Originally, we planned to camp at Vogel State Park this weekend. But, I wasn't able to leave work early on Friday so we chose FDR State Park instead as it was closer and it wouldn't require us to drive through the Atlanta area on a Friday afternoon. It was so humid and foggy on Friday evening. The fog was so thick you could slice it with a knife. But, the temperature was comfortable. That was not the case the rest of the weekend as the temperature dropped a lot on Saturday.
We had hoped to have dinner at The Purple Cow restaurant Friday evening which was one of our favorite sandwich shops in Pine Mountain. But, we found that it had closed down. We were so disappointed. We ended up having dinner at Sage's Ice Cream Parlor instead. Then, we walked around the down town area where local children were singing Christmas Carols. I guess it was the first night in town with the Christmas decorations being lit up, etc.
War Eagle!
Auburn was scheduled to play Georgia in Auburn on Saturday. Jeff suggested we drive to Auburn, which is only about an hour from FDR State Park, to enjoy pre-game festivities and see if we could find some tickets at a cheaper price. Face value for a ticket is $60 and needless to say, we hated paying that much for each ticket when the girls don't really watch the game. We arrived several hours before the game started. We browsed some shops and walked around campus for a while and then we had lunch at the Mellow Mushroom. While there, Anna found a man's wallet on the floor when she was coming back from the restroom. We gave it to a waitress and she said a man had been looking for his wallet. A few minutes later, the man walked back to our table and thanked Anna. He also gave her five dollars for her good deed. He was a UGA fan though and we told him that if he wanted to truly express his gratitude that he had to say, "War Eagle!" :-)
We briefly visited my old Air Force ROTC detachment. Unfortunately, the Air Force ROTC detachment didn't have a tent or anything set up outside for alumni prior to the game. But, we did stop for a moment and got a picture at the "spirit rock" before continuing on for the day.
We attempted to purchase tickets several times before the game started but the scalpers were unwilling to sell them for anything less than $40 each...most wanted full face value. So, we waited until after the first quarter began and we were then able to purchase four tickets at $20 each. We got tickets on the upper deck but they were on the 50-yard line. For those who watched the game, you'll know Auburn lost. But, it was a close game....a real nail biter to the very end. That made it a good game to watch even with the loss. And, it has been a very long time since Jeff and I attended a big game such as this at Auburn. For the past few years, we have gone for homecoming and that was it.
We ate dinner in Auburn at Guthrie's and then headed back to Pine Mountain for the evening.
Callaway Gardens
We made our reservations for Fantasy in Lights at Callaway Gardens for Saturday night from 8-9 pm. This was our first year to go. We've talked about going for years but always ended up choosing something else to do on the weekends. We chose to go in the trolley car for the tour of the lights. It was such a cold night...down in the 40s while we were there for the tour. We enjoyed it and would like to go again next year...except we think we'll drive our jeep next time instead of taking the trolley. I would also recommend you bring your own Thermos with hot chocolate on cold nights. We paid $3.00 per cup of hot chocolate. And, if its a cold night, extra blankets are a must!
The tickets we purchased for Saturday night was good for two days. So, we visited the gardens on Sunday before returning home. We attended the Birds of Prey show first. And, then we visited the Butterfly Center. We have attended a Birds of Prey show at Veteran's State Park several months back. While the show at Callaway was nice, it was not nearly as long or as entertaining as the one we attended at Veteran's.
We decided to eat lunch at a restaurant located near the entrance to Callaway Gardens called Cricket's. The food was very yummy and the restaurant was a good choice. They served steak, seafood and even some cajun fare.
All in all... a good weekend; except Auburn losing to Georgia. Now, I'll have to deal with all the UGA fans gloating on Monday morning. Oh, joy! I'll forgive Auburn so long as they spank Alabama at the upcoming Iron Bowl. Bama is undefeated and ranked #1...yep, that would be a great Christmas gift if Auburn can win that game in a couple of weeks.
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