from our instagram feed!

– ryan & gub

tugaloo state park

1763 tugaloo state park road
lavonia, georgia 30553
706-356-4362

woke up to fog on the lake this morning! from our instagram feed!

– ryan & gub

tugaloo state park

1763 tugaloo state park road
lavonia, georgia 30553
706-356-4362

our camping adventure to tugaloo state park was a great success! the pioneer site definitely had some cons, ie. a 50 yard hike-in and only outhouses in the direct vicinity, however all-in-all, i would say it was our favorite group camping spot yet!

the pioneer site was very secluded and located on a peninsula on lake hartwell, which was awesome! there were great views and you got to wake up to the sunrise over the lake. the tent and rv sites were down the road, so there was a lot of privacy and you didn’t have to fall asleep to the sound of rv generators.

there were three shelters where you could stash your gear or hide out if it rained, which we were fortunate enough to avoid! there was also a covered pavilion near the parking area with picnic tables, however it was not very close to the tents so we didn’t use it. there were also nice bathrooms and showers near the yurts and tent sites, so you could always head there for a nicer bathroom experience. i had a brief encountering with some critters in one of the outhouses! it turned out to only be flying squirrels (see below photo), however i avoided that outhouse afterwards!

this was by far our best packing yet! we were still packed to the brim, however we packed in such a way that everything was easily accessible throughout the trip. on previous camping outings, we were often scrambling to find what we needed when we actually needed something. we now use a handy list to help prepare and make sure we have everything we need and pack smarter. we keep our supplies in one bin and food in another and pack items with similar uses together so you can easily grab what you need.

we picked up a few new camping tips for this adventure. we pre-beat our eggs and brought them in a sealed container, which made breakfast super easy! you can do the same thing with pancake mix! we also made sure we double bagged items in the cooler, so they didn’t get nasty, and brought extra tupperware and ziplock bags for storage.

tugaloo state park had a ton of stuff you could do besides relaxing by the lake. there were kayaks/canoes for rent, a couple different trails to hike, beach swimming and also miniature golf! we did some lake swimming and hit up a playground, but that was about it. our friends mike and esther bee went kayaking and said it was super fun. next time we will make our way to the miniature golf for sure!

for our first family camping of the season, it was very successful! the weather was perfect, there weren’t any bugs and the camp site was beautiful. we would definitely head back to tugaloo. the pioneer site was only $35 a night for up to 50 people, so it’s a great deal for group camping!

– ryan & gub

tugaloo state park

1763 tugaloo state park road
lavonia, georgia 30553
706-356-4362

we packed our car to the brim and headed to tugaloo state park for our first family camping of the season! it’s a very beautiful park with lake-front camping, so we are excited! more photos to come soon.

– ryan & gub

tugaloo state park

1763 tugaloo state park road
lavonia, georgia 30553
706-356-4362

we had a blast at the atlanta zoo today!

– ryan & gub

zoo atlanta

800 cherokee avenue se
atlanta, ga 30315
404-624-5600

our little birds at the atlanta zoo this morning! on a side note, did you know as a georgia resident, you are able to get a family of four into the zoo for free once a year? all you have to do is visit a georgia public library and check out the zoo pass dvd. upon returning the dvd, you receive a pass that can get two adults and two children (kids under 3 are already free) into the zoo! this was our second time taking advantage of this great offer! it’s super easy and well worth the effort.

more details can be found here!

– ryan & gub

zoo atlanta

800 cherokee avenue se
atlanta, ga 30315
404-624-5600

for my birthday, we got a babysitter and tried out our first scavenger hunt from clue town books. we had a blast for sure! we started out at the republic for some cocktails before walking over to historic oakland cemetery for our adventure.

for those of you who are unfamiliar with clue town, they are these great scavenger hunt books from local kirkwood resident jay carlson. the books come with a compass, a little pencil, and lots of puzzles to solve along the way. he has released 4 books so far, including: piedmont park, oakland cemetery, downtown decatur, and the beltline eastside trail. the scavenger hunts take roughly 60-90 minutes to complete, depending on which one you go with.

for our first clue town adventure, we went with the historic oakland cemetery. the hunt took us about an hour and a half, which was longer than the 60 minute estimate. we took our time strolling through the historic atlanta site however, soaking in our rare outing away from the kids. the puzzles were challenging at times, but definitely fun and not too hard. the compass was used quite a bit as well, which added to the experience!

although we didn’t bring our kids, the oakland cemetery hunt definitely seemed kid-friendly. everything was self-contained within the cemetery walls and parking was close and free, so it would be an easy scavenger hunt to try out with the kids.

you can buy clue town books directly from jay at most atlanta festivals, or you can find them at select atlanta shops, including: the beehive, youngblood boutique, heliotrope, oakland cemetery gift shop and the high museum of art gift shop.

up next for us is piedmont park, we can’t wait! we are going to try it out with clementine and grey!

– ryan & gub

historic oakland cemetery

248 oakland avenue se
atlanta, ga 30312
404-249-5000

the republic

437 c memorial drive se
atlanta, ga 30312
404-577-3997

here are some some more photos from our recent camping trip at lake rabun.

– ryan & gub

lake rabun recreation area

1963 hosea l williams drive ne r106
lakemont, ga 30552
706-754-6221

we finally made it to the falls!

– ryan & gub

lake rabun recreation area

1963 hosea l williams drive ne r106
lakemont, ga 30552
706-754-6221

we were able to go on a hike with both grey and clementine on our recent camping trip to lake rabun recreation area. the last time we went camping, grey was still a little too small for such activities. this time we just strapped him on my back and went to check out panther falls.

both the canopy hike and the waterfalls were quite beautiful! you definitely broke a sweat getting up there, but it was totally doable for kids. the cold water was also quite refreshing when we finally made it up there!

– ryan & gub

lake rabun recreation area

1963 hosea l williams drive ne r106
lakemont, ga 30552
706-754-6221