{"id":3811,"date":"2010-03-30T16:30:19","date_gmt":"2010-03-30T21:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=3811"},"modified":"2022-06-11T10:42:25","modified_gmt":"2022-06-11T15:42:25","slug":"the-long-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/the-long-drive\/","title":{"rendered":"The Long Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There was a time when I’d drive a thousand miles straight. Back then I’d stop only for gas and food and not give it a second thought. Unfortunately those days are long gone. I can make it only six to nine hours with kids in the car. Even alone I wouldn’t have the stamina to drive overnight anymore. Now the journey has become part of the adventure, making time for interesting destinations along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Stone Mountain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Stone<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I’d been building-up Stone Mountain for a couple of weeks prior to the trip as a means to get the kids excited about the long drive. They weren’t as keen to forgo airline travel<\/a> as I was, and they needed a little motivation. I’d been to Stone Mountain a couple of time before. Certainly the gondola ride to the top would entertain them, or so I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This ride would provide close-up views of the world’s larges bas relief sculpture. It paid homage to Confederate icons, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson (not that any of those names would be even remotely familiar to the kids). They would also be able to see for miles once atop the mountain. On a clear day they could even see all the way to the Atlanta skyline. So we set our sights on the massive quartz monzonite (not granite!) monolith as we drew closer to the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[See more on my Stone Mountain page<\/a><\/em>].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disaster Averted<\/h3>\n\n\n\n