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

we camped at vogel state park during the 4th of July! the kids formed the cutest inner tube train EVER!!! from our instagram feed!

– ryan & gub

vogel state park

405 vogel state park Rd,
blairsville, ga 30512

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

to celebrate memorial day, we packed our lunches and went to red top mountain state park for some lake swimming!!! the park is only about 50 minutes from atlanta and offers great hiking trails, camping, cottages, lake swimming, miniature golf and even boat rentals. there’s lots to do for sure.

the swimming was nicer than expected, although fairly busy with the holiday. the water was super green and translucent and not too chilly. it only cost $5 to park for the day, so it was a nice inexpensive excursion. we will definitely be headed back!

on a side note, there was an o brother where art thou type baptism happening when we were at the lake. it was very interesting!

– ryan & gub

red top mountain state park

50 lodge road se
cartersville, ga 30121

clementine turned three years old today! how time flies. clementine had her party at bessie bran ham park like last year. it is the perfect spot for little kids parties!

– ryan & gub

bessie branham park

2051 delano drive ne
atlanta, georgia 30317

we are very fortunate to have such beautiful parks in atlanta! one of our favorites is called deepdene park and is part of atlanta’s olmstead linear parks. it’s also right down the road from our house, which makes it even better. these parks were designed by frank olmsted, who also designed central park in new york city, prospect park in brooklyn, the emerald necklace of boston, the biltmore estate in asheville and the nation’s capitol grounds. not a shabby resume!

deepdene features a large field with a surrounding track, as well as 22 acres of canopied forest filled with creeks and bridges for exploring. it’s a lot of fun for both adults and children and a great escape from the surrounding business of atlanta.

– ryan & gub

deepdene park

north ponce de leon avenue ne
atlanta, ga 30307