Days 38 – 43 Summer Adventure 2018

14 Jul

July 8-14, 2018

We left Frankenmuth, MI on July 8 and began our journey to the southeast.  We made stops along the way in Wapakoneta, OH, Mt. Vernon, KY, and Chattanooga, TN.  We had reservations at the Stone Mountain Campground in Georgia’s Stone Mountain Park for 3 nights.

 

Stone Mountain Park, near Atlanta, GA,  is home to the world’s largest peak of exposed granite.  It’s an 825 foot tall dome-shaped quartz monzonite monadnock ( we learned that on our train ride around the dome). A Confederate Memorial Carving is etched into the rock’s side.  The carving depicts the Civil war generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee, and President Jefferson Davis. 

Once we were checked in the Stone Mountain Campground and drove to our assigned RV site, we were anxious to see “the rock”.  Following the park map, we drove over to the Memorial Hall and Skyride area and walked to the viewing area in front of the large dome rock. The viewing area was a large, sloped, lawn directly in front of the dome rock and carving.  This was the same viewing area used for the nightly laser show.   There were already groups of people scattered around the lawn at 4PM saving their spots for the laser show. 

We drove around the park to acquaint ourselves with the sights and activities.  We were surprised to find that the park was not crowded.  We were also surprised to find that there wasn’t much to do in the park.  

At 9:00 PM we returned to the lawn area for the laser show.  Surprisingly, the lawn was very crowded with families and children…all sporting their glow lights! 

(click on photo to start slideshow)

This year was the 35th anniversary of the laser show.  The show might be old and popular, but, it was not at all what we expected.  We thought that the projections on the mountain would be historical and about the civil war.  Instead, they used laser projections to show how GA was shaped from its history.  At least that’s what I think they were trying to show.  The laser lights and images were amazing, but, just not what we expected.  There were a couple of patriotic parts and I can only assume that they were part of the original productions.  Needless to say, the kids loved the loud music and lights!

On our second day at the park, we rode the Summit Skyride cable car to the rock’s peak.  Shortly, after arriving at the top, it began to rain.  With the rain and wind, we had to take shelter under a nearby covered walkway.  When the rain didn’t stop, we decided to take the tram back down to the bottom.  Lucky for us, we had our own private ride down the mountain.  Just the two of us!  We had a great view of the Confederate Memorial Carving!  Soon after exiting the tram,  the rain stopped and the sun came out.  The only problem…rain + heat + humidity = miserable!  It was too muggy to walk around, so, we returned to the RV.

The third day, in Stone Mountain, was cloudy and hot.  The two things that we wanted to do was to visit the Historic Square and to ride the train.  Our first stop was the Historic Square. It was a collection of original buildings from around the state of Georgia, built between 1792 and 1875.  Each building was moved from its original location and restored at Stone Mountain park.  We began our walking tour at the General Store and followed the path to the different buildings.   Among the buildings were several houses, slave cabins, smokehouse, bride’s cottage, and schoolhouse. It was very interesting!  We toured a couple of houses that were very large! 

(click on photo to start slideshow)

The train was next on our agenda.  We could hear the train whistle, but, we couldn’t find the train.  Finally, we found the train station in another section of the park that we had not seen.  So, that’s where all the people were!  We found lots of people and more venues:  miniature golf, the dinosaur attraction, rope climbing, and of course eating!  We made it to the train three minutes before departure.  The train moved slowly around the large dome rock.  It stopped at one point to play a silly game designed for audience participation.  The highlight of the ride was when the train passed in front of the large confederate carving on the rock!. 

(click on photo to start slideshow)

During our stay at the campground, we met our camping neighbors and enjoyed talking with them.  They had very interesting careers working as movie special effects technicians and worked on some big movies and with some well-known stars.  They told some great stories!

At the end of our stay at Stone Mountain, I would say that we were a little disappointed in Stone Mountain Park.  It just seemed like something missing.  It definitely needed a little more excitement!  However, we came to see the Confederate Carving and we had three awesome opportunities to accomplish our goal.  

Next, we are on to Richmond Hill to visit the Miritello Family.  We can’t wait to see the 3 adorable grandchildren!