July 4th, A Few Days Early

Luke is finally able to stay up until about 10 PM on very rare occasions (woe be unto you if you attempt it more than once or twice a year), so I wanted to actually try and do fireworks for July 4th this year. But we did them on July 2 instead!

Stone Mountain usually does their "July 4th" fireworks for 2-3 days near the Fourth. With the Fourth on a Saturday this year, I figured the days would be Friday and Sunday. I checked the availability for Friday, but they were requiring a two-night stay at double the usual per-night price. We didn't need to stay two nights, and we couldn't afford four-times the cost of what a single night is usually priced. Then I noticed the show dates for 2015: July 2-5. Really?

So I called the hotel to be sure. Yes, indeed! Not only were they also doing the show Thursday night, but a Thursday night stay at the hotel was regular price and did NOT require two nights. Score! Plus, I figured they would be less busy Thursday than Friday.

There were a fair number of people there, but I'm sure nothing like it would have been Friday through Sunday. We arrived a bit before lunch and roamed around.

The picture they took before we went up didn't turn out half bad other than we were all sweating (it wasn't all that hot, but it was about 1000% humidity), so we picked that up. It's better in person; it doesn't scan very well.

Luke decided he wanted to do the SkyHike. I don't think he realizes what a sacrifice this was for my husband. I certainly didn't realize he was so afraid of heights until he got down and was clearly pale and shaken. (I'm guessing he may not have fully realized it, either. Sorry, honey!) I can assure that this is the last time my husband will ever do it. Guess Luke will have to do with next time with Nana until I lose enough weight to feel comfortable up there. (There is a weight limit. I am under it, but not by very much, and I'd rather be a bit further under it for my own peace of mind.)

They were between 10 and 15 feet ( m) off the ground at all times during this course, and it took them over 30 minutes to get all the way through. We also did the train (I always forget how boring the train ride is; Duck Boats are better, but they are not included with the day pass). The we grabbed some dinner and picked out a spot on the lawn to wait. Luke spent about half his time playing with some of the other kids (ranging in age from about 6-12) and doing this (of course):

The laser show was fun, as usual. They've added a few new things since we were last there. And the fireworks were quite good, though a little thin in a couple of spots. Our room package came with park tickets good for two days, so we intended to get up early and do stuff hopefully before the crowds started rolling in.

What we didn't know is that there was a storm rolling in. A HUGE ONE! It was actually raining when we took this picture above, but it was mostly covered by trees, so we stayed relatively dry. (The building behind him looks hazy because of the rain.) We hoped it might blow through, but after 90 minutes of raining and checking the forecast, we realized there was no chance of getting in any outdoor activities. It actually rained out the fireworks both Friday and Saturday nights. I'm so glad we decided to go Thursday!