wheelsonfire1: Kennesaw and Stone Mountain

Wednesday April 15
We left Sam and Suzie's home and drove south taking the back route to Atlanta to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. We had lunch in the parking lot and then toured the museum. We got our stamp for the National Parks Passport and then headed across town to Stone Mountain.
I've driven in and around Atlanta six times in my short life and every time the traffic was awful but today, it was worse. Made even more fun by pulling a trailer and we were near evening rush hour. What should have been a graceful 38 minute drive took us two hours. I felt like I had run a marathon when we finally made it Stone Mountain Campground.

Our campsite! It was packed gravel and sand. The bathroom was nice with large handicap stalls and showers.


Out the back we could see the lake.

Thursday we got a late start, seems to be the norm on the trip. Its nice to sleep late and Patrick is catching up on the sleep his was missing out on at the house. We drove around to the Mountain and took the tram to the top.

From the Stone Mountain website

Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson

Pan sideways to see the panorama shot

Yes, I am wearing hat, coat and gloves! It was cold and rainy and it was very windy! Patrick sprinted across the rocks like a gazelle and freaked out his mother. There was a fence so he wasn't going to fall that far.
We went down to the bottom and went to the small museum about the building of the monument and the history around Stone Mountain.

Seems like yesterday Patrick wasn't taller than Becky and then he was a foot taller.

Becky's maiden name is Ansley and so we needed a picture of this cool handgun made by an Ansley

A famous photo spot during the carving of the monument was in the Jefferson Davis' horse's mouth. Patrick sits in a Styrofoam replica.

PHOTOBOMBED!

After our time at the largest chunk of granite in Georgia, we went back to the camper, had a late lunch and then drove into Atlanta. When I was in the Navy and was sent to Bahrain, we used to go to what is now the Ritz Carlton Bahrain and eat steaks at The Ranch and then go to Trader Vic's for after dinner drinks. Many times all the personnel from the detachment would be there and things would get rather festive!
Trader Vic's has restaurants all over the world and there is one in Atlanta. I have been to this one and I wanted to take Becky and Patrick. Partly because I am partial to a drink that they have called the "Gun Club Punch."