Decatur Lantern Parade

The week my mom and sister were visiting we were lucky enough that it happened to fall around the same time as the Decatur Lantern Parade.

A community event prefaced by a month of workshops throughout Decatur for residents to make their own lanterns and participate in the lantern parade.

The results were a night of whimsy and fun in downtown Decatur.

Oakland Cemetery

I've been before but it is still one of the best places to visit in the city, and an excellent place to bring guests from out of town.  When my mom and sister came to visit they knew they wanted to stop by Oakland Cemetery for a visit.

Sweetwater Creek State Park

Just to the west of Atlanta lies Sweetwater Creek State Park.  A natural, historical, and cultural conservation area that boasts a long and storied history; the ruins of which can still be seen in the state park.

After being told my dog Max and I had to be out of the apartment for 8 hours while they fixed my tub I decided it was the perfect time to go on a little exploratory hiking adventure through the Georgia wilderness.  So we packed a lunch and hit the road to Sweetwater Creek State Park.

Fort Pierce Farmer's Market

One more post for the category of 'things to do in Fort Pierce'! On the last weekend I was home on winter break we headed down to the Fort Pierce Farmer's Market, a weekly event held on Saturday mornings in Downtown Fort Pierce right on the river featuring local produce, food and other goods sold by local businesses.

Endless Summer Winery

What better way to top off Christmas than by topping off your wine glass?  At least this is my family's train of thought.  After a quiet holiday we decided the best way to spend the Sunday after Christmas at our local winery.

Endless Summer Winery is a laid-back, loosely beach themed winery that opened a few years ago only a few minutes away from my parent's house in Florida.

Christmastime at Atlantic Station

Right before I headed out for winter break my mom popped up to Atlanta to do a little holiday shopping at some of the stores we don't have the privilege of patronizing at home.

So what better way to get into the holiday spirit than to head over to Atlantic Station to look at the lights, ice skating rink and most importantly (and the real reason we went) the snow show!

 

Autumn in the North Georgia Mountains

You may remember that recently I was visited by my grandparents as part of a stop on a road trip up to the mountains to see some fall colors and scenery. Well, last week I was visited by my parents also looking to spy some fall color and partake in various traditional fall festivities.

 You may be noticing a pattern here.

 Well, let me tell you, for people from Florida, in order to be aware that fall exists outside of a slightly less hot pumpkin flavored summer that is punctuated by children sweating through costumes you actually have to leave the state. 

So onward they come to the Great White North of Georgia!

Atlanta History Center: Civil War Exhibit

It should be obvious by the number of posts dedicated to the Atlanta History Center that there is quite a bit to see and that it should potentially be considered an all day activity. As we headed over to the museum section of the history center we were starting to wind down a little, so we made one last stop at the Civil War exhibit.

Atlanta History Center: The Swan House

There was so much to see at the Atlanta History Center that it had to take up two posts!

After looking at the farm and walking up the path we headed on over to The Swan House, a large immaculate home built in 1928 that once belonged to the Inman family, an old money family with a fortune from a cotton brokerage. The house's most recent claim to fame is that it was used as the presidential palace in the filming of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Atlanta History Center: Smith Family Farm

Since I had never been and neither had they my grandparents and I decided as part of their visit on their last day in town to make a trip over to the Atlanta History Center to check out what they had to offer. And actually they have quite a bit to offer.

The History Center is on a plot of land that consists of a nature trail, an historic farm, The Swan House and the History Museum itself and also includes the Margret Mitchell House (of Gone With the Wind fame) which is located at a separate location in Midtown, but you have 10 days to use your passes to visit.

Arabia Mountain: Climb to the Top

After having such a nice day in the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area the day before, we decided to return and do the mountain top trail this time. It's not a very far hike and consists of an interesting granite terrain marked by these rock cairns that lead you along the trail.

Arabia Mountain

This week my grandparents visited me as they were passing through Georgia on their way up to the mountains to get in a little fall color and scenery not easily found in Florida.

Eschewing the more tourist route of Stone Mountain, we decided to head about 30 minutes southwest of the city to the Arabia Mountain National Historic Area. The historic area consists of several natural and historical points of interest near Lithonia that include a Monastery, mill ruins, and more than a few historic farms, houses and homesteads, amongst other things, all connected by a series of Atlanta's PATH bike, skate and walking friendly trails.

We ended up at the Davidson-Arabia Nature Preserve and walked up the yellow trail to Arabia Lake.

Candler Park Fall Festival

It's officially fall and I've come to find that in Atlanta, this means fall festivals galore.  The various communities throughout the Atlanta area are obviously very aware that this time of year is their Goldilocks zone for outdoor festivities.  Not too hot, not too cold, just right.  So I decided to hop on the train and hit the first fall festival of the season in Candler Park, a beautiful, quaint, historic neighborhood, with charming and picturesque homes, well-kept and mostly from the 20's,

I had never been to this part of town, so was actually pretty happy that there was a nice little walk from the train station.  Especially since I found my dream house along the way.

Dahlonega and The Foothills

After a first two hot and polluted days in Atlanta we decided to head north a little ways towards the mountains. Specifically, the little town of Dahlonega and The Foothills Scenic Byway.

Atlanta Recon Trip

With my impending move to Atlanta quickly approaching in August my mom and I decided to make a short (see: very short) trip up to gather some reconnaissance on the different areas, look into some housing options and turn in some paper work to the HR department for my assistantship.