Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts
Thrifty Travel Fun: Atlanta, GA Read Post

Thrifty Travel Fun: Atlanta, GA

Atlanta is the bustling transportation hub of the Southeastern United States - and if you're passing through, I'd recommend you stick around for a few days to see what the city has to offer! Situated in the rolling green hills at the base of the Appalachian Mountains, the city is ideally located for day trips out into nature, while its metropolitan heart is rich with culture and - you guessed it! - plenty of fun activities for the whole family. 

Photo by hoyasmeg / Flickr

1. Have the kids ever seen a movie under the big night sky? Spend an evening at the Starlight Six Drive-In! Admission is $7 for adults, but kids nine and under are just $1, and every show is a double feature: plenty of silver screen for your buck! You're welcome to bring in your own food (we're all tired of $100 popcorn and soda, right?) so turn your car around and have a picnic in the trunk!

2. Speaking of stars...Atlanta's Fernbank Science Center is home to one of the largest telescopes in the country dedicated to public education and viewing. Stop by on a Thursday or Friday after dark for free public observations (weather permitting, of course - give them a call first). If the kids leave all starry-eyed, check in with the Georgia Tech Observatory - they offer sporadic public observation nights as well.

3. Remember the 1996 Olympics? That was Atlanta! Be sure to pay a visit to the 21-acre Centennial Olympic Park. There's plenty of space to stage your own family olympics (perfect if you've all been cooped up in the car for hours), plus the park features lots of family fun and live events many days out of the week: check the website for schedules. The Fountain of the Rings, the world's largest interactive fountains and one of the most photographed landmarks in Georgia, sits at the center of the park; shows run four times a day, 365 days a year.

Bonus! Atlanta resident Sue Rodman is the genius behind Field Trips with Sue, a fantastic, award-winning blog about things to do with kids in and around Atlanta. Click through for lots more ideas (including events going on during your trip), and check out her book, "100+ Free Things to Do in Atlanta", too.
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8:18 AM No Comments
Okefenoke Swamp, Waycross, Ga. Read Post

Okefenoke Swamp, Waycross, Ga.

One of my favorite books as a child was the National Geographic title, Explore a Spooky Swamp. It told the story of Willie and Isabella who go on a boat tour of the Okefenoke Swamp with a guide named Johnny.

Johnny shows the children tiny frogs, a snapping turtle, and a mother alligator defending her nest. They float under a canopy of trees laden with Spanish moss.

My father read me the book again and again, and I always dreamed of visiting the swamp. But I never knew exactly where this mysterious place was until I was looking for a place to stay overnight between Charleston and Jacksonville, Fl.—I wanted to break up the drive.

Looking at a map, I noticed this great big swamp in Waycross, Ga, about an hour outside of Jacksonville. It was the Okefenoke Wildlife Refuge, and it immediately click that it was the place featured in the book. The swamp was fresh in my mind because I still have the book and I had read it to my kids only days before. I booked a hotel and packed the book in my suitcase.

When we arrived in Waycross, my daughter was the one who first spotted the Okefenoke Swamp billboard advertisement with a huge alligator.

"I don't want to go! I don't want to see an alligator!"

We ignored her cries and pulled down the road that leads to the Okefenoke Swamp Park.

We walked into the gift shop where you buy boat tour tickets and I showed the lady behind the counter my National Geographic book.

“Oh my God! That’s my uncle Johnny!” she screamed. “Where did you get that book? I have never seen that book! You know he’s now 85 years old. He was just here a few days ago.”

It turns out that Johnny has lots relatives working at the swamp—because our boat guide, T.J. (above), said he was Johnny’s nephew.

In a small motor boat, T.J. led us through a skinny waterway passing under a thick tangle of red bay trees--it looked exactly like the picture from my book. Terrified, my daughter curled up next to me.


T.J. spoke in a Southern drawl and told us about the swamp's inhabitants: bears, turkeys, hawks, and bobcats. But mainly he talked about alligators.

"Wanna know bout gators?" he asked.

My daughter shivered.

He told us that alligators lay 50 to 60 eggs. Typically, 20 of them hatch and then only 1 to 2 survive. Why the low survival rate? Gators are a tasty treat. Fish, turtles, frogs, snakes, and birds eat them--and alligators eat other alligators.

T.J. pointed out several spots where he had seen a gator earlier in the day. We were the last boat tour and the sun was going down. T.J. explained that alligators come out for the sun in the afternoon, and in the evening they go under water, where they can stay for up to 30 hours. My daughter was relieved that we might not see an alligator after all--and I have to admit that I was feeling a little more at ease.

And then as we were coming around a bend--there was a gator resting on a swamp bank. It was huge--over six feet long.

T.J. pulled the boat up close. We were only about 10 inches away from his mouth. My daughter and I both screamed. The gator jumped into the water and swam into a bed of floating lily pads.

My husband got the gator on camera...








After the gator swam away, my daughter said, "Wow! That was amazing!" While it was certainly scary, we were both happy we had seen a wild alligator.

Want to plan a trip to the swamp?
The Okefenoke Swamp Park, located in Waycross, Ga., is open every day, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas New Year's Day. $16 includes admission to the park, a 30-minute boat tour, a narrated train ride through the park, entrance to the nature center where you can see alligators, an otter, and snakes. The best time to see alligators is on warm, sunny days. For more info: okeswamp.com.

The Best Western Bradbury Inn & Suites is a three-year-old hotel that's seven miles from the entrance of the Okefenoke Swamp Park. The hotel has a heated swimming pool and offers complimentary breakfast. More info: bestwestern.com.

After a day at the Okefenoke, it's worth splurging for a meal at the Pond View. The restaurant in and old downtown building has lots of style with exposed brick walls and original hardwood floors. Order a steak or the mahimahi. More info: pondviewinn.com.
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9:02 AM 7 comments
Hot property: Best Western Promenade Hotel, Savannah, Ga. Read Post

Hot property: Best Western Promenade Hotel, Savannah, Ga.

There were lots of things to love about the Best Western Promenade in Savannah, Ga., but what we appreciated most was the location.

The hotel sits right in the heart of the historic district. You can walk to River Street where seafood restaurants and souvenir shops line the cobblestone road on the banks of the Savannah River. You can walk to Forsythe Park, one of the many places in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. You can walk to the visitor center where you can pick up a trolley that will tour you around town.

And there was more to like about this hotel: heated outdoor pool, complimentary breakfast, friendly concierge who has eaten at every restaurant in town, and tastefully decorated rooms.
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8:13 AM 4 comments
Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room, Savannah, Ga. Read Post

Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room, Savannah, Ga.

The lunch at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room got rave reviews in every online food forum covering Savannah, Ga. I spent a good hour online researching places to eat during our two-night stay in the Southern town, and that's the one place that people recommended again and again.
"Mrs. Wilkes should not be missed," I read on Chowhound.
And so on the day before Thanksgiving we found ourselves standing in a long line gathered outside 107 Jones Street. The brick house dating back to 1870 houses the restaurant in the basement, and apparently there's almost always a line--but don't be scared off. It moves fast. And while you're waiting outside, you can admire what is considered to be the most beautiful street in America--Jones Street. (It's what inspired the phrase, "Keeping up with the Joneses.")
Inside Mrs. Wilkes, diners eat family-style gathered around long tables in two cozy dining rooms. Table cloths cover the tables; ruffled curtains the windows. It's like eating at grandma's house.
Waitstaff bring out bowls brimming with sweet potato souffle, okra gumbo, black-eyed peas, cornbread stuffing, and fried chicken that's perfectly crisp on the outside and sweet and moist on the inside. Everything is flavorful and fresh. This isn't a greasy spoon.

At our table we sat next to Mrs. Wilkes' granddaughter, Emily, and great-granddaughter, Julianne, (pictured) who often drop in for lunch. We learned that Mrs. Sema Wilkes passed away in 2002 at age 95, and she worked in the restaurant up until two weeks before her death. "Grandma was amazing," Emily said. "She was always in the restaurant."
Emily's parents now run the place with the help of family members. Emily's mom later came out and grabbed one of my hands. "Where y'all come from?" she asked. "Your children are so pretty. It's so nice to see your children in the restaurant."
No doubt, Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room is family-friendly.
And my kids loved the meal. They noshed on the fried chicken, piled their plates up with mashed potatoes and lima beans, and gulped down glasses of sweet tea. But most of all, they loved the bicuits and corn muffins. I even caught my daughter sneaking one in her jacket pocket. Now that's the sign of a good restaurant.
The meal costs $16 per person and children are half-off. The restaurant is only open for lunch, Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. www.mrswilkes.com.
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8:36 PM 6 comments
Thanksgiving road trip Read Post

Thanksgiving road trip

Why lug a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old across the country over the Thanksgiving holiday, a time of year when airports are packed, highways clogged, and the weather notoriously dreadful?
The answer to this question is complicated. Let's just say we're searching for long-lost relatives, warmer weather, and a breath of fresh air, in both a figurative and literal sense.
Our itinerary: Fly into Jacksonville, Fl. Drive to Orlando and spend two nights with some relatives. Drive back up the coast to Savannah, Ga., to soak up some Southern charm, and then charge on to Charleston, S.C., to spend Thanksgiving with another set of relatives. Stop by the Okefenokee Swamp on our way back to Jacksonville, and then return to S.F.

Here's a rundown of our first day:
8 a.m. We need to leave the house for the airport at 11:30 a.m. Can I pack for myself and two children in three and a half hours?
8:15 a.m. Packing for the kids is easy. Two pairs of pants each. One pair shorts. Three tops. PJs. Socks. Done!
8:30 a.m. Where are the kids' swim goggles? Looks like we left those at the pool. *&#?!
8:45 a.m. Printing out coloring pages and games from Kaboose.com--great resource for children's activities.
9 a.m. Which pair of shoes can I pack that I can wear with a dress and on a hike? I'm determined to bring only one pair of shoes for myself. I want to pack light so we don't have to check luggage; the airline we're flying charges $15 a bag. Ouch!
10 a.m. Snacks for the plane: dried mango, dried apricots, apples, almonds, and a few packs of gum.
10:30 a.m. "Where's the other booster seat? I looked everywhere for it."
"Uh, I left it at Mark's house. Sorry about that. We can buy a new one when we get to Florida."
11:29 a.m. I manage to stuff everything we need into three rolling carry-ons. I realize that it takes more effort to pack light.
11:30 a.m. Taxi arrives. "Mommy! Where's Marie! I forgot Marie! I need Marie." My daughter bursts into tears as I run back into the house to look for her stuffed cat.
Noon. Check in. Go through security. We fill 12 bins with all our crap--jackets, laptops, shoes, stuffed animals...
12:15 p.m. Lunch at Klein's Deli, where the sandwiches are big and imaginative and named after famous female icons of the 20th century. I order The Piaf: roast beef, cream cheese, horseradish, dill pickle, and tomato on dark rye. My husband orders The Kahlo: chicken salad with mango chutney, almonds, raisins, a dash of curry, lettuce and tomato on wheat.
1 p.m. At the newsstand: I pick up The New Yorker and In Touch. "Mommy can we get some Tic Tacs?" "No!" "Please!" I cave.
1:15 p.m. "Where have you been? They're boarding our flight?" My husband is mad because we're late in boarding our flight and we have a lot of carry-on luggage. "There won't be enough room for our carry-ones!"
1:30 p.m. We board the plane and find space for our luggage several rows behind us. The kids watch A Charlie Brown Christmas on the laptop. Ahhh! I can relax and read about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' dysfunctional marriage, and about Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt (isn't that over?).
1:45 p.m. "Mommy, can I have a Tic Tac?"

2 p.m. OMG! Jennifer and Brad send text-messages every day! And Tom and Katie might get a divorce.

2:15 p.m. "Mommy, can I have a Tic Tac?"

2:30 p.m. The kid sitting in front of us is sneezing and coughing--and he sounds like Darth Vader when he breathes. And then the dad says to the wife, "Honey, he feels really hot. Feel his forehead. Maybe we should take his sweater off." I grab my CleanWell hand-sanitizer from my purse: "Kids let's take a bath!"

3 p.m. "Mommy, can I have a Tic Tac?"

3:15 p.m. "Mommy, my Tic Tac is stuck in my Transformer, and I can't get it out."

3:30 p.m. "Mommy, can I have another Tic Tac?"

4 p.m. We sit next to a 17-year-old girl from Arcata. She's flying to Pensacola to visit her boyfriend who is the Marines and currently in training. "I hope he doesn't get sent to Afghanistan," she says.

4:30 p.m. Turbulence. "Mommy, are we going to crash?"
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7:59 AM 6 comments
New Deal historic sites Read Post

New Deal historic sites

The election of an ambitious new president in hard times is evoking comparisons with President Franklin Roosevelt, and the 75th anniversary of FDR's New Deal is sparking renewed interest in how Americans survived the Great Depression, according to an Associated Press story. Now historic preservationists and tourism officials are hoping for increased tourism in places associated with the New Deal.

Here's a look at two of those sites:

Arthurdale, W.Va.—Built in the 1930s as a planned community for the rural poor, looks pretty much the way it did in the time of Roosevelt. It was the first of 100 New Deal resettlement homesteads for the poor and unemployed around the country. Of the town's 165 original houses, 160 remain, and one of them has been fully preserved. It is still furnished with a loom in the living room, a massive coal-fired furnace in the hallway and a coal-fired stove in the kitchen. In the kitchen cabinets are Depression-era glassware and containers for "Arthur Dale Meat Products," the ground beef and sausage the homesteaders packaged and sold. For more info, click here.

Warm Springs, Ga.--This is the home to FDR's retreat, the Little White House. He built the Little White House in 1932 while governor of New York, prior to being inaugurated as president in 1933. He first came to Warm Springs in 1924 hoping to find a cure for the infantile paralysis (polio) that had struck him in 1921. Swimming in the warm, buoyant spring waters brought him no miracle cure, but it did bring improvement. During FDR’s presidency and the Great Depression, he developed many New Deal Programs (such as the Rural Electrification Administration) based upon his experiences in this small town.

For more information on visiting New Deal historic sites, visit the National New Deal Preservation Association Web site.
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