Atlanta

This past week I had the chance to spend the week in Atlanta, Georgia with my cousin Kendra and her three kids. Her husband wasn't able to go and they graciously invited me to go along in his place. While I was no substitute for dad, I enjoyed the chance to tag along for a great trip. We visited the zoo, Stone Mountain, and hung out with even more cousins.


The Atlanta zoo is one of only 4 zoos in the US to have Pandas. They are actually only on lease from China for 1.1 million dollars a year. Even a baby Panda born in the US is still property of the Chinese.





Stone Mountain is the world's largest mountain made completely of stone. We took the Skyride to the top since it was 100 degrees out but I did walk the mile back down. You could see miles from the top except that I didn't really know what I was looking at. It has a stone carving of Stonewall Jackson and two other people that I don't remember. Sorry history people. The other neat thing about the park was what they called the SkyHike. You were put in a harness and then hooked up to a beam to traverse a course of tight ropes, balance beams, and ropes and wood combos all 24, 36, and 44 feet off the ground. Two of the kids and I did the first two levels and then I went on up to the third. It was a lot of fun and I would highly recommend it for anyone who isn't afraid of heights. No pictures because we couldn't have cameras on the course but Kendra took some from the ground that may end up on Facebook or the blog sometime in the future. At the end of the day, we saw a laser show on the side of the mountain. It was amazing how they blended music, lasers, and fireworks for a great show and way to end the evening. Again, highly recommended.



Big thanks to Kendra for inviting me to go along and the kids for being such great travelers. Now it's time to relax for a few days and begin the packing and moving process. I figure if I start now it will be less work later. We'll see how motivated I get in the next 4 days.