Thursday, September 10, 2015

Visiting Stone Mountain


 I hope you had a great Labor Day weekend!  For the holiday, we went with our good friends to stay at Stone Mountain, GA.  It's a beautiful park (although some parts are very touristy) with a lot of family activities.  We arrived one afternoon and after lunch, we visited the Antebellum Plantation, which is actually a collection of older buildings from the state of GA.  This is the one time there I lugged my big camera around.  I thought you might enjoy seeing a few of the pictures I took while there... I know you love old houses and buildings like this as much as I do.  ;-)   

The above home was my favorite.  It's named the Kingston House, circa 1845, of the late Federal period.  The top floor consisted of living, dining, and bedrooms and the bottom floor the kitchen. 


 When I first walked in, I turned to Justus and said, "This is why I live in an old house!"  Sometimes I find it easy to get bogged down by the never-ending projects and the imperfections, instead of embracing the sweet character of an old home.  It felt good to be reminded of the reasons I love our old house.


White and wood, I will never tire of you...





 I loved the logs on this Doctor's Cabin.  We read that the logs are locked into place, making the corners of the cabin strong enough to withstand tornadoes! 




 This is the Dickey House, circa 1840, of neoclassical architecture, which was fascinating to tour.  It has 14 rooms with 6250 square feet and was lived in by descendants of the family until the 1960s!   I think we read that it traveled to this location in four different pieces! 


 An arched hallway, so beautiful. 




 The fabric in this master bedroom was gorgeous. This wool coverlet was woven in 1836!


 Probably my favorite place to visit here was this dahlia garden!  Dahlias are my favorite flower and I could hardly take in how plentiful and large these plants were... I was completely envious, since my mom and I grow dahlias in our own flower garden and our plants aren't anywhere as tall as these!  ;-) 


 I wanted to climb into this garden and pick every one of these beauties! 


 This was the plantation office, although it looks like a building I would gladly make my home!



The favorite building of our girls was the one room schoolhouse (circa 1875) and they had a lot of fun playing here and pretending they were the teacher.  Despite the heat, I think they could have played here for hours!  

I think some of the same things that fascinate my girls about an earlier time period are the same things that fascinate me.  Imagining what life must have been like and the people that would have walked and lived in these same rooms.  Right now we're reading the Little House books, and it makes me laugh because I love reading those old stories just as much as my girls do! 


I took this picture of the three girls together in the formal garden.  What a fun weekend we had... we packed in quite a bit, visiting many of the attractions at Stone Mountain. 


I took this picture on my cell phone, so it's not the best quality, but you can see the Confederate Memorial carving in the mountain.   


 Here we are on the top of the mountain, after riding up on the sky-ride.  You can just about see all the way to Atlanta from here!  Some of the other highlights were a train ride, and the laser and fireworks show one night, but I think more than anything, we just enjoying spending time together.  Still, as fun as vacations are, I don't think there is anything quite like home, sweet home. :-)     

26 comments:

  1. Love your blog - I just rediscovered it after not visiting for a long while. You have a wonderful house, and both you and your husband are so talented in making beautiful things to put in it. And this looks like a great vacation spot!

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  2. What a lovely post, the pictures are so good, the buildings are brill, I love old buildings here in the UK you get so much variety. Enjoy!x

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  3. Thanks so much for sharing this piece on Stone Mountain! While I've been to Atlanta many times, my only visit to Stone Mtn. was for a meeting at the conference center. It was lovely and the grounds were beautiful, but my experience was limited to just that. Now, thanks to you, I have a whole new appreciation for the area!

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  4. I loved this post and the pictures! I love the school house picture where Beth has her hand up! :-) I'm so glad you had such a fun weekend.

    And even though I see you every single day... I'm so glad you started your blog back up again! :-)

    xoxoxox - Mom -

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  5. Beautiful photos - brings back a lot of childhood memories of GA for me!

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  6. Such a fun and educational getaway, the girls look like they really enjoyed it. I adore old houses and buildings as well, and especially the kitchens. It always fascinates me how so much love and good food can come from a humble kitchen. My very favorite book series is the Little House books. I found my first one several years ago in a discount book store at the beach and starting reading it on the ride home, and I was hooked! I read them every year and never tire of them. I never got to read them as a child, but am so glad I found them as an adult :) Deni

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    1. I think they are my favorite book series as well. I plan to read them to the girls every couple years! :-)

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  7. Wood and White is always right in my eyes as well. I love older homes with all the charm.
    Happy your back to blogging.....Have a lovely weekend.

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  8. I love seeing all of the pictures of Stone Mountain. Actually, I have been going there for the past 4 years to the Country Living Show at the end of October but never get to see Stone Mountain. I have to make time because I too love old houses and jus about anything old. I am sooooooooooo glad you are back.

    Thank you

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    1. Thank you for the kind words, Mary Ann. I had forgotten that the Country Living Fair is there until I saw it on a brochure. I had wondered where they set up in the park!

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    2. They set up all over the part. It is so much fun - all the vendors, antiques and the shows in the tents. You should try and go - you will have so much fun. It is October 23, 24, and 25. For me driving, it takes around 6 hours but totally worth it. If you plan on going, I will see you there.

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    3. They are set up all over the park. It is so much fun - The vendors, antiques and the shows in the tents are wonderful. The show is October 23, 24 and 25. For me the drive for 6 or so hours is totally worth it.

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  9. Thank you for bringing your camera along! Fun to see old houses. The flowers are so pretty! Our county fair has a old school house. So fun to walk in and think about how life was then. I just LOVE white and wood! So calming. Happy to see others enjoy the Little House books yet! I read the whole series about every other year. Many days the books keep me on track. I do think "my less is more" attitude comes from reading and thinking about the old days! Simple country life and family are my life. Happy your back because your blog is really all this and more!
    Patty

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  10. What a nice post, and such great photos of those historic interiors! My favorite flower is the dahlia also. We grow them and they are so tall they're impossible to stake. Ours are now falling over and breaking, which is heartbreaking to see. But we're still getting lots of pretty flowers from them. I love cutting them and bringing them into the house. Thanks for sharing your vacation photos with us. Very nice!
    Claudia

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  11. I especially like the charm of the first house. And the carving in the mountain is amazing! Thank you for sharing your vacation!

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  12. Looks like so much fun! It reminds me of an old farmstead that we would visit with our little ones when we were in AL. Our girls loved the one room schoolhouse too and my husband was reading the Little House series to us at bedtime during that time. Such great memories! Thanks for sharing. Still looking forward to visiting with you all. Hope we'll get a chance soon.

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  13. It's good to know that Little House on The Prairie books are well loved. What a wonderful vacation and so much history too. Kathleen in Az

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  14. Stone Mountain is a great place....glad you had a wonderful time....and I love the house with the dual (ladies and gentlemen) staircases....always wanted one of those!!! Have a great weekend!

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  15. What a wonderful place to visit. When I was a young girl, our 'camp' was a converted one room schoolhouse that my grandparents had in Clarion, PA. I have wonderful memories of going there, until a major highway was coming through and they had to give up / sell the property.

    Nice to see you blogging again....I enjoyed the hammock post as well :)

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  16. I loved our family trip to Stone Mountain years ago, especially touring the historical homes. While my hubby and kids wanted to move quickly from room to room, I wanted to just gaze and wonder how their families spent each day. We stayed at the campground and had a beautiful view from our tent overlooking the lake. Then a terrible thunderstorm hit the area. We were terrified that the huge limbs would fall on our tent or we would wash into the lake. We survived and laughed about it the next day. Glad you enjoyed your trip with your family. P.S. I still sneak and read parts of my Little House books, gazing and wondering.......Amy from NC

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  17. Hi Andrea! I work with Cassity over at Remodelaholic. I just emailed you, but my messages often get caught in spam filters, so I thought I'd leave you a comment as well. Email me when you can, please! hello@remodelaholic.com Thanks!

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  18. What a wonderful trip! I loved touring the old homes. It was nice seeing your face light up in all those houses. You have a true love for older homes and these pictures show exactly why. We enjoyed our trip with you guys! I do think the girls could of stayed in the school house the rest of the afternoon. That is funny Jilly in the back listening attentively and me raising my hand to ask the teacher a question. Good memories with wonderful friends!

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  19. You were so close to me. I live here and have not visited the homes you shared.

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  20. Hi Andrea!
    Love all the photos! I wish I could take pictures that well!
    Hannah
    SpinachisGoodforYou

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