There
was nothing planned on Day 3 until supper so the girls went shopping in Pine
Mountain and I dog sat. With the nearby
Callaway Gardens & FDR State Park, to attract visitors, downtown Pine
Mountain has turned itself into a nearly pure tourist town with most of the
buildings in town occupied by either a shop or a restaurant and at least one bakery. Bev and Pat probably spent six or seven hours
doing the town and we liked all of the restaurants we ate at including the
Country Kitchen at Callaway Gardens.
This is our group about to enjoy some good ole southern cookin – most fried
of course (catfish for me).
The
next day we went to Callaway Gardens which has been built by the Callaway
family since the late 40’s as a place where people can go and experience nature. The centerpiece is a 175 acre lake and the surrounding gardens contain about 2500 acres mostly reclaimed from worn out farmland – for more
history of this unique and beautiful place check out this link.
These
first shots are from the Discovery Center.
From
there we went to the Day Butterfly Center where I had one land on my leg and
pose for pictures.
They control the butterfly population by having no plants that the caterpillars will eat so they have the new butterfly's emerge from their cocoons here - these guys are hanging here to dry off.
This last shot is of the swimming lake with a giant beach surrounding it.
Unfortunately
we were a couple of weeks late for the star attraction so I lifted a few shots
from the web of their magnificent azaleas.
That
night we had a catered meal from the San Marcos Mexican Restaurant and it was
all quite good and we ended the evening visiting around the nice campfire built
by our fire masters.
Photos
can be enlarged by clicking on them.
Have
a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.
Larry
4/17 & 4/18/16 event dates
Lots of wonderful sights and great food from the sounds of it.
ReplyDeleteenjoy..
Look at all of those gorgeous azaleas. Great shots Larry.
ReplyDeleteSam
Looks like you're having a great time. Have you lost weight?
ReplyDeleteI love azaleas and they sure don't grow out here in the desert. We had them in our yard in Virginia. Six hours of shopping? Your girls are something else. Talk about stamina.
ReplyDeleteLarry, Great photos! We have Callaway Gardens on our to do list and we'll work it in somewhere in the next year or so. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
ReplyDeleteWhat gorgeous gardens! One of these days I really must get to the South and do some touring! Too bad you missed the azaleas...I can only imagine what it would be like to follow that path!!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you're having a great time on this trip, Larry! I love Georgia! The blue butterfly and those gorgeous azaleas are so beautiful. Look like the weather is great too!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been there since I was a young girl. The azeleas would be worth the trip to Georgia! Love the butterfly garden too. Safe travels!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! The Callaway Gardens look amazing. It also sounds like you are eating lots of tasty grub. Glad you are having a great trip, Larry.
ReplyDeleteMy parents always talked about how beautiful Callaway gardens were…sorry your timing was off and you missed those beautiful azaleas.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to Callaway Gardens in years. Just as beautiful as I remember.
ReplyDelete