Roadtrippin' with Darla Kay

Flint RiverQuarium - Georgia

2008-07-06T00:43:00.012-05:00

Flint RiverQuarium
101 Pine Ave
Albany, Georgia
Mon–Fri-9a.m– 5p.m., Sat-10a.m.–6p.m., Sun-1p.m.–5p.m.
$9 X 2 + $6.50

175,000-gallon 22-foot deep RiverQuarium Blue Hole Spring, showcasing Southwest Georgia’s unique underwater world. Explore it from the surface to the depths through a panorama of discovery points. See more than 100 kinds of fish, turtles, alligators, snapping turtles and other creatures
Flint River Gallery features both freshwater and saltwater tanks, plus a live fish hatchery, to give you a first-hand look at life all along the river’s path. Follow the Flint River’s amazing 350-mile journey
Discovery Caverns puts you in control of nature with fun games and eye-opening exhibits. Control the weather. Change the way a river flows. Explore an underground cave to uncover mysterious subterranean creatures.
The World of Water gives you an insider’s view of other rivers around the globe that share similar features and challenges with the Flint.
Catfish Planet walks visitors through the world of catfishes.
Dive Shows every Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Theater schedule:
Whales
Monday-Friday: 1:30, 3:00, 4:30, Sat.: 10:30, 12:00, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30, Sunday: 1:30, 3:00, 4:30
Weird Nature - Fantastic Feeding
Monday - Friday: 9:00
Wild Weather - Heat
Monday - Friday: 11:00
Sea Forests
Monday - Friday: 10:00
The Blue Realm: Shark Business
Monday - Friday: 12:00

The Flint RiverQuarium is located at 101 Pine Avenue in downtown Albany, Georgia.

From I-75 North:
Exit onto GA-300 S. at exit 99, just after Cordele. Turn right towards Warwick, Georgia. Travel straight on Highway 300 for approximately 33 miles. Turn right on Oglethorpe (Business 82). Proceed on Oglethorpe to the Flint River. Immediately after crossing the Flint River, take the first right onto Front Street. The Flint RiverQuarium will be two blocks, straight ahead, at the corner of Front Street and Pine Avenue.

From I-75 South:
At Tifton, take exit 62 onto Highway 82 west. Travel approximately 35 miles to the junction of 82 and 300. Turn left and proceed to the next traffic light at E. Oglethorpe. Proceed on Oglethorpe to the Flint River. Immediately after crossing the Flint River, take the first right onto Front Street. The Flint RiverQuarium will be two blocks, straight ahead, at the corner of Front Street and Pine Avenue.

From I-85:
Take I-85 South to I-185. Proceed south on I-185 through Columbus. Take exit 1A, Highway 280 South. Highway 280 becomes Highway 520 and eventually Highway 82. At the Albany City limit, Highway 82 becomes Dawson Road. Follow Dawson Road into Downtown Albany, where it becomes Pine Avenue. The Flint RiverQuarium is at the end of Pine Avenue, on the left, at the corner of Pine and Front Street.

3 micro geocaches a couple of blocks south and a regular north near the train tracks, looks like maybe a train yard.

Stone Mountain Park - Atlanta

2008-07-05T01:18:00.032-05:00

Stone Mountain has a sky tram and Duck boats and a train and a farm and a village or something like that and a town square sort of thing with shops. They have DSA (Designated Smoking Areas). You can see them blowing glass and making candy, and there is a blacksmith. The train is half an hour. There are some caches there, too, at least 4 or 5 that shouldn't be too hard to get; one looks like it's in the parking lot. They have hiking trails that I seriously doubt we will have time for. All day passes are $25 (adults) and $20 (children), but they have a "twilight rate" of $15.

Stone Mountain Park
U.S. Highway 78 East, Exit 8
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
16 miles east of downtown Atlanta

10am-8pm - attractions
Laser show at 9:30 - most shops and food places stay open until laser show

All Day Pass - $25 X 2 + $20
or Twilight Rate - $15 X 3
Day Pass includes everything but the Ducks
Parking - $8
Things we want to do at Stone Mountain (they have more stuff):

Ride the Ducks - 30 min ride - $13 X 3 or as add-on to Day Pass - $9 X 3 - get on the Ducks at Crossroads
Reservations are required for the Ride the Ducks™ tour on the day of your visit.
Scenic Railroad - 30 min, 5 mile ride around Stone Mountain, train departs every 40-45 min., has a live show
Summit Skyride - 3 min ride with view of the Confederate Memorial Carving, largest relief carving in the world
Crossroads - 1870s southern town with Glass Blowing, Candy Making and Blacksmithing, live shows and entertainment, shopping, and food
Sky Hike - also has Camp Highland Outpost
The Great Barn - games, looks like Chuckee Cheese with slides, trampoline floors, climbing structures and over 65 interactive games, no time limit
Antebellum Plantation & Farmyard - collection of original buildings from around the State of Georgia, built between 1783 and 1875, with period furniture and working cookhouse and garden with demonstrations; Farmyard has petting zoo and trained sheep and goat shows.
Stone Mountain Museum - all about Stone Mt. and the carving
Paddlewheel Riverboat - 20 minute cruises depart every 1/2 hour. June 23 - August 10, the Marina complex including the Riverboat will be closed Monday - Friday and Open 1:00 - 8:00 PM Saturday - Sunday
Quarry exhibit - open daily from dawn until dusk. On Robert E. Lee Blvd., just prior to the roundabout near the Grist Mill.
Songbird habitat - On Stonewall Jackson Drive, on the back side of the mountain.

They also have a 4D movie, pedal boats, an antique car and treasure museum, and miniature golf.

Stone Mountain Park Campground
47 primitive tent sites
$25 - primitive tent
$35 - primitive tent - lakeside
If you arrive without a reservation, spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis. There is a two-night minimum stay with a reservation
Check In: 2:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Check Out: 12:00 PM
Phone: 770-498-5710
Fax: 770-413-5082
TOLL FREE: 1-800-385-9807

Jekyll Island

2008-06-30T17:13:00.005-05:00

Jekyll Island has 10 miles of beach and supposedly lots of shells, and has restrooms, showers, and picnic areas.

Jekyll Island Campground
1197 Riverview Drive
Reservations: 1-866.658.3021
primitive tent - $23
free wireless

sea turtles
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center
Hatchling walks - 7am-10am - check web site for dates
Turtle walks - 8:30pm-9:30pm

Georgia's Barrier Islands - Cumberland Island

2008-06-26T10:13:00.005-05:00

Cumberland Island National Seashore

ferry - Adults $10.17 - Children $6.05
camping - (no campfires at backcountry sites)
no stores on island
Day Use Fee $4.00 per person/per visitSea Camp Campground $4.00 per person/per dayBack Country Camping $2.00 per person/per dayAnnual Day Use Permit $20.00 per personPersons camping will also be required to purchase a day use permit.

Visitor Center: Daily 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m

(912) 882-4335 - Reservation Line (10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mon-Fri)

(912) 882-4336 - Information Line (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., daily)

Cumberland Island Salt Marsh Earthcache

Dolphin Tours

2008-06-25T14:41:00.006-05:00

Benjamin wants to go on a dolphin tour so badly. We did a dolphin "watch" tour a couple of years ago, and we did see a few dolphins, but they weren't guaranteed. Benjamin was disappointed that they didn't come right up to the boat and talk to us like Flipper. So, let's see where they are and how much:

Captain Mikes Dolphin Tours on Tybee Island
20 min. from historic Savannah, won awards, on TV
departs daily from Lazaretto Creek Marina
passes Cockspur lighthouse and Fort Pulaski and Tybee Lighthouse
1 - 1.5 hours
$15.00 for adults and $8.00 for children
from Savannah: Go east on Bay Street to Islands Expressway. Follow to end, Turn left onto Highway 80 East to Tybee Island. Cross Lazaretto Creek Bridge. Turn right just past the bridge to Lazaretto Marina.
from Tybee: Go west on Hwy 80 to the last road on the left before Lazaretto Creek Bridge. There will be a bill board set back from the road. Turn left in front of the bill board. Go to the dead end and turn right.
Dolphin Tours - St. Simons Island
90 minutes
$24 - adults & $12 children
Reservations Recommended
Departure from Jekyll Wharf · Call 912.635.3152 - June thru August - Three trips daily
Departure from St. Simons · Golden Isles Marina - Call 912.638.5678 - June thru August - Two trips daily

Sun and Moon

2008-06-08T17:00:00.004-05:00

Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia
(longitude W81.1, latitude N32.0)

Tuesday 15 July 2008

Sunrise - 6:29 a.m.
Sunset - 8:31 p.m.
(eastern time)

Full Moon on 18 July

Birmingham, AL - McWane, Vulcan, and Zoo

2008-06-08T13:21:00.017-05:00

Birmingham, Alabama

McWane Science Center
200 19th Street North
Birmingham, AL 35203
$16 X 2 + $12 + $5 (parking) = $50 (est.)
Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 12noon-6pm
Dinosaurs of Alabama Exhibit
aquarium with jellyfish, IMAX

Vulcan Park and Museum
1701 Valley View Drive
Birmingham, AL 35209
phone: (205) 933-1409
open 7 days a week
Vulcan Park grounds: open Monday through Sunday 7 am - 10 pm - free
Vulcan Center Museum: open Monday through Saturday 10 am - 6 pm and Sunday 1- 6 pm.
Observation Balcony: open Monday through Saturday 10 am - 10 pm and Sunday 1 pm - 10 pm.
museum and balcony are $6 X 2 + $4 - free parking
largest cast iron statue in the entire world
free WiFi Internet access
3 geocaches here including an earthcache

Birmingham Zoo
2630 Cahaba Road
$12 X 2 + $7
admission is half-price on Tuesdays
open Mon, Wed & Thurs- 9 am to 5 pm & Tues, Fri, Sat & Sun- 9 am to 7 pm
has a train
Camel Rides - 10 to 4 pm (weather permitting) $5 plus tax per ride.
Lorikeet Aviary - 10 - 4 pm daily
Pelican Feeding & Keeper Talk 2 pmand right next to the zoo is:

Birmingham Botanical Gardens
free 365 days a year, from sunrise to sunset
Gardens Cafe - Tuesday - Saturday, 11a.m. - 2p.m.
Lots of geocaches all around these, too!

Savannah

2008-06-07T17:27:00.008-05:00

Squares of Savannah

Chatham Area Transit
Fare–Free CAT Shuttle in Historic Savannah

Restaurants in Savannah

Savannah's Squares

The Echo Chamber cache in Savannah

Savannah cache map

Savannah Visitor Information

Savannah Coasts

Dolphin Tours
River Street, Savannah
$23 X 2 + $11

Savannah Georgia Official Guide

Oatland Island Wildlife Education Center
every day - 10am-4pm
$5 X 2 + $3
(has two caches)

Haunted places in Savannah:

The Mercer House
The Espy House
Hampton-Lillibridge House
Colonial Park Cemetery
The Royal Tenenbaum's House
Dr. Corsen's House
The Savannah Theater
Bonaventure Cemetery (Johnny Mercer's grave)
Laurel Grove Cemetery
Pirate's House
Morgue Tunnel
Candler Hospital
Hampton-Lilibridge House ("most haunted home in America")

Fernbank Museum of Natural History - Atlanta

2008-06-01T21:44:00.010-05:00

Fernbank Museum of Natural History
767 Clifton Road
N.E. Atlanta, Georgia
corner of Ponce de Leon Avenue and Clifton Road
Mon-Sat: 10 am - 5 pm - Sun: Noon to 5 p.m.
$15 X 2 + $13
Giants of the Mesozoic - dinosaur skeletons
A Walk Through Time in Georgia - life-size dinosaur display
and other exhibits

Tybee Island

2008-06-01T21:42:00.004-05:00

Tybee Island

Tybee Island Online

Tybee Island Dolphin Tours

The Crab Shack
40 Estill Hammock Road
Hwy 80 to Tybee, just past mile marker 33
feed the alligators

Tybee Lighthouse
Open every day, except Tuesday
9:00 AM to 5:30 PM.
$6 X 2 + $5

Pier

Costs - Tickets, Admission, Rides, Attractions, Parking combined with Trinkets, T-Shirts, Souvenirs

2008-06-01T21:30:00.009-05:00

Tickets, rides, attractions, and parking will be separated out from trinkets, t-shirts, and souvenirs (which are obviously estimates) when I do the final totals.

Wild Adventures Theme Park
Admission = $45 X 2 (adult) + $40 (child)
parking = $7

Tybee Lighthouse
$6 X 2 + $5

Agrirama
$7 X 2 + $4

McWane Science Center Birmingham
$16 X 2 + $12 + $5 (parking) = $50 (est.)

Vulcan Park and Museum Birmingham
Vulcan Park grounds - free
museum and observation balcony are $6 X 2 + $4 - free parking

Birmingham Zoo
$12 X 2 + $7
admission is half-price on Tuesdays

Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Atlanta
$15 X 2 + $13

Stone Mountain Park Stone Mountain, GA
All Day Pass - $25 X 2 + $20
Parking - $8
Scenic Railroad (30 min) - $9 X 2 + $7
Summit Skyride - $9 X 2 + $7
Duck boats - $13
Treehouse Challenge - $7 X 2 + $9
The Great Barn - $7 X 2 + $9
Antebellum Plantation & Farmyard - $9 X 2 + $7

Costs - Meals

2008-06-01T20:54:00.006-05:00

Food is always the most expensive thing on vacation. Maybe not this year what with gas prices, but it always has been in the past. The most important thing to Terry on vacation is to find good local food and to eat food that he's never eaten before. We don't get into fancy dining nor do we want a chain restaurant (although Marie Callender's saved us in Los Angeles, and I have that tradition now (after the food poisoning) of visiting the Taco Bell in Weed, CA anytime we're in that neighborhood, and Terry does like Joe's Crab Shack). I found some Joe's Crab Shacks; for some reason, they have 5 or 6 encircling Atlanta. I don't understand why they don't space them out, some out of the box marketing plan, I guess. We need some good seafood places on the coast and a good seafood market as we leave the coast.

Usually, I estimate the food by just setting an amount for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks; I think I usually estimate too low. So, I'll go with:
breakfast - $10 X3 = $30
lunch - $15 X 3 = $45
dinner - $20 X 3 = $60
snacks - $15 per day
= $150 per day

Some days, if we camp or something, we might just have sandwiches, buy some lunchmeat, bread, and cheese; we'll have an ice chest. So, these numbers might be too high; we'll see.

Total for food = $150 X 9 days = $1,350
that's just an ungodly amount!!

Haunted Places in Savannah

2008-06-01T20:49:00.016-05:00

I want to do my own haunted tour of Savannah so I have the list of haunted places from one of the tour places, and I need to find all the addresses and do a Google map of them.

Mercer Williams House Museum - 429 Bull Street, Monterey Square, Savannah, GA

The Espy House
432 Abercorn St
Calhoun Square, corner of Abercorn and Wayne

Pirate's House Restaurant
20 E Broad St.

Hampton-Lillibridge House
"most haunted home in America"
507 E. St. Julian St. on Washington Square

Colonial Park Cemetery
between Oglethorpe, Abercorn, Perry, and Habersham

Bonaventure Cemetery
(Johnny Mercer's grave)

Laurel Grove Cemetery
802 W. Anderson

The Royal Tenenbaum's House
Dr. Corsen's House
The Savannah Theater
Morgue Tunnel
Candler Hospital

Costs - Gas

2008-06-01T20:32:00.005-05:00

I'll have to find my gas formula; I can never remember it. Terry says the Ford Freestyle gets at least 25 miles to the gallon.

miles / miles per gallon = total gallons X price per gallon = gas cost

miles = 2,312 + 50 (est.) for cities = 2362
miles per gallon = 25
cost per gallon of gas = $4

2,312/25 = total gallons (94.48) x $4 = $377.92

We'll call it $400 for gas.

Okefenokee Swamp

2008-05-28T09:55:00.013-05:00

I just discovered that Okefenokee Swamp has a train! The Okefenokee Swamp Railroad. It's on 1.5 miles of track, and it's a steam engine! Benjamin will love that! The train is at Waycross, Georgia and has 4 cars. It does a 30 minute stop at Pioneer Island and circles part of the swamp. At the entrance at Waycross, there's also the 1/2 mile boardwalk into the swamp, an observation tower, and a Swamp Creatures Area. This entrance is open year round 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Okefenokee Swamp Park is located 8 miles south of Waycross, Georgia off U.S. 1 South on Highway 177. They have Three Pigs BBQ Snack Bar open from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults and $11 for Benjamin. They have boat tours from here, $16 apiece for 30 minutes or $20 for 1 hour. Don't know what kind of boat... We could get a canoe for $18 per person. The closest camping is Laura Walker State Park. The Holiday Inn there has a deal to stay there and get admission to the park and the train and a boat ride, but it doesn't look like they encourage swimming in the lake there; maybe too many gators. In Waycross, there's Obediah's Okefenok, the 1800's pioneer homestead of Obediah Barber with a 1100 ft. boardwalk and buildings and a museum ($4.50 and $3.50 admission and it says at their web site, "...repeat this "specialWebsitehiddenmessage" when you visit us to receive a 15% discount on souvenir purchases in the gift shop: "There's a swamper on the web!"). Also in Waycross is the Southern Forest World Museum and the Okefenokee Heritage Center Museum.

Boat trails are not connected to the rest of the refuge boat system.
This is the North Entrance 8 miles south of WAYCROSS, Georgia.
Info - 912-283-0583
Waycross and the Okefenokee Swamp
Okefenokee Swamp Park

The East Entrance is the main U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service entrance to the swamp, the Suwannee Canal Recreation Area, is located 7 miles southwest of FOLKSTON, Georgia, off Highway 121/23. There is a Visitors Center, and from this entrance there's the 9-mile long driving, biking, and walking Swamp Island Drive, a 3/4 mile wooden walkway, The Swamp Walk, leading to a 50-foot high observation tower overlooking the swamp, guided boat tours, motorboat, kayak and canoe rentals, and the restored Chesser Island Homestead.
visitor information - 912-496-7836
boat rental information - 912-496-7156 or 866-THE-SWAMP

Okefenokee Adventures

The West Entrance is close to the Stephen C. Foster State Park which is 17 miles east of FARGO, Georgia, on Highway Spur 177. Camping and cabins are available at the state park, as well as a boardwalk, boating trails, fishing, guided boat tours, motorboat and canoe rentals, interpretive programs, and a museum.
cabin reservations - 1-800-864-7275
visitor information - 912-637-5274.

It is an 85 mile drive to get to the state park from Folkston, a little over an hour.

Stephen C. Foster State Park has camping ($24) and motor boat rentals.

Okefenokee Swamp

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

From March 1 through the end of October, opening hours are half an hour before sunrise and closing is at 7:30 PM.

Distances

2008-05-28T09:53:00.000-05:00

Fayetteville, AR to Memphis, TN - 5 hours - 360 miles
Memphis, TN to Clarksdale, MS - 2 hours - 80 miles
Clarksdale, MS to Tupelo, MS - 3 hours - 118 miles
Tupelo, MS to Birmingham, AL - 3 hours - 140 miles
Birmingham, AL to Childersburg, AL - 1 hour - 37 miles
Childersburg, AL to Anniston, AL - 1 hour - 60 miles
Anniston, AL to Bremen, GA - 1 hour - 50 miles
Bremen, GA to Atlanta, GA - 1 hour - 52 miles
Atlanta, GA to Savannah, GA - 4 hours - 255 miles
Savannah, GA to Tybee Island, GA - .25 hour - 20 miles
Tybee Island, GA to Jekyll Island, GA - 2 hours - 100 miles
Jekyll Island, GA to Folkston, GA - 1 hour - 45 miles
Folkston, GA to Waycross, GA - 1 hour - 50 miles
Waycross, GA to Valdosta, GA - 1.5 hours - 60 miles
Valdosta, GA to Tifton, GA - 1 hour - 48 miles
Tifton, GA to Atlanta, GA - 3 hours - 190 miles

Day 1/2 and Day 1

2008-05-27T00:16:00.006-05:00

Day 1/2
Fayetteville, AR to Memphis, TN - 5pm - 10pm
Leave after work, drive to Memphis, get a room

Day 1
Go to the Peabody in the morning and watch the ducks come down - I need to find out what time they come down; we'll leave right after, maybe grab some breakfast and...
drive to Clarksdale, MS (2 hours), see the crossroads, maybe the Delta Blues Museum, have some lunch and then...
drive to Tupelo, MS (3 hours) - maybe here by 5:00 pm? probably too late to do anything but eat dinner and drive a little closer to Birmingham (3 hours) so we can get up in the morning and

Birmingham, AL to Childersburg, AL - 1 hour
Childersburg, AL to Anniston, AL - 1 hour

While I'm planning this vacation...

2008-05-26T14:13:00.000-05:00

Benjamin and I saw a commercial on TV this morning for Silver Dollar City. He wanted to go, of course, and I told him it wasn't far away. He asked if it was as far as Mena, and I thought about the same, looked it up in TripMaker, and it's 2 1/2 hours, just like from here to Mena. So, I'm looking in TripMaker and see all these places to go around there. There's Eureka Springs which we've talked about a lot anyway, and there's that steam engine to ride. There's Silver Dollar City and Dinosaur Park and Duck boats and caverns. We should have just gone there instead of this trip to Georgia. But, they don't have a museum with dinosaurs or a swamp or Terry's brother or a beach, so I guess we'll continue with this one and know we can run up there in the fall or something.

Places to Go II

2008-05-25T22:26:00.001-05:00

The Jackson Zoo - Jackson, Mississippi
open daily 9 - 5 - about $25 for admission for all of us and parking and to ride the train.
I don't know if we'll be going this way, though. Mainly Terry wanted to go through Shreveport and go to that fish market.

DeSoto Caverns Park
5181 DeSoto Caverns Parkway
Childersburg, AL

Route Map as of May

2008-05-24T20:57:00.020-05:00

Here is the map of our vacation route as it currently stands; we might not have time to go to all these places, though.

From Rand McNally TripMaker
Stopovers in:

Memphis, TN - We would go through there anyway and it's the only place we'll go in Tennessee, and I want to get a Tennessee geocache (there are four in MLK park just off the interstate); there's also the Peabody ducks which I have seen, but Terry and Benjamin have not. I've wanted to go to Mud Island also, but maybe not this time.
Clarksdale, Mississippi - I want to go to the crossroads there; Terry will probably try to talk me out of this one.
Where the Natchez Trace crosses through near Tupelo...
Birmingham, Alabama has the McWane Science Center with the dinosaur exhibit and Vulcan park with that big statue.
Childersburg, Alabama where they have DeSoto Caverns; they have rides and stuff besides the caverns; it seems like the best deal on this one is to combine the couples pac deal (with 6 attractions) with one child's cavern tour which would be $61. We might need more than 6 attraction tickets, though. I think Benjamin will like the water balloon fight and the water spraying labyrinth and I really want to do the maze and they have a lot of other stuff.
Anniston, Alabama has the Anniston Museum of Natural History; this one I'm not sure about; it looks like a decent museum, but I don't see any dinosaurs, so I don't know if it would be worth it.
Bremen, Georgia and visit Terry's brother
Atlanta, Georgia is a big city; they have a lot of stuff; I was in Atlanta once, stuck in the airport for 4 hours by myself when I was about 11 years old. I think we might narrow it down to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History with the dinosaurs and Stone Mountain Park with skyride, duck boats, train, etc. If we come back this way, we could do one on the way and one on the way back, but we never know where we're going to end up on vacation, so that might not work.
Savannah, Georgia and Tybee Island - look for ghosts, go to Bonaventure Cemetery, see the historic squares; Erin says to go down on the pier on Tybee after dark; I hear the whole city is haunted, so we probably just need to go out at night a lot. We need to eat at the Pirate House which is haunted. Erin also said there's a lot of stuff for kids on the pier. I need to ask her again about that crab place where we can eat. There's also the Echo Chamber geocache in Savannah. Also need to find a dolphin tour around here for Benjamin. I have this list of haunted places in Savannah, but I don't know where they are; searches bring up all the places with haunted tours, but they don't give the addresses of the places of course. I'd like to make my own tour. We might want to go to the Oatland Island Wildlife Center; it's supposed to be haunted, too.
Jekyll Island is on down the coast, and there are lots of geocaches there.
Folkston, Georgia has the Folkston Funnel where the trains go through, and there's a cache there and lots of other caches here, and there's also one of the entrances to the Okefenokee Swamp.
The Okefenokee Swamp has three entrances (actually more), and I'm trying to figure out what all we want to do. I'll have to organize all my swamp info...
Waycross, GA has an entrance to the Okefenokee Swamp also. The Southern Forest World Museum is there, but I don't know if that's something we would get into.
Valdosta, GA has the Wild Adventures Theme Park where they have the zoo animals and also rides and a water park.
Tifton, GA has the Agrirama where they have the 1800s farms, town, and industry.

Now, I have to look again and see what all I missed and then figure out what we don't have time for...

Places to Go Along the Way

2008-05-16T21:55:00.000-05:00

As of May 24

McWane Science Center - Birmingham, AL
*This place has a new dinosaur exhibit for the summer and other science related stuff, aquarium with jellyfish, IMAX
Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 12noon-6pm - $50
Vulcan Park - Birmingham, AL
*This place has the world's biggest cast iron statue - I think we need to see this since it's the world's biggest.
Moundville Archaeological Park - Alabama
Agrirama - Tifton GA
*Georgia's Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village
They have a steam engine with a 1.3 mile scenic tour.
Open Tuesday - Saturday 9 am - 5 pm, Closed: Sunday & Monday
Underground Atlanta
DeSoto Caverns Park - AL
Alabama Adventure Theme Park
Chickasaw Village on Hwy 78 in Mississippi
Natural Bridge
Birmingham Zoo
Magic Adventure Theme Park
Wild Adventures Theme Park - Valdosta, GA
*They have zoo animals and rides - 2 in 1
I-75, Exit 13, 10am - 8pm or 10pm, $92
zoo animals, rides, water park, train
Jekyll Island
Tybee Island
dolphin tours and a lighthouse
Captain Mikes Dolphin Tours on Tybee Island
Lazaretto Creek Marina
Tour rates are $15.00 for adults and $8.00 for children, 12 and under. Reservation Recommended.

* wanna go there

What to Bring

2008-05-11T20:20:00.002-05:00

I need to start a list of things to bring:

camera
disposable cameras (for Benjamin)
waterproof disposable camera (in case we go to a water park or something)
beach toys
Benjamin's boogie board
swimsuits (need to buy one for Benjamin - no net!)
beach towels
rolls of toilet paper, paper towels
camping stuff? (Terry's department)
Benjamin's road toys
sandals and tennis shoes (mine and Benjamin's)
atlas and other maps
geocaches
Benjamin's travel book

OK, we looked up a few:

Hittin' the Books

2008-05-11T15:04:00.000-05:00

In the old days, before the online maps and the ability to look up anything and any place, I used the Rand McNally U.S. Road Atlas and checked all the little red boxes to find places to go. Later on, over the years, I would find the little red boxes, the attractions, and look them up on the Web. I do a lot of my road trip research on the Web now, but I still like to get out the atlas, and if it's an old one, I go ahead and use a highlighter and mark the route and then go through and find all those red squares, and make a list, and Google them, see which ones look good. Benjamin's finally old enough to help now, to play maps with me. He has the patience of a five year old, but he gets excited when we find anything with the word "park", "magic", or "dinosaur" in it. He reads the letters of the fine print of the attraction names that my eyes can't read anymore, and I tell him what it says.
Lately, on my own, I've been looking into Clarksdale, Mississippi where Hwy 61 crosses Hwy 49, the crossroads where Robert Johnson took his guitar down and had it tuned by the devil. I would like to see that, maybe take a pencil down there and get the devil to sharpen it for me or adjust some settings on my camera. So, I've Googled it and Google Mapped it, and I've seen pictures of a sign there at the crossroads, but I'm still not sure where it is on the map, still working on that. I would just rather not drive all over Clarksdale looking for it, and every time I look up anything about Clarksdale, I wind up with that song, Last Train to Clarksville, stuck in my head.
A lot of the red squares in the Rand McNally are race tracks, golf courses, civic centers, city halls, and colleges, so we go through (Benjamin and I) , along the route that I've done using mainly interstates, looking around 30 to 40 miles out from the route (maybe more if something looks really interesting) and find anything that looks good. So far on our list to Google (I'm waiting on him while he plays Zoo Tycoon) are:

Underground Atlanta
Chickasaw Village on Hwy 78 in Mississippi
Natural Bridge, De Soto Caverns Park, and Moundville Archeological Park in Alabama
Birmingham Zoo, Magic Adventure Theme Park, Statue of Liberty, and Vulcan Statue in Birmingham

We're also needing to sit down with a calendar and figure out when we can do this.
And then I put anything we decide on into my ancient version of Rand McNally Tripmaker and get the mileage and the times.
Maybe more tonight...

Mapping the Trip

2008-03-08T23:06:00.000-06:00

I've started narrowing down the places, showing them to Terry and Benjamin. I know we want to go to:

Atlanta, GA - and go to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History where Benjamin can see dinosaur bones and to Stone Mountain Park where they have a train, a sky ride and duck boats and some other stuff for kids
Bremen, GA - to visit Terry's brother
Savannah, GA - and go to Bonaventure cemetery and maybe some of the haunted places and look for geocaches
Tybee Island, GA - and rent a boat with a motor to go around the island and go to the beach and go geocaching and see dolphins
Jekyll Island, GA - lots of geocaches here and more beach
Folkston, GA - to see the Folkston Funnel where all the trains come through
Okefenokee Swamp (Georgia) - to see alligators, of course, and ride in a swamp boat
Valdosta, GA - to go to the Wild Adventures Theme Park where they have a rides, animals, and a water park; seems like a good deal for all three
Tifton, GA - to go to the Agrirama where they have 1800s farms, industry, and town where they wear the clothes of the time and you can watch them work and talk to them about it; terry will love it.

2008-03-04T16:30:00.000-06:00

Here's an initial route that includes Terry's brother's house in Georgia. It looks, however, like we will want to dip further south, probably go out one way and come back another. This route from Google was mainly to get an idea of how far and how long of a drive. Looks like about 15 hours and 1,000 miles.

Georgia 2008 - Beaches and Alligators - Initial Planning

2008-02-23T20:35:00.000-06:00

Beaches and alligators, that's what Benjamin and I are looking for. We first thought of Florida, but realized that Georgia has beaches and gators and it's closer. We tried to do this last year, but after the big ol' beach time in Galveston, we found the walkway at the Sabine Preserve closed, still being repaired after some hurricane. Terry and I had been there before (and to Florida), but Benjamin hasn't seen alligators.

I have a lot of travel pages, but decided I would try doing some of my travel stuff as a blog. I'll start with the planning of 2008's vacation. Terry wanted to go to Maine, and like I said, I wanted to go to Florida, so I guess we compromised and decided on Georgia, using Savannah as the initial goal just because it's the place in Georgia that I've heard of mostly, there and Atlanta. We'll go through Atlanta, and they have a museum there with dinosaur bones, so we need to take Benjamin there. Atlanta has a lot of stuff.

I have a web page started (as I do) with links to any place on or near the initial route that looks remotely interesting. Georgia 2008 - Beaches and Alligators Planning Stage

We want to go to the swamp, see some gators; I want to rent a boat and go around some of the barrier islands along the Georgia coastline. We want to ride a swamp boat. Benjamin wants to see dolphins.

So, I'll update with maps and such...