Stone Mountain, Georgia
Camping, Hiking, An American Girl Doll, and Ingredients From Around The World
Our drive to Stone Mountain, Georgia was slated to be the longest leg of our trip before reaching our destination in North Carolina. Even with our efforts to reach Stone Mountain in the early afternoon, The Unmistakable Family and I didn’t arrive until later in the evening. Partly due to our late departure from Jacksonville, Florida and our choice to take the more desirable scenic route through Georgia.
After we set up the camper and my tent, the adults wished Lily sweet dreams and then took our positions once again around a picnic table to share a beer and plan our next day.
The next morning, as I stepped out of my tent, I found that the picnic table had been transformed into a lake-front office space. Joel, the early bird of the flock, arranged one of the most tranquil work environments I’ve ever had the pleasure to work in.
Lily’s hack school lesson plan for the day was to hike to the summit of Stone Mountain with Nicole to the observation deck to study information about the wildlife and plants that grew in the area and on the mountain.
Towards the end of Joel’s and my workday, the girls were completing their hike and bringing back lunch to the campsite. Nicole let us know she moved our campsite to one with a better view of the mountain. Before their return, Joel and I packed things up and moved everything to our new campsite.
As beautiful as the view was that morning, this view was even better.
Upon the girls return, we all shared a wrap, salad and fruit bowls before leaving for what was going to be the most exciting part of the trip for Lily, visiting the American Girl doll store.
The store was about 45 minutes away from our campsite in Atlanta and we couldn't have gotten there quick enough. Lily’s happiness and excitement was so apparent that Nicole mentioned later that night that HER favorite part of the day was to see here like that.
We arrived at the American Girl doll store and Lily was in her element. By time I caught up with them, after having to run back to my car, she had already had the exact doll and two outfits picked out. She was off to grab accessories and topped it off with an ear piercing.
As Lily's anticipations slowly became a reality, the adults reality of being in a mall environment grew into the anticipation of leaving. One American Girl Doll, three outfits, one sleeping bag, 16 earrings, and an ear piercing appointment later, Lily had traded all the money she had saved up for a new, very accessorized friend, Isabel.
As we were leaving, Joel suggested we stop by 5 Seasons Brewery for a snack and a craft brew since we were already in the area. This was the adults payoff for making a 9-year-old’s day.
Being a brew pub, 5 Seasons Brewery offer a variety of beer from their Cloud Nine Barley Wine to their Espresso Black Hole Stout along with food ranging from bratwurst to Coca-Cola cured duck breast.
Lily ordered from the kids menu while the adults enjoyed Calamari and Onion Rings.
With just enough of a snack to get us back to Stone Mountain we stopped at an Ingles next to the state park to pick up ingredients for dinner. (For those of you from Florida, Ingles is similar to Publix)
The priority of dinner was quickly shadowed after the scene was set of a fire with an awesome view of the mountain in the back drop. With Lily in bed, the adults spent the rest of our night enjoying the fire and the peacefulness around us.
In our conversations around the fire the night before, we all agreed that the next day would not be dedicated to work, but rather spent climbing Stone Mountain together. We spent the morning packing up home and making our way towards the trail head leading up the mountain.
The journey consists of a 1-mile trek to the summit 1,686 feet above sea level. Aside from the gorgeous views lands surrounding the mountain stretching from Downtown Atalanta to Northern Georgia Mountains, an interesting spectacle on the trail was the “gum poles” about half way to the top. Over the years, hikers would stop at these two poles and stick their gum on it. There was gum littered from the bottom of the pole to about 10-feet up, and about half-an-inch thick in some places. Grotesque, but kind of cool in a way. Each piece of gum connecting itself to a prior hikers piece, seemingly connecting the experiences of everyone who passed.
To read more about the walk-up trail and encounter a first hand experience by Bryan Feldmans, click here.
When we reached the summit, we spent about an hour roaming from one side of the mountain the other, taking in as much of our surroundings as possible.
One of the main draws to Stone Mountain is the Confederate Memorial Carving. Carved into the side of the mountain is Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson.
I had yet to see them, so I decided to take the Summit Skyride to the base since it passes right by the memorial. Lily joined me, but for different reasons, including but not limited to her not wanting to hike back down the mountain.
Joel and Nicole hiked back down, both for difference reasons than they wanted, including but not limited to finding a water bottle that had been left behind during the hike up.
Awaiting us at the end of the skyride was a museum encompassing the history of the mountain and the surrounding park; A perfect impromptu hack school lesson for Lily. We saw a museum worker and inquired about the origins of the statues. He explained a lot of different things, one of the most interesting being that it took three different engineers over 50 years to complete it. The first engineer being the same man who made Mount Rushmore a reality.
Joel and Nicole met up with Lily and I to complete our stay at Stone Mountain. Our next stop was Franklin, North Carolina at The Unmistakable home base and where I would be staying for the next two weeks.
Before leaving the Atlanta area, we stopped at the adults equivalent of the American Girl doll store, Your Dekalb Farmers Market for lunch and to stock up on ingredients from across the globe.
Inside the famers market sat a buffet offering a variety of food made in-house using ingredients found throughout the store. There was everything from asian-style roasted pork to tabouli to butternut squash lasagna to as many fresh fruits and vegetables as you could think of. As good as $5.99/lb. of food sounds, the prices added up quick.
Once our bellies were full, it was time to split up and conquer our shopping lists. The girls focused on produce and the boys on dry ingredients. We reunited at their meat section which offered live seafood and hand-butchered meats. Then we visited the gourmet cheeses and artisan baked breads, teas, sugars, and spices.
They had everything for anybody.
All-in-all, the Atlanta area had something to satisfy everyone in our brigade. Lily got her doll, the adults got exotic ingredients and we all got to enjoy the outdoors.
