The kids and I headed up to the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains for a couple of days. I had been wanting to get up to Atlanta to visit family up there and to go to the Aquarium before summer arrived and the place is a mad house. So, I decided to take a little trip up into the mountains as well.
We arrived Friday around lunch and checked into our little cabin (more on the cabin in a minute) then went to check things out. Around the corner from the cabin we found a welcome center and picked up a lot of information about hikes and activities in the area. The boys saw a pamphlet for kayaking and tubing down the Cartecay river and really, really wanted to do that. So we went over to check it out.
I love their pavilion with all the hammocks!
Adeline loved it too!
Ready to go! We took the bus to the drop off location and then you paddle down to their building.
The driver gave us sharpies to sign the bus. The bus reminded the boys of the Muppet Show's Electric Mayhem bus : )
She loved being a big girl and not riding in her seat.
Yep, I signed the bus!
Our starting point
This is us just before we start out. Notice the slight rough water in front us? Well we were not ready for that and Adeline freaked out. Fortunately she did not jump out of the boat or anything, just a lot of tears. Eventually she calmed down and so did the river.
As calm as the river was in places it was also a bit rough in places. Class one rapids which to the novice it might as well be class 5 ! lol. This one of Adeline below is just after we hit a rapid area and she was crying only to stop and ask to paddle! She loved the kayaking, just not the rocks. She kept asking me "who put the rocks in the river". She and I ended up getting stuck on the rocks a couple of times and it made me a little bit nervous. Having Adeline with me kept me calm and I was able to keep up going.
The boys did great. Sage loved it and wants to start at the top of the river next time for more of a challenge. Ryan did awesome, but got tired half way through. The whole trip took 2 hours of straight paddling.!
When we finally came to the end , we were told to look for the red and blue wind sock. That ended up being tucked up in the bushes and we had to make a break for it and the stairs that lead down to the river. There was no dock either, so landing and getting out was a challenge. Ryan over shot the stairs and had to get out and drag his kayak back! Sage was strong enough to paddle back up river.
It was a great experience!!
resting after the trip!!
After that trip I decided that we needed ice cream! so we headed to the little town of Blue Ridge. It was a cute town.
I have to make some of these : )
The boys liked this guy
celebratory ice cream - yumm!
Our cabin! I found this place on line not knowing anything about it. It turned out fine and was very affordable at $65 a night in the mountains! Not tucked away in the mountains or anything, but for us it was what we needed for 2 nights.
View from the side of the front porch
view from the front porch
a worn out Adeline!
the inside of the cabin. The bedroom is in the back. Sage slept on the futon.
the loft were Ryan slept.
The boys on the front porch. Little Adeline is behind them laying down.
That's the little cabin we stayed in at the Plum Nelly campground.
On Saturday we met my Aunt Sherri and Uncle Mike at Amicalola Falls State Park for a hike.
It turned out that there were alot of stairs to climb to get to the top of the falls, so the girls hung out down below while the boys took the climb.!
My Aunt bought the boys these Tshirts as a trophy for making the climb! Ryan ended up going back down them with Uncle Mike after lunch! We had a great time at the falls and visiting with my Aunt and uncle. We even got to watch a birds of prey show!
On Sunday we headed back to Atlanta but stopped by the falls one more time on our way out to take the short hike to the middle of the falls that I found out about Saturday as we were leaving. Since I wanted to see the falls too - we went back for this short hike! It was worth it!
They loved jumping on the rocks. Adeline was too funny. When she made it to a big rock she would do a little dance and sing "I did it" I did it "
It turned out to be a challenging yet fun trip!! challenging because the two little ones were constantly picking on each other and Ryan's energy level was through the roof. I am afraid that my patience ran out sometime on Saturday night. It was good though to reflect back and realize what I need to do different next time to ensure a peaceful trip! Esp since I plan to do it again sometime - not sure when, but there will be more trips to come I am sure : )
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