Hello and good Monday morning! Did you have a nice weekend? Did you decorate for fall or go splashing in a pool? I love this hybrid time of year where the two seasons start to mesh together. We had an action-packed weekend of fun!
We arrived at my brother’s house Friday afternoon where we all donned our best red and blue to head to the Braves’ game! I grew up as a big Braves fan but fell off a bit having lived out of state for the past 15+ years. I hadn’t even been to the Battery or the new stadium, so it was such a treat to go with my whole family on such a beautiful late summer night.
We lived the full experience: we visited Dad’s brick to send a little thank you and love his way. We ate nachos and hotdogs and beer. We participated in all the try-to-get-on-camera stunts (unsuccessfully). And we even got the treat of seeing the Braves’ WIN in extra innings; complete with fireworks. I reflected on what a fun time it was as I carried my 10 year old out of the stadium and dragged my tired body into bed after midnight.
The next morning we sipped coffee on the porch, enjoying a rare faux fall morning in the ATL. We ate breakfast then bounced around to a couple soccer complexes to watch my nieces play soccer. We watched GT earn the win over FSU on our phones in-between all the sporting, and what a great win it was!
After lunch we hugged our family bye and headed to our first overnight adventure in our new camper! We’ve been researching and visiting RV shows and stores for years now and finally pulled the trigger on our first camper- a Venture RV Sonic X! What sold me on it were the two big bunk beds, the spacious dining table, and the fridge. David loved the slightly more hearty build (for a camper) and the fact that I was on board with it- ha.
We have a week long camping adventure planned for September, but wanted to get a trial night under our belts to see what we could learn before taking off for a week. We actually set up the camper on Friday afternoon before heading to my bro’s house, so it was mostly ready to go when we arrived at The Stone Mountain Camp Ground on Saturday afternoon.
David’s brother and my niece joined us for burgers on the Blackstone before making the short jaunt over to Memorial field for the laser show. My fellow Atlantans surely remember visiting Stone Mountain for the laser show as kids. We’d get a blanket and a bucket of friend chicken and watch in awe at the lights. They still do the classic laser show a handful of times each summer, but now it’s mostly their “light show” which is comprised of music through the decades, an impressive light drone experience, then a really trippy combination of projections, lasers, music, bubbles, and fireworks.
The show starts once it’s dark and lasts about 45 minutes, so by the time we had returned to our camp site and washed up in the bath house, we we crawling into our beds at close to 11:30. Two wild, late nights in a row must mean we’re still in summer mode! Maybe we were tired or maybe we are lucky because everyone slept comfortably and well for the night.
The next morning we took it easy, savoring another faux fall start to the day. We made pour over coffee and eggs and sausage to eat on leftover hamburger buns on the grill. I walked Finley around the campground to check out the pool and playground. It really is a great camping set up with yurt, glamping tents, tent camping, and RV spots all interspersed.
We fueled up and started our day with a bike to the top of Stone Mountain. It’s only 2.2 miles round trip, but there is sincere elevation to gain and the entire hike is on exposed, open-face granite. Needless to say, it no longer felt like our hint–of-fall morning. The trail was busy but never felt too crowded and the breeze at the top as you see Atlanta is the distance is revitalizing!
After completing our hike, we drove over the main area. I had purchased tickets for us to experience all their offerings for the day, but honestly didn’t have much of idea of what to expect. We picked up our tickets from the booth and wandered into a cute little set up, that to me felt very much like Dollywood–light. A wide path curved through shops, restaurants, and small attractions. Maybe it was because it was a Sunday or hot, but it was very empty, which was nice!
We headed straight to the (included) mini golf course, which is nice and shady. David and I showed the girls how to place coins on the track for the train to flatten (which was a hit!). We rode the 25 minutes open-air train ride around the park. We got ice cream (which was delicious) and experienced the Mowgli adventure in the 4D theater.
We ended up deciding to head out around 4:00, knowing we still needed to load up and make the ride back to mom’s house. We had a really nice time, but ultimately I’d say the experience is geared more to younger kids. If you have kids ages 3-9, I think they’d LOVE it!
The camping prep, set up, and breakdown was a lot for a one night adventure, but I’m so glad we did it because I feel like even this brief experience taught us a lot about what we need to get set up for our upcoming weeklong camping adventure. We are all super excited about this new way to adventure as a family!
Does your family like to camp? Do you have tips I need to know as we enter into this new world? Places to go, helpful equipment? If so, let me know! 🙂
