Arrived in Stone Mountain Georgia around 3 PM so instead of searching out a Walmart we signed up for three days at the Stone Mountain campground. 
We secured a great sight overlooking the lake with great sunsets. First order of business is to set up, make dinner and plan tomorrow’s activities.
On the 20th we headed into the Stone Mountain Park advertised as Georgia’s #1 attraction and great family-park. http://www.stonemountainpark.com/
Because it is still off-season (May 24th is the official season opener) there were several attractions not open including the Riverboat rides.
http://www.stonemountaingolf.com/
We toured the Antebellum Plantation and Farm a collection of original buildings from around the state of Georgia built between 1983 and 1875. Each building was removed from its original site and carefully restored at Stone Mountain Park.
We took the Train ride around Stone Mountain and the Tram to the top of Stone Mountain – 1.3 miles to the top. Stone mountain is one of the largest exposed areas of Granite in the United States.
The views from the top were spectacular and we could see Atlantic with its surrounding smog. Yuck! The original plan was to hike to the top of the mountain but we did the opposite. We hiked down the mountain and at times it was no easy feat. The terrain was rough and steep and especially tough on the knees. Ron and I held our own making the climb down and didn’t mind the youngsters running by us at warp speed. We agreed that a trip up the mountain would not have been a great idea for either one of us. 
Carved on the face of the mountain on a three- acre area are Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson. It is quite impressive. During the summer months beginning Memorial Day weekend they do a Laser Light show on the carved side of the mountain. It is claimed to be the most spectacular light show around. Of course we were here one week too early for the season opener and one day too late because they had a light show the night before.
That’s us we’re either too late or too early for special events. 
We also went to the Stone Mountain Museum the Antique Car & Treasure Museum and the Granite Quarry Exhibit. 
At this point I was done - done - done for the day but Mr. Robot Man wanted to walk another mile to the Grist Mill – Nope I wasn’t burning one more inch of concrete under my feet so it was back to the campsite.
All the way home Ron moaned about the Gristmill and I told him we could go back later and check it out but I needed to change into sneakers. He continued to whine and I continued to ignore him. We never did get back to see the Grist Mill because we became engrossed in feeding one family of Ducks and two families of Geese at the pond 
with about three other families coming to visit us as well. I don’t know why I didn’t know this but Geese have tongues – very long tongues. Ron was able to get one of the Geese to eat out of his hand. It was really cool and they weren’t afraid of us at all.
Back at the campsite Ron started a campfire – something we haven’t done in the last two years. It was a balmy, quiet night and the campfire soothing.
We secured a great sight overlooking the lake with great sunsets. First order of business is to set up, make dinner and plan tomorrow’s activities.On the 20th we headed into the Stone Mountain Park advertised as Georgia’s #1 attraction and great family-park. http://www.stonemountainpark.com/
Because it is still off-season (May 24th is the official season opener) there were several attractions not open including the Riverboat rides.
http://www.stonemountaingolf.com/
We toured the Antebellum Plantation and Farm a collection of original buildings from around the state of Georgia built between 1983 and 1875. Each building was removed from its original site and carefully restored at Stone Mountain Park.
We took the Train ride around Stone Mountain and the Tram to the top of Stone Mountain – 1.3 miles to the top. Stone mountain is one of the largest exposed areas of Granite in the United States.
The views from the top were spectacular and we could see Atlantic with its surrounding smog. Yuck! The original plan was to hike to the top of the mountain but we did the opposite. We hiked down the mountain and at times it was no easy feat. The terrain was rough and steep and especially tough on the knees. Ron and I held our own making the climb down and didn’t mind the youngsters running by us at warp speed. We agreed that a trip up the mountain would not have been a great idea for either one of us. 
Carved on the face of the mountain on a three- acre area are Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson. It is quite impressive. During the summer months beginning Memorial Day weekend they do a Laser Light show on the carved side of the mountain. It is claimed to be the most spectacular light show around. Of course we were here one week too early for the season opener and one day too late because they had a light show the night before.
That’s us we’re either too late or too early for special events. 
We also went to the Stone Mountain Museum the Antique Car & Treasure Museum and the Granite Quarry Exhibit. 
At this point I was done - done - done for the day but Mr. Robot Man wanted to walk another mile to the Grist Mill – Nope I wasn’t burning one more inch of concrete under my feet so it was back to the campsite.
All the way home Ron moaned about the Gristmill and I told him we could go back later and check it out but I needed to change into sneakers. He continued to whine and I continued to ignore him. We never did get back to see the Grist Mill because we became engrossed in feeding one family of Ducks and two families of Geese at the pond 
with about three other families coming to visit us as well. I don’t know why I didn’t know this but Geese have tongues – very long tongues. Ron was able to get one of the Geese to eat out of his hand. It was really cool and they weren’t afraid of us at all. 
Back at the campsite Ron started a campfire – something we haven’t done in the last two years. It was a balmy, quiet night and the campfire soothing. 
We woke on the 21st to another warm 72-80 degree day. The forecast called for clear skies, sun and a minor chance of rain later this evening. The Atlanta area has been experiencing a drought
SEE Video:
for the last two years so they are praying for rain.
We took the MARTA (train) into Atlanta this morning and were warned by the personnel at the campground about the panhandlers in the city. Upon arrival in Atlantic our first encounter was with –YOU GUESSED IT – a panhandler. He must have known we were tourists by the confused looks on our faces, the map and camera around Ron’s neck. Let it be known this guy was very polite and was lugging a large suitcase and backpack. He informed us we were heading in the wrong direction to the Coca-Cola factory.
It was moved one year ago but the map and 
street signs have not been updated. He walked with us to make sure we didn’t get lost and then hit us up for some money. Ron obliged – because the guy was so polite.
On the way to the Coca Cola Museum we walked through Centennial Olympic Park
where the summer Olympics were held. It is a spectacular place right in the center of the big city. Next stop on the way to the Cola Museum was the CNN studio tour.
No pictures were allowed inside due to copyright laws. We really enjoyed the tour and are amazed at the volumes of people needed to produce the news. Then it was on to Underground Atlanta. This was a self-guided walking tour that gave you a glimpse of what life was like in the early 1800’s. There are architectural sites remaining but today it just another shopping mall. We were running out of time so were unable to get into the Historic 
District. We were told that we needed to get out of Atlanta no later then 4 PM or we would be stuck in a three-hour traffic jam.
We arrived at our campsite around 5:30 PM and the traffic wasn’t as bad as we were told. Ron set up the loungers, tables and drinks. He brought the computer out so we could work on the blog. At around 6:30 the sky was getting very black, the air cooler and the wind was picking up. Then the loudest thunderclap I have ever heard scared the daylights out of me. That was bad enough but a man in a trailer across from us came running out and asked us what county we were in because a tornado had touched down in Alphretta county. Guess what – that was less then 10 minutes from us. This did not make me a happy woman
especially when a patrol car showed up and the officer stopped at every site informing everyone of the severe thunder storm and possible tornado that was approaching our area at 41 miles per hour. He told Ron & I not to worry about our possessions (because they are replaceable) but only to be concerned for our lives. He instructed us to head for the rest room and hunker down in the middle of the building or we could go to the pavilion with a group of other people. I chose the latter - DUMB IDEA – the pavilion was a bunch of 2x6 poles with a roof on top. No real protection from the elements but quite a few people had gathered and were watching weather developments on the big screen TV . 
I didn’t want to say anything to Ronnie because he wanted to stay in the RV and leave only if we had to. At that point I would have been happy to have been in a concrete building not a bloody lean-to. The wind was whipping and the rain was torrential with lighting that was unbelievable. The storms came out of no-one and are called tornadic thunderstorms – for good reason – they come into the atmosphere spinning. Areas to the north of us were hit really hard with hail, downed trees and power outages. Fox had a video of I-75- the road we were on a couple of hours pervious and the rain was so heavy and the sky so dark all you could see was faint headlights. The tornado warning was lifted around 8 PM but the severe thunderstorm warnings lasted until 3 AM.
We took the MARTA (train) into Atlanta this morning and were warned by the personnel at the campground about the panhandlers in the city. Upon arrival in Atlantic our first encounter was with –YOU GUESSED IT – a panhandler. He must have known we were tourists by the confused looks on our faces, the map and camera around Ron’s neck. Let it be known this guy was very polite and was lugging a large suitcase and backpack. He informed us we were heading in the wrong direction to the Coca-Cola factory.
It was moved one year ago but the map and 
street signs have not been updated. He walked with us to make sure we didn’t get lost and then hit us up for some money. Ron obliged – because the guy was so polite.On the way to the Coca Cola Museum we walked through Centennial Olympic Park
where the summer Olympics were held. It is a spectacular place right in the center of the big city. Next stop on the way to the Cola Museum was the CNN studio tour.
No pictures were allowed inside due to copyright laws. We really enjoyed the tour and are amazed at the volumes of people needed to produce the news. Then it was on to Underground Atlanta. This was a self-guided walking tour that gave you a glimpse of what life was like in the early 1800’s. There are architectural sites remaining but today it just another shopping mall. We were running out of time so were unable to get into the Historic 
District. We were told that we needed to get out of Atlanta no later then 4 PM or we would be stuck in a three-hour traffic jam.We arrived at our campsite around 5:30 PM and the traffic wasn’t as bad as we were told. Ron set up the loungers, tables and drinks. He brought the computer out so we could work on the blog. At around 6:30 the sky was getting very black, the air cooler and the wind was picking up. Then the loudest thunderclap I have ever heard scared the daylights out of me. That was bad enough but a man in a trailer across from us came running out and asked us what county we were in because a tornado had touched down in Alphretta county. Guess what – that was less then 10 minutes from us. This did not make me a happy woman
especially when a patrol car showed up and the officer stopped at every site informing everyone of the severe thunder storm and possible tornado that was approaching our area at 41 miles per hour. He told Ron & I not to worry about our possessions (because they are replaceable) but only to be concerned for our lives. He instructed us to head for the rest room and hunker down in the middle of the building or we could go to the pavilion with a group of other people. I chose the latter - DUMB IDEA – the pavilion was a bunch of 2x6 poles with a roof on top. No real protection from the elements but quite a few people had gathered and were watching weather developments on the big screen TV . 
I didn’t want to say anything to Ronnie because he wanted to stay in the RV and leave only if we had to. At that point I would have been happy to have been in a concrete building not a bloody lean-to. The wind was whipping and the rain was torrential with lighting that was unbelievable. The storms came out of no-one and are called tornadic thunderstorms – for good reason – they come into the atmosphere spinning. Areas to the north of us were hit really hard with hail, downed trees and power outages. Fox had a video of I-75- the road we were on a couple of hours pervious and the rain was so heavy and the sky so dark all you could see was faint headlights. The tornado warning was lifted around 8 PM but the severe thunderstorm warnings lasted until 3 AM.
SEE Video:
On the brighter side while we were waiting to be blown away American Idol came on and we watched it on the big screen TV in the not so secure open pavilion.
Although I did tell Ron I was done and wanted to go home – very tired of dodging severe weather and the dreaded tornado I will continue on the trip. Tomorrow it is on to Chattanooga, Tennessee to visit Ruby Falls, Rock City and the Incline Railway. More to follow.
On the brighter side while we were waiting to be blown away American Idol came on and we watched it on the big screen TV in the not so secure open pavilion.
Although I did tell Ron I was done and wanted to go home – very tired of dodging severe weather and the dreaded tornado I will continue on the trip. Tomorrow it is on to Chattanooga, Tennessee to visit Ruby Falls, Rock City and the Incline Railway. More to follow.
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