Summer Road Trip 2010 - Day 6

Images like these with moss covering the trees will always remind me of the south more specifically Georgia. This was one of only two stops where we stayed more than one night.



Our first adventure for the day was heading to St. Simons Lighthouse. It is on Simons Island which is one of the many barrier islands for Georgia. I believe this was a first time for all of our family to go in a light house.



Yes, kids that is 129 spiral steps up to the top and we are going! The other thing this picture shows is just how thick the base of the wall is to the lighthouse.


Every one of those steps were worth it. If you look closely you can see THREE dolphin dorsal fins in this picture. I have never seen so many dolphins in the wild in my life. What an experience.


After we made it back down to the ground the kids had started climbing and inspecting a cannon. Wait a cannon, boy get your head out of there. I am sure his sister would have shot it off if she could.


Next we found these stairs that lead strait into the Atlantic ocean. Why I am not sure but this was our first chance to get our toes wet in the ocean on our trip. We probably had a little too much fun on these stairs.



For our next stop we headed over to Jekyll Island which was pretty close to Simons. There we visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Rescue. What a treat! The little turtle below was named Amy and she was just begging to be photographed. She was in the educational side of the building. This is also where they have a treatment room with a glass wall so you can watch as they give medical care to the rescued sea turtles.


Just so you don't think they only help the little ones this next picture is of Erika and she was huge! She was being kept in the medical side. The Rescue's main goal is to get these sea turtles healthy and then release them back in the wild.


Our next stop was still on Jekyll Island and it was mainly for the kids. We stopped at a water park called Summer Waves. It was your typical water park with kiddie area, slides, lazy river, wave pool and what not. The best part for mom and dad was that after 3pm it was only about $10 each to get in. The kids had a great time even though my daughter is now swearing off on ever getting on a water slide again. We will see about that.

Next, BEACH! Given that we were already on an island we didn't have to go far to find one. I just loved the board walk path here. So pretty.


This was the first time my kids had been to the ocean in 6 years. I know they have been in wave pools but that really doesn't compare.





Of course they played in the sand as well. My son couldn't wait to try and start building a sand castle. He is going into middle school and he still can play like a kid. That makes this momma happy.



After our long and stressful (not) day we headed back to our hotel. The kids got one last treat, Dip n Dots. I think that finished it for them they were in paradise!

Summer Road Trip 2010 - Day 5

We started day 5 by heading into South Carolina. The main goal here was to grab a couple of caches so that I can say "Been there done that." Then we headed back to Savannah, Georgia.

Our next stop I could hardly contain myself. Does the saying "everything is better with butter" give you a hint. We went to Paula Deen's Lady and Son's restaurant. Hehe I felt like a kid in the candy store. We made it in time for their lunch seating. We were there by 11:15 and we were not able to be seated until 2:30! They don't take reservations until you show up to get your name on the list. That was a long wait but oh so worth it.


We spent our 3 hours of waiting walking around historic Savannah. Playing the role of tourist.






We walked along the boardwalk on the cobblestone road. Let me tell you I have a new respect for our earlier ancestors. I was in somewhat comfy shoes and I had difficulty. I can only imagine back in the day when this was a "good" road. I had to watch every step for fear of twisting my ankle.

Let me tell you for this girl the 3 hour wait was so worth it. When we were seated we were taken to the third floor of the restaurant. Oh my, I have never been to a restaurant that serves on three floors before. Each place setting had a large doily. How fun.


We were handed menus so that a decision could be made. It didn't take long to figure out that we couldn't decide on just one item each. Paula was already prepared for that. They also have a buffet. I really was wanting to order off the menu but when I looked at the buffet they had several of the things that we were wanting to try. So we all ended up with the buffet. I can now say that I have had the BEST mashed potatoes in this universe! They were to die for. Now normally I am not a big macaroni and cheese fan but let me tell you. I could live on her macaroni and cheese. The funny part about this is on my first time through the line I only got about one or two bites of each of these because I wanted to try some of everything. Then on my second plate it was all mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese, baby. I was in heaven looking at the pearly gates.


When you order the buffet it also comes with one dessert. We had three to choose from.

Three of us chose the Chocolate Gooey Butter Cakes and one chose the banana pudding. My thoughts how can you eat at Paula Deen's and not have something with the word gooey in it. Guess which one I had. They were both yummy. We even had a window that we could look out next to our table and this was the view.


Now normally I wouldn't include this and my family is making fun of me about the following picture. Just let me explain. I choose to believe that Paula must have had her hand even on the design of the bathrooms.

A couple of things to notice. One there is a rug by the toilet. Have you ever seen one in a public bathroom before. Two the toilet paper is on its own little stand. Do you hear the angels singing. I have personally come to the conclusion that men don't get it and that they are the ones that install those industrial monster size toilet paper dispensers. I am sorry but when one of those is installed at the same level as the toilet and you are in a cramped stall a lady just can not take care of business properly. So along with everything else that I adored about this restaurant the bathroom gets EXTRA star ratings from this gal. Thank you Paula.

Summer Road Trip 2010 - Day 4

Day 4 of our vacation started out extremely early. I think we all woke up about 4am and decided to just get the day going. We managed to find the worst hotel of our entire trip and I don't think any of us rested well. I guess when you travel that is the chance you take. Anyway the day started by us making our way to Georgia. As I said we started the day early so the sun was just starting to come out and this is the best we could get from the Welcome to Georgia Center. What says Georgia more than a big giant neon peach.


We visited "The World of Coke" at the Olympic Park in Atlanta. This was such a fun stop. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. They did this place right. If you can just imagine a Disney experience done by Coke you probably can imagine this. The staff are just as bubbly and friendly as at Disney but they are excited about Coke. This took a bit for me to get used to. We really did have a good time.

We were lucky enough to get in on one of the last few days of the FIFA World Cup display. I had no idea there was a FIFA mascot but of course there was and of course we were able to purchase the cheesy picture taken with said mascot. That is a picture that will stay in the sanctity of our home.




There was more Coke memorabilia than you could shake a stick at. I guess the hubby got a new girlfriend while we were there.


They had all of these large Coke bottles decorated. They were gorgeous! I guess they do these all the time for special occasions and what not. The amount of detailing in some of them was just breath taking.

They had more to offer and see. There was a movie room where you sit in what appear to be regular movie theater seats but these are like the ones that rival any theme park. They move and vibrate and mist you through out the ride/movie. There was another theater that was showing past Coke commercials as well as ones from other countries. They had an art gallery as well. There is also a small working botteling facility where you are guided through the entire process. I can honestly say that I have been schooled at The World of Coke.

The best and probably favorite part of the experience is the sampling room. They have I guess about 8 different stations with soda fountain dispensers containing Coke products from all around the world. Of course they offer our normal American Coke options but what fun is that when you can sample as many or as few as much or as little as you want of the foreign varieties.. Some were definitely not my thing but then there were these which were a few of my favorites.



I think I may have drank more soda that day than in the last six months combined. Several restroom stops later we made our way to another hotel for the night. Where we had some much needed rest in a nice clean, quiet and safer hotel.

Summer Road Trip 2010 - Day 3

This was a good day from the start. It started with our very own Elvis sighting. Yes, folks the worlds wonder can now be resolved Elvis is alive and well and he was delivering muffins and other yummies to our hotel that we had just checked out of. Some things in life are just to rich to not include on your vacation memories.



Next we were headed back to Tennessee. On this leg of the trip is where we noticed how the agriculture had changed. Back in Oklahoma it is the waving wheat but we noticed here it is the corn. We saw farm after farm after farm of corn fields. We also saw them spraying the fields from air planes. I was to busy watching and forgot to get a picture of that. Evidently these fields needed the spray too. I think this was about my 6th attempt at the above photo. In every one someone is slapping or jumping at or from a bug.


Our next stop was one of my favorites from our entire trip. We stopped at Falls Mill in Belvidere, TN. Let me just say if you are ever any where near here it is a must stop and see. This is a working grain mill and museum. The museum by no means done up fancy like the city ones but is more like a family has taken the time to preserve history and make it a learning experience for those who want to know. When we first arrived we were greeted by a really nice lady. We paid only $12 for admission and the tour. We were seated to watch a brief little video of history about the mill. Then we were briefly shown around the mill and left to our own devices. As you walk through the mill there are wheels and straps moving just about everywhere. I believe we were told that the wheel provides all of the electricity for the mill. Once again I was to busy watching to take enough pictures. I missed getting one of the grinding stones. On this day they were making corn meal and grits. They also grind wheat on other days. I was just as fascinated as the kids on this one. The operator took as much time as you wanted to explain and show you the process, incredible. Of course they sell there product in their small gift shop and of course we bought some. Once again it seemed very affordable for a souvenir. They use no preservatives at all and all of it is ground fresh there on site.


Obviously this is at the top of the wheel. We were amazed that the gate that was open to let the water run was only lifted an inch or two and it was enough water to make that huge wheel turn.




This to me was one of the most unique machines they had there. It was a butter churn but not just your normal one. One operated by the family dog! On the right is a treadmill for your canine to walk on. Then as your dog walked it the wheels and pulleys would shake the churning part (the part that makes the butter) of the machine. How ingenious is that! I think the guide said at the time this could even have been ordered from the Sears catalog.


As you can probably imagine while getting to the mill we traveled through a lot of back country roads to get there. This picture was taken at a building that nature is in the process of reclaiming. We just thought it was special.

Summer Road Trip 2010 - Day 2

We started off day two of our journey grabbing a special geocache in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. GC26ERF for my geocaching friends.

While wondering through this quaint town we found this pharmacy. I could not resist making a photo opp out of it. I loved the old sign and the name of the store was perfect for the subject.


While wondering through Arkansas we stumbled across this sign. Hubby and I were laughing so hard we just had to make a U turn for the pic. Wouldn't you just hate to have been Herman. Nothing like getting to explain adolescent humor to your kids.


Next we crossed our first state line for the day. We made it to Memphis, TN. That is hubby and I on the Memphis side of the Mississippi River with the bridge that shows the state line in the background.


I loved this mosaic egg in front of the visitor's center.


You can not mention Memphis and not think Elvis. This wasn't our last time to see Elvis on this trip. I know she is doing a disco move but hey it was before her time and she was having fun.

Next we crossed another state line. Can you guess where we went? It made this boy pretty happy.


We went to Kentucky! And the crowd roared! This was one of my son's wishes for his summer vacation. He wanted KFC in Kentucky. Given our planned route this was a pretty easy wish to grant. After all I can only hope that his future wishes are so easy to acquire.




Don't let that expression fool you. He was happy to be there.



We went ahead and spent the night there in Kentucky. This was a day where we spent a lot of time driving in the car. We wanted to make sure that the long days of driving were at the beginning of our trip so that we could really enjoy the rest.