Callaway Gardens

Frangipani (Plumeria)

Okay, so if you're ever over on the Western border of Georgia (by Alabama, for the directionally-challenged out there), you really should consider stopping by Callaway Gardens for a day.  It costs just under an arm & a leg to get in ($18/adult, $9/child, 5 & under/free), but it's a wonderful way to spend the day.  They have bikes to rent (though I didn't see anything for pulling small children, which is really TOO bad) and miles and miles and miles of trails to ride on.

Pioneer Cabin

The place is HUGE (13,000 acres), home of the world's largest azalea display, an incredible butterfly conservatory, and a magnificent vegetable garden, where PBS' "The Victory Garden" is filmed.  Then, there's random weirdness like ping pong tables and a shuffleboard court, a pioneer log cabin to explore, and a stone chapel.

Their newest recreation is the Tree Top Adventure... this looked like so much fun; I was cursing the fact that my littlest one is only three and the staff at CG would probably frown on my hooking him up & dragging through a ropes course, 30' off the ground.  Well, that and my 5 year old is afraid of heights.  Boooooooooo.  They were both fascinated watching people come down the zip line, though.  That might be my selling point in a few years.

Lake on Golf Course

If you're more into golf, God knows there's plenty of that to be had at Callaway.  Though I haven't touched my clubs since I was about 7 months pregnant with my first born, the course at CG looked really nice.  It was a beautiful day here in GA (sunny, about 70 degrees), so the course was pretty busy, but not annoyingly so.  The course runs between several lakes, so at least you have something lovely to look at while you're waiting for the foursome of 90 year olds in front of you to get on with it.  Oh, and there were beverage carts driving around, too, I saw.  Adult beverage carts.  That certainly makes the waiting more tolerable.

So, anyway, if you're in the area, stop by.