Midnight Train to Georgia

Last weekend, I took a trip to Georgia (U.S. State). I had family and other matters to take care of.
This was my first trip to this famous State in America.  Frankly, I did not know much about Georgia except for her popular capital city "Atlanta", also as the home state of the civil rights champion, Martin Luther King Jnr, and the tune "Georgia on my mind"  made popular by Ray Charles, a song that was originally written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Stuart Gorrell (lyrics). and became Georgia's state song in 1979. Well during my short stay, I found out that there is more to Georgia than all of the above.

Her best-kept secret is The Stone Mountain Park, well maybe not be a secret to Americans but for someone living in the Caribbean such as me, it certainly was. This Granite mountain has the carvings of the Generals:  of the Confederate States of America: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis. lead me to read up  a little bit more of Georgia's history
 I would not bore you with the details, but the crux of the granite is,  the state of Georgia is located in the Southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. Named after King George 11 of Great Britain. 

Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788. It declared its secession from the Union on January 21, 1861, and was one of the original seven Confederate states. It was the last state to be restored to the Union, on July 15, 1870.
Georgia is the 24th most extensive and the 9th most populous of the 50 United States. From 2007 to 2008, 14 of Georgia's counties ranked among the nation's 100 fastest-growing, second only to Texas. Georgia is known as the Peach State and the Empire State of the South.

Enough of the history, I arrived at the Hartsfield- Jackson airport on Friday afternoon, and did not reach my hotel until dark (you don't wanna know the nitty-gritty).
 

After a weekend of reunion and Parties with friends, (although not much of a drinker, except for a glass of wine now and again, and the occasional cocktail) I broke my own rule, I have never drunk so much wine in my life! to my surprise, the hangover was bearable)

I decided to look around our hotel (Evergreen Marriot resort)  and voila! the hotel was smack in the middle of this great park: Stone Mountain Park. A couple of my friends ( all who were from out of state like me) and I thought,  to check it out and we were not only smug with our discovery but got so carried away, we missed the shuttle back to the hotel.

There was so much to see and play with, the Granite mountain with the Generals is one of the loveliest sights. I  did not have enough courage to go zip lining up the mountain, actually, it's sky riding in a cable car, not enough time to see the Antebellum Plantation & Farmyard, and tickets for the Stone Mountain Laser show were sold out, but I did ride the duck on the lake. And I felt like I was 8 years old again. A very refreshing experience after a weekend of partying.

We are often caught up in our very busy schedules, and never take a moment to truly relax, be like children and really play. Even when we are on vacation, our days are still crammed with activities that sap our positive energy.
You know, do stuff, that makes you giggle like an eight-year-old, laugh until tears are streaming down your cheeks, and you struggle to catch some air. 

On this  Duck (bus/boat ) which goes on land and water, i spent 30 mins (that's how long the tour takes)  being a child, and seeing the world through a child's eyes.  With a quaker in my mouth, I quaked like a duck and enjoyed the scenery and history behind the lake and the mountain. Listened to the carillon at intervals and wished I could spend the whole day there, maybe do some fishing.

There were as you might have guessed lots of kids on the Duck, and we truly can learn a thing or two from them. So I watched them and learned to let go and just have pure fun.

If you are ever in Georgia, this is one park to visit.