Veterans State Park and Albany, GA

Simba perching in the front of our RV

Jeff decided he wanted to go somewhere this weekend so we picked Georgia Veterans State Park again since it was close by. The weather predicted a chance for showers but we were fortunate in that we didn't get rained on at any time. It was actually a beautiful weekend but we could tell the summer heat was rolling in; along with the mosquitoes, and gnats. Jeff and I both agree that November through April is the best time for camping. Once the heat gets bad, it's just miserable to be outside unless we are at the beach. And, the girls hate the heat and don't tolerate even short hikes when the heat and humidity increase.

We decided to try the Parks at Chehaw on Saturday morning. They do provide a military discount on admission. And, they do have a place for both tent and RV camping on site which we didn't know. We drove through the campground and it was nice but not as nice as the state park. The girls loved the huge playground area though in the park. There are two separate admissions; one for the park (for those who just might to have a picnic, etc.) and then the admission for the zoo portion. While we did enjoy it, I would recommend going to Dauset Trails Nature Center as there is no admission cost there and the animals are much more friendly in the petting zoo portion. We are glad we tried this once and it was something enjoyable to do in the nearby area. They did provide an awesome demonstration of the cheetah's speed and we enjoyed seeing a baby monkey that was only 3 weeks old (see below).

We ate lunch at Blackbeards Seafood & Bar-B-Que in Albany, GA. The food was very good.

In the afternoon, we visited the Flint RiverQuarium. This was located in Albany, GA, also and was very close to the Parks at Chehaw. They also provide a military discount for admission. And, like the Parks at Chehaw, I've attend other aquariums that we much more impressive but this was a nice place to visit at least once. They had a catfish display and Rachel tried her hand at noodling a fake catfish. I can't imagine people doing that for real. EWWWW!!!

The part the girls enjoyed the most though was playing in the water outside of the aquarium and there was no cost to do that (see below). If you go to this area in the warm months, bring a change of clothes or bathing suit for the kiddos so they can enjoy this.

On Sunday, we walked around the park. We checked out the Lake Blackshear Resort which is also located in Georgia Veteran's State Park. It was very nice and the view of Lake Blackshear was gorgeous from the back of the resort.