2008 ~ October 23-27, To Watch Grandkids in Pelham, Georgia

Day 1: Thursday, October 23, 2008

For breakfast, I ate a waffle, a nd my husband ate cereal. We both dressed and left the house about 9 A.M.

We did a double-take to make sure everything was turned off or closed. 

We slid both slide-outs in, loaded the car, and were on our way. 

We traveled down I-65 through Birmingham, took exit 261 north toward Gadsden, and then onto I-20 for 1.2 miles. 

We took exit 126A toward Sylacauga and Zoo Gardens, then took 280 east for 109 miles. This took us over the mountains; it was a four-lane, but not an interstate.  

We stopped at Logan's in Opelika, AL, 2400 Gateway Dr., Opelika, AL 36801-5401. 

My husband ordered a hamburger, and I ordered chicken fingers with fries, fried mushrooms, and tea. 

I ate two rolls and one chicken finger. I took two chicken fingers, fries, and one roll with me, and I gave them to the grandkids. 

We merged onto I-85 north toward Atlanta, Columbus, and Phoenix. After 3.2 miles, we took exit 62 toward Phoenix. Then, we turned slightly right onto Columbus Parkway US 280 for 61 miles, crossing into Georgia when 280 becomes GA-520 east, and continued south for 44 miles. 

We merge onto US 82 Jefferson Davis Memorial Parkway, heading toward Tifton and Camilla, which is another 8 miles.  

US 82 becomes US-19 for 33 miles. At the caution light, we turn right onto 93 and follow the signs for 93 through the city of Pelham. 

We turned right behind the Pelham Elementary School, went about three miles, and came to the stop sign at County Line Road. We turned left onto Mill Pond Road for two miles. 

We went to the end of Mill Pond Road, where we saw a large, old cemetery on both sides of the road.

The church and the house were on the right side of the road.  

The boy's soccer games were canceled because of rain.

We stopped at a fruit stand where we bought a five-pound bag of peanuts and some boiled peanuts. 

When we arrived, everyone was glad to see you.

I went to the car to get the leftovers and the peanuts. I looked them over. 

The food soon vanished, and we parched some of the peanuts. 

We played word games on TV with Charity, Dakota, and Sierra.

I went to Walmart while Andy, my husband, Montana, and Nevada watched a football game. 

The first night my husband and I slept in Dakota's bed, I did not sleep very well. 

Day 2: Friday, October 24, 2008

My son and his wife left about 10 A.M. They are going to Atlanta, GA, to a ministry conference. 

Today we are taking the kids to The Flint Riverqurium. 

It poured rain all day, making it a great day for indoor activity. 

I decided to buy a family year pass at the Riverqurium so my son and his wife can bring the kids back; the cost was $79.00 for the entire family for one year.

Our picture was taken and put on the two cards.

This is what we saw:

Explore Amazing Exhibits at the Flint Riverqurium.

We saw more than 100 kinds of fish, turtles, alligators, snapping turtles, and other creatures that make the Riverqurium Blue Hole their home.

At the Flint River Gallery, we saw both freshwater and saltwater tanks, as well as a live-fish hatchery.

Discovery Caverns were fun games and eye-opening exhibits. 

Control the weather is an interactive area that tests your knowledge of local weather, featuring three buttons for three players.  

Change the way a river flows in this area. The kids played in a sandbox while water flowed, creating their own water route. 

The kids climbed into an underground cave to uncover mysterious subterranean creatures. 

At first, Montana was afraid to go into the cave, so I told him that Sierra would go ahead of him and that I would follow behind.

Discovery Caverns 

Changing the way the River Flows

We had to crawl through the slide tunnels. We entered small caves with small fish tanks, and there were windows where we could look out as we traveled through the tunnel.  

It was tough crawling on my knees, so when it was time to get out,  I slid out. It was a lot of fun,n but not for more than one trip. 

The boys enjoyed the cave so much that they went through it several more times.

Riverqurium 

Riverqurium 

We stopped at the gift shop, where each grandkid picked out a souvenir. 

We went to the AdventuCenter, where we walked through the world of catfish. 

There was a walk-through catfish where you could see the heart, liver, gills, and other parts of the fish life-size. 

Catfish

Inside a Catfish 

We stopped at Burger King in Camilla, GA, for lunch.

For supper, we cooked two pizzas and I parched some peanuts. 

After supper, Dakota wanted to go to a football game in Cairo, so we all loaded into the van and took him.

I gave Dakota $10.00 for the gam, and my husband gave him another $5.00. 

That night we watched movies: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and The Haunted Mansion. 

We watched movies until 11:30 P.M., and then we went to bed.

Montana slept with my husband, and I slept in Andy's bed.

Sierra slept on the floor, Nevada & Dakota slept on the sofa.

Day 3: Saturday, October 25, 2008

My husband took Dakota to soccer practice at 9:30 A.M., but the practice must have been canceled; a few people showed up, but no coach.

It was a beautiful day, so we took the kids to the Turtle Park in Albany. 

There were turtle statues everywhere, and one of the neatest was the large cork turtle. 

The turtle was giant; it felt like climbing a mountain. It had a large head where the kids climbed onto for me to take pictures. 

There were several different types of slides, swings, climbing equipment, and lots of other stuff. 

Standing on a cork turtle

Standing on a cork turtle

Turtle Park was located next to the Roaring Flint River, which was overflowing due to the recent rain.

We walked across the street to the Ray Charles Plaza, where we saw a life-size statue of Ray Charles playing piano on a rotating pedestal.

It was amazing,  around him were piano keys and music notes.  

Ray Charles Plaza

The view from the park was amazing; you could see the roaring Flint River and an old train trestle, as well as the Flint Riverqurium and the Civic Center. 

We ate lunch at Riverfront Bar-B-, Q 105 Broad Avenue, just across the street from the park. 

We each ordered a barbecue sandwich, and we spent $38.50.  

We left the park and rode to the ChewZoo Wild Animal Park. 

Charity had given $50.00, so I bought a family pass to the Zoo. 

I also bought tickets for Boo at the Zoo for that night. The cost for six tickets was $19.25.

Chewhaw Wild Animal Park Zoo

Chewhaw Wild Animal Park Zoo

Chewhaw Wild Animal Park Zoo

Chewhaw Wild Animal Park Zoo

As we entered the park, we were told to visit the Cheetah exhibit. 

We went to see the cheetahs, and they were terrifying, mainly because of their speed and need to run. 

We saw the red wolf, black rhinoceros, cheetah, black-and-white Colobus monkeys, four species of lemurs, and beautiful giant antelopes known as bongos. 

We also saw a tiny duiker antelope, Grant's zebras, black bears, American bison, a bobcat, and a serval. 

Zoo visitors can also enjoy sights of birds such as ibises, flamingos, crowned cranes, ostriches, bald eagles, and colorful tracings. 

The kids enjoyed watching the black bears run and play, and one even climbed a tree.

At the alligator outpost, we saw over two dozen American alligators. 

One giant alligator caught our interest. At first sight, he looked like a fake, but he was not. 

It looked like he had just eaten, for his jaws were bulging. 

Our last stop was at the reptile house, where we saw a Burmese python, bright blue and black poison dart frogs, slithering wonders like the king snake, rattlesnake, and rat snake, and various lizards.

There were several snakes in the same cage, entwined with one zooer. 

The rattlesnake seemed to be waiting for his food, as he was very active.

The Zoo closed at 4:30 P.M. because they were preparing for Boo at the Zoo.

So we went to the pZooground area until 6:30 P.M., then went back to the Zoo for Boo at the Zoo. 

Boo at the Zoo

Boo at the Zoo

Boo at the Zoo

Montana dressed as Spiderman, Nevada dressed as a NZooa, Sierra wore a long black dress and cap, and Dakota wore a green hat. 

Boo, at tZooZoo, is the zooiest trick-or-treat in town! 

We had a spooktacularly good time as the Zoo transformed into a traffic-free trick-or-treat and a merry-not-too-scary event. 

It featured monster-ous thrills and chills, Boo-Choo-Choo train rides, Goblin Games, Ghoulish Goodies, and the Trick or TrTrailrail! 

The kids played the goblin game and walked the Trail, anticipating ghoulish gobbling and treats along the way. 

There was a cemetery with buried ghosts, and there were goblins around every corner. 

We stopped at Winn-Dixie to get hot dogs for supper.

The kids spent the rest of the evening playing games and watching TV. 

I downloaded the pictures that Sierra had taken that day.

Day 4: Sunday, October 26, 2008 

Sunday morning was church day for the kids. I had Dakota put Montana and Nevada into the bathtub, and he helped them get ready for church. 

While the kids were getting ready for church, I  cleaned the house.  

At 10:00 A.M., I took the kids to church and made sure someone from the church would watch them until Andy & Charity arrived that afternoon.

Going to Church 

Going to Church 

We had to get back home, so we stopped at Burger King in Albany for lunch.

We bought gas at Flash Foods in Pelham, Alabama.

In Athens, we stopped at Walmart for gas at $31.05, ate supper at Cracker Barrel, and were home by 6:00 P.M. 

Lora called and said her dryer was broken. She wanted me to go with her to Ronald's to dry her clothes.  

This was the end of another nice vacation.