places!
The first inning Ryan and Brayden had a little trouble fielding and we scored 3 runs then struck out Brayden twice keeping them to only 1 run. The next inning I hit one of Brayden's meatballs across the road for another run. The third inning they held us and popped out for a so-far score of 4-1. Brayden finally got in his groove to hit the furthest home run.
Once we got back to our site I noticed the beautiful glow before dusk by the lake so we all took a short walk over to see if we could see anything. We saw some giant snails along the way and hung out by the water for a little while before heading back.
After one long day we all brushed our teeth and retired to the tent for a game of Trouble and reading. We are finally wrapping up our last chapters of Nanny Piggins! By the time we finished the lullaby of rain started on the tent roof. Our neighbors were full of gusto so we laid there trying to sleep through their arguments and drama around the campfire. Once it started steadily raining their campfire was squashed so they left for a dry spot somewhere. I was only hoping I could get some sleep before they returned!
