Day 4 Atlanta

Stone Mountain 

Another reasonably early start for the included breakfast to stock up on carbs for the day.

The morning is again foggy and we have to drive right across town to stone mountain which is a large round dome of grey granite part covered in trees.

As we enter the car park we see the mountain loom out of the fog.

Stone mountain or at  least the carvings were conceived about 90 yrs ago but after various ideas and bankruptcies it was only completed about 40 yrs ago. The first attempt was completely removed.

The largest low relief sculpture in the world, the Confederate Memorial Carving depicts three Confederate leaders of the Civil War, President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and 

Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. The entire carved surface measures three acres, about the size of three football fields. The carving of the three men towers 400 feet above the ground, measures 90 by 190 feet, and is recessed 42 feet into the mountain. The deepest point of the carving is at Lee’s elbow, which is 12 feet to the mountain’s surface.

Apparently they are about 30 feet taller than those on Mt Rushmoor.

There are number of  amusments around the base which we bought day tickets for.

The first that we visited was the museum which was pretty good and you can see the boys with a life size reproduction of a section of one of the horses bridles.

We then had about 20 minutes in the great barn which is a kids playground with foam balls and various compressed air contraptions and cannons.

After a quick snack and a photo of a squirrel which was first for the kids.

Then onto the what I think was called Sky High which was a series of climbing walkways that get harder the higher you go. The top is at least 10 metres up.

There was also a poor quality 4D movie experience and many of the shops and food outlets were closed

After our supermarket picnic lunch we heard for a round of crazy golf and then for the 5 mile train ride which navigates around the base of stone mountain.

Very easy to fall asleep on this one.

Then our final ride is in the cable car which goes to the summit where there isn't much to see today. 

We decided to walk down as we could see heaps of people huffing and puffing their way up.

The walk down takes about 30 minutes and then it is time to head off. We decided to head for a German pub which was just back in the town of Stone Mountain which had a reasonable write up in trip advisor so expected it to be busy but it wasn't and the food was ok but nothing really special.