outdoors
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Fainting Goat Winery in Jasper, GA: Staycation
Last year, for our anniversary, my husband and I spent a few hours at the Fainting Goat Winery (read post here). For our last adventure with my brother and family (as well as my parents), we decided to take them there as I knew even the boys would enjoy it. Our visit did not disappoint. Once again, I packed a lunch and my brother treated us to a bottle of wine and a charcuterie tray. This is how much wine I had: I have never been much of a wine drinker and rather enjoy fruity drinks and wine coolers. I love the fun logo of the fainting goat. Of course,…
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Picnic by the River
On my birthday weekend in Ellijay, GA we spent a few hours by the river having a picnic, relaxing and jumping in the river. The subdivision we were staying at was very large and included a campground by a river. My son and I walked down and discovered how pretty the area would be for lunch and after changing into clothes that would work for our activities, we returned with food and the rest of the gang. This was the sign by the entrance. This area was well maintained with sites for camping or RVs hookups and a large bathroom/shower area. There was a playground and some picnic areas too.…
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Flower and Apple Picking in Ellijay, GA
While enjoying a weekend in Ellijay, GA with my family as well as my brother and his family, we decided to go apple picking at the orchard we usually visit, R&A Orchards. When we arrived we were told that there would be only one kind of apple to pick (there are usually 4 or 5 different ones you can pick) because a late frost in April had affected the trees and 60% of the future crop was lost. To offset some of the loss, the orchard created a U pick flower area with zinnias, wildflowers and earlier some sunflowers. We chose to pick two cups of flowers: you could fill…
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Ziplining with Screaming Eagles Adventures
I didn’t plan much for my little anniversary getaway with my husband a couple of weeks ago. I knew I wanted to have an overnight trip without children, something in the mountains and thought that ziplining would be fun as it was right there at Amicalola Falls. I did not book ahead of time as they have a no refund policy but knowing that we would do it on a Monday, I figured there would be some spaces available that day. Thankfully there were a couple of spots at noon. I wore my zella joggers (several years old) that had zipper pockets which allowed me to take pictures in addition…
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The Rain Brings out the Mushrooms
Last week, my brother and I visited the nearby Indian Mounds and I couldn’t believe the number and variety of mushrooms we saw. I started taking pictures and then decided it would be fun to share those pictures. I used my google feature to identify the mushrooms so hopefully it is fairly accurate. These are Lepiota, a gilled ground dwelling saprotrophs that enjoy rich, calcareous soils. Here is another shot of them. It was interesting to me to see where the mushrooms chose to propagate as there were some species at the base of trees, some in piles of mulch. and of course in the middle of decomposing piles of…
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McDowell Sonoran Preserve Gateway Trail
While on a walk in the condo’s neighborhood, a lady who saw me taking pictures of the cacti suggested going to the nearby Gateway Trail. We would then get a taste of the desert without seeing all the neighborhood houses and without having to go on a long drive since it was only 5 minutes away. When we arrived at the the McDowell Sonoran Preserve Gateway Trail, we saw right away that we would enjoy this walk despite our late start. I didn’t realize how close the hills were from the neighborhood. I really wished we had left earlier though as the sun was already high in the sky! We…
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Scottsdale, AZ: Cactus Walk in the Suburbs
One of the things I loved the most from our visit to Arizona (apart from spending time with my brother and family) was how we were able to take some walks and enjoy the beautiful scenery that is particular to that part of the US. We took a total of 4 walks, each about 2 miles long and this one was introduced by my brother. It was a paved trail that took us from his neighborhood, through a community center area and bordered another couple of neighborhoods. The key to a walk in Arizona in summer is to choose the right time of the day to go: right around 5…
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Scottsdale, Arizona: the Flora at the Meridian Condo Resort
On our weekend trip to Scottsdale, AZ, we found that it was cheaper and more comfortable to rent a 3 bedroom condo at this condo complex instead of staying at a hotel especially that we were out of hotel points and our family of 6 needs two rooms. The condos at the Meridian Condo Resort have access to several pools and the landscape is very pretty and for someone from the south, very appealing and exciting: cacti everywhere, pretty bushes and flowers and an abundance of rabbits! We also saw quails daily as well as some desert iguanas. We really enjoyed our stay there. The views of the sunrise were…
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Downtown Bike Ride
Our activities this summer have consisted of a lot free outdoors activities apart from two weekend trips. One of the new to us activities and riding our bikes downtown. We park at a nearby park as the hill to our neigborhood is not fun at all especially after biking and we typically pack some water and snacks or lunch. After doing it with just our oldest, we took all of the kids on our last expedition. From where we park, there are side walks the whole way as well as crosswalks which makes us feel safe. A large part of the ride is also in the shade so a late…
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Oatland Island Wildlife Center
After visiting Little Tybee Island, we stopped for lunch at the Crab Shack which I recommend before heading to our next adventure: Oatland Island Wildlife Center. Our meal at the Crab Shack was definitely a splurge as we ordered the Captain Seafood Platter for 3, an appetizer and some kids meals. However that seafood platter was delicious. We also spent some time looking that the alligators (which have been mostly born in captivity and listening to them roar)! It was pretty cool. All of the alligators were small in size. This adventure is very budget friendly at $3 per person (we had to buy our tickets online to reserve a…