The missus and I took two weeks off for vacation, the bulk of which was spent on a road trip to Atlanta – as expected, I documented it with lots of pictures (1,189 of them, and I deleted a bunch to get down to 1,189).
Before we started the road trip, we spent a day at the Digital Life show (technology and entertainment). After Digital Life we sat in Bryant Park and people-watched.
The road trip started on Friday. Our first stop of the road trip was to Intercourse, PA, which is “Amish country”. We walked around, looked at the neat shops, bought some preserves, etc. We spent Friday night with a childhood friend of the missus in Virginia.
Saturday, we went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA. We spent the day riding roller coasters. Saturday night we were feeling adventuresome so we tried “SUV-camping”. We had intended to do some camping on the trip, so we were somewhat prepared, but we mis-estimated the amount of space in the back of the SUV, so it wasn’t terribly comfortable.
Sunday we drove to Charleston, SC and spent the day taking in the sites of Charleston. We bought a real tent (and related supplies) and did more normal camping (well, as normal as you get at a KOA). It was a much improved experience.
Monday we drove to Savannah, GA and spent the day doing touristy Savannah stuff — much like Charleston, Savannah is really beautiful. Monday night we camped in the Savannah area. While the Charleston campgrounds were nicer and the people somewhat friendlier, we enjoyed Savannah a great deal.
Tuesday we drove the rest of the way to Atlanta, arriving mid-afternoon. In Atlanta we stayed with our brother-in-law Steve, saw our niece Rachel, and generally relaxed and did touristy stuff. We visited the “new” World of Coke, the Georgia Aquarium, Zoo Atlanta, the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, and the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum. We also made the obligatory trip to Frys. On Saturday, I rode the roller coasters at Six Flags Over Georgia. Saturday evening we took lots of pictures of (a) quilts Judy had made with Cheryl’s old t-shirts, (b) Cheryl’s Nativity sets, (c) and some cups/saucers.
On Sunday we left Atlanta and drove to Lexington, KY. We spent the evening with some friends then stayed the night at the Fort Boonesborough State Park campgrounds in Kentucky. The campgrounds had some really nice Halloween lights and decorations. On Monday we drove to Virginia – the fall colors were really starting to take hold making for a beautiful drive, especially in West Virginia. Monday night we stayed at a very nice campground in Staunton, VA. On Tuesday, we stopped at Dinosaur Land (in White Post, VA) then drove the rest of the way home.
All in all, it was a really fun trip. We saw lots of neat things, tried new things (camping), and spent lots of time with friends and family.