So for our latest adventure we decided to go to Oak Mountain State Park. It was an interesting time. We took a day off so that we would have 2 full days to enjoy things in the area. We left on a Thursday night and made it down there a little after 6:30 pm. There were storms in the area so we wanted to set up quickly. Our first problem was the camp site itself. We were in what can only be described as a road in the middle of a bunch of other roads which were surrounded by roads. The tent sites there were great looking, the camper sites weren't so great. So we looked around and found a site that wasn't too bad and called the office and told them that we were changing campgrounds because I don't camp on roads. So we started setting things up quickly because it looked like it was going to start pouring rain at any time.
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| Hitting the road |
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| Stopping for chow |
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| The camping rig |
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| The highway |
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| Kaden and Melissa making their "show" |
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| Not even bothering to take the bikes out yet |
So we got things setup and the rain held off while we did it. We kicked back in the camper and eventually the rain started. It never really poured, but it rained pretty good for a while. We stayed nice and snug in our camper. The sound of the rain put us to sleep quickly.
The next morning we got up and headed off to the Birmingham Zoo. We started off with a big breakfast at Cracker Barrel, which is where I noticed that we had lost part of the bike rack. Things weren't starting off so great. After breakfast, we headed to the zoo. We had a good time and the kids liked the animals. The Lorikeets were awesome, you get a cup of nectar and they climb all over you to get it.
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| Here we are |
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| It was kind of hot |
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| The gorilla was sad |
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| Lorikeets |
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| Kaden wasnt crazy about the Lorikeets |
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| Lorikeet! |
We had a lot of fun at the zoo, but after a few hours we had seen all the animals and headed back. We were still full from breakfast so we headed back to the camper and put on our swim suits. We headed to the public beach, which turned out to be a blast. The water felt great on such a hot day. We spent a while swimming before heading back to the camper for showers.
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| We're sexy and know it |
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| Kelley getting some sun |
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| I'm an acrobat |
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| Melissa is going down |
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| Night Night |
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| Kelley was trying to hide |
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| Yes I'm shooting a bird |
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| The lake was great |
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| Two brown berries |
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| Back at the camper |
After swimming I started preparing dinner. We were all hungry since we skipped lunch. I had planned to grill some chicken, but it didn't work out so we headed to Golden Corral. We all pigged out and the went to Walmart and got a movie to watch for the evening. We rented A Thousand Words starring Eddie Murphy. It was a good movie and we all kicked back in the air conditioning and enjoyed family movie night at the campground. After that we went to sleep.
The next morning we slept in a bit then headed back to the lake to do some canoeing. Once we found an ATM, we boarded our canoes and paddled around the lake for a bit. Eventually we got tired of that and went back to the beach for some more swimming. After a couple hours of swimming we headed back to town to turn in the movie and grab some lunch. We enjoyed the Golden Corral so much the night before that we went back for lunch and pigged out again. My diet was not going well.
After lunch Kelley's parents came up to the site to visit. Buddy hurt his paw and was a pitiful sight by this time. He could only walk on three legs. We visited with Kelley's parents for a while and then headed back to the lake for some more swimming. We brought our floats and footballs and had more fun swimming and playing in the water. I also got to practice my open water swimming for my upcoming triathlons.
After some more swimming, Kaden, Melissa, and I decided to go see Peavine Falls. It was a pretty drive up the mountain to where you start the hike to the falls, and it was quite a hike. Its not that its that far of a hike, but you go up and down some mountains, some of the trail is very steep. Unfortunately with the lack of rain the falls were just a trickle so we headed back to the camp to have dinner with Kelley's sister and nephew.
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| Hitting the trail |
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| Some of the terrain we had to travel |
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| Some parts are quite steep |
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| And once you go down, you have to go back up |
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| The sign makes you worry a bit |
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| Kaden and Melissa needed some rest breaks |
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| Kaden got Melissa to carry him part of the way |
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| Back to the parking lot |
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| Back down the mountain |
Once we got back to the camp site, Nick and Sharon were already there. I fired up the grill and hit the showers while to charcoal burned down. We started a fire, mainly because we could, and I started cooking. We had a good time hanging out and dinner was delicious.
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| Yl |
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| Poor hurt Buddy |
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| Fire Making |
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| Yellow Jacket Central |
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| Almost chow time |
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| Kaden is pooped |
After Sharon and Nick left we went into the camper and tried to find a movie on the internet to stream. Unfortunately Easy Tether has issues with HTTPS connections so we were forced try and watch crappy movies on Hulu. Eventually we gave up and went to bed.
We got up the next morning and broke camp for the drive home. The trip started out rough but we had a great time. We didn't get to do everything that they had to offer so we will have to go back sometime to check out the things we didn't do.
