Field Trips with Sue » OTP South

Swim in the Pool that FDR Built

Sue — Tue, 25 May 2010 16:47:40 +0000

Photo by Barbara Weibel

What: Swim the Warm Springs, Dip Into the Past
Where: Warm Springs, Ga.
When: Memorial Day Weekend 2010
Cost: 1.5 hour swim sessions are $20 adults; $12.50 ages 6 to 17; Family Package-$75
Only Family Package includes admission to Roosevelt’s Little White House.
Reservations are suggested and can be made by calling The Little White House at 706-655-5870

During Spring Break 2010, my boys and I visited The Little White House and the accompanying Warm Springs pools. FDR originally came to Warm Springs seeking relief from his polio but enjoyed it so much, he eventually built a home. The historic pools where FDR found relief are now kept empty for preservation. However, over Memorial Day weekend, the shallow pools will be filled with naturally warm spring water for public bathers to enjoy. Tickets to the swim may be purchased over the phone with credit card. Space is limited to 80 participants per session. Reservations are suggested. All remaining tickets will be sold first-come, first-served, based on availability.

Things To Do
Atlanta

Family Vacation
Atlanta

FDR State Park | Five Things to do with Kids

Sue — Tue, 25 May 2010 16:01:33 +0000

What: FDR State Park
Where: Warm Springs, Ga.
When: Open Daily
Cost: $5 Parking Fee

Our last stop on a recent tour of west Georgia was a camping trip to Franklin Delanor Roosevelt State Park in Warm Springs, Ga. The park is named for the only four term president in US history. FDR came to the area to find relief in the warm springs from polio. He enjoyed it so much, he built the only house he ever owned and the one in which he died. FDR State Park is a combination of beautiful scenery and National history. In addition to hiking a bit of the 42 miles of trails, here’s what we found:

1. Roosevelt Stables: This activity was a vacation favorite. Located within the park, the stables offer trail rides from one hour to overnight. If you have your own horse, they offer boarding and 28 miles of horse trails to discover. Children must be at least 6 years-old for the trail rides, but they do offer pony rides for the younger set. Make a reservation before you arrive. We called the week before and had no problem, but the day we arrived, they were booked for the entire weekend. Rates from $35.

2. Dowdell’s Knob: FDR’s favorite retreat when visiting the area was Dowdell’s Knob, a rocky outcropping where FDR would entertain friends using a grill that remains on the site or contemplate the issues of the day. As my children climbed on the statue and ran around the picnic area, I tried to imagine the weight of the issues FDR contemplated. A marker states that just before he died, FDR rode to this spot and told his secret servicemen to leave him until he honked the horn, more than two hours later. No doubt he was grappling with a decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan.

3. Camping: Our camp site was right on Lake Delanor. It was great to be free of TV and electronic devices. The first night, we sat by the lake and made up a progressive story that involved a catapil named Larry and an elephant that layed cheesecake eggs. The second night, we built a fire and the children who can’t sit still for a minute in church were engrossed for literally two hours.

4. FDR State Park Office: Located in a former Inn, the park office is made entirely of stone and was built by FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) during the Great Depression. In addition to the Inn, the CCC built a swimming pool, bridge and several other structures within the park. In the park office are videos of former CCC members talking about their experience, that by today’s standards would seem like a prison, yet these gentlemen talked with pride about what they had accomplished and were grateful for the experience that many felt “made a man out of me.”

5. The Little White House: No visit to FDR State Park would be complete without a visit to the Little White House. Nestled on the estate is an museum that tells the story of FDR and his legacy. Among the many items, you can listen to his fireside chats and see his 1938 Ford convertible equipped with hand controls so the handicapped president could drive himself. The Little White House itself is amazingly small, but guard shacks scattered throughout the woods remind you that it is a place of importance. Nearby you can visit the actual pools where FDR sought relief from his polio. The pool is drained most of the year to preserve the historic structure, but you can feel the warm 88 degree water. Once a year, the pools are filled and opened to the public and in 2010, they will be open Memorial Day weekend. Admission ranges from $5 – $8.

Things To Do
Columbus

Things To Do
Atlanta

Family Vacation
Atlanta

Strawberry Picking Near Atlanta

Sue — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:35:24 +0000

What: Stawberry Picking Farm
Where: Cottle Farms
Fayetteville(770-719-2600) and Stockbridge (770-761-7822)
When: Mid-April through Early June.
Monday – Saturday 8 am – 6:30 pm
Sunday – 1 pm – 7 pm (Upick please arrive by 6:30 pm)
Cost: 5lb buckets = $10 U-pick, $12 picked
Quarts = $3 U-pick, $4 picked

Since my oldest learned to walk, we’ve gone to pick strawberries with the kids. Its become a tasty rite of spring. There are several U-pick places and you can find one near you here. Scroll down the page and you’ll see the U-pick farms by county.

We went to Cottle’s Strawberry Farms in Clayton County. It’s about a 30 minute ride from Downtown Atlanta. As you can see from the video, there isn’t anything else here but the strawberries, which can be a blessing or a curse, depending on how you look at it. We went to the Fayetteville location, but folks there said the Stockbridge location is larger. Call before you go, if it’s raining, they won’t normally pick and if it’s toward the end of the season, they may be picked out.

A couple of tips I didn’t know. Don’t wash the strawberries until you’re ready to use them. Once they are washed, they start to deteriorate faster. The later you pick the sweeter the berries, but the darker the seeds. Once you get your bucket home, if there are any left, take half and put them in a flat bottomed dish with a dry paper towel on the bottom. The weight of the strawberries on top will crush the ones below if left that way.

A tip from my own experience: Don’t let your oldest convince his little brother to use his shirt as a bucket for extremely ripe strawberries unless you’re filming a battle scene from a war movie.

Things To Do
Atlanta

Family Vacation
Atlanta

Geo-Challenge: Geocaching at Georgia State Parks

Sue — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:09:37 +0000

What: Geo-Challenge
Where: Kick Off Event at Fort Yargo State Park, but the Challenge is in most Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites
When: Official Launch is May 8, but the program is ongoing
Cost: Free (but a parking pass at each park is generally $5, check out a free family pass at any Georgia Library branch, not just Fulton (as the linked post says)

Over the holidays, my family and I went geocaching on Jekyll Island. It was a bumpy beginning, but once we got started, it was a lot of fun for the entire family and we discovered areas of Jekyll we wouldn’t have visited otherwise. If you aren’t familiar with geo-caching, it’s a sort of treasure hunt, where participants use a GPS system to find boxes filled with trinkets. Participants take a trinket from the box and leave one of their own. Some boxes contain stamps for participants to collect similar to a passport.

I’m pretty pumped for the new Geo-Challenge program at Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites. The challenge is to find one or all of the 42 caches statewide using a GPS unit and stamp your passport. Passports can be obtained from any state park or downloaded from www.GeorgiaState Park.org. The park service is awarding custom Geo-coins for various levels of completion. To see what the box looks like and what you can find, check out the Field Trips with Sue CBS Better Mornings Segment.

Although geocaching is fun anytime, getting in on the front end of a program like this gives you an opportunity to find real prizes and unique items. In addition to the coins, the park service has more incentives including:

First to Find!
Be the very “FTF” a GSP cache and pick up the prize, an overnight campsite from Georgia State Parks. Then record your achievement in the cache box logbook as your proof of discovery. Stamp your Passport with the cache stamp and return it the way you found it for the next person to discover.

Find The Volunteer Gopher!
Be one of the lucky few to find a Georgia State Parks Stuffed Gopher, randomly hidden in caches throughout the state. Everyone has a chance to find one of the 10 collectable Volunteer Gophers. Keep him or trade him down the line, the choice is up to the player.

The Travel Gopher Challenge!
Help the GSP or HS “Traveling Gopher” travel around our great country! If you find a Travel Gopher in a cache you can elect to remove it and take it with you to the next cache you visit (this must be done in a timely manner, generally within two weeks) or you can choose to leave it for the next player. If you decide to take the Travel Gopher with you, please drop it in another cache, and record the travel information on Geocaching.com’s trackable page. Have fun “watching and tracking” the Travel Gopher around the country and get instant notifications of its movement!

Things To Do
Atlanta

Family Vacation
Atlanta

Albany Ga. | Five Things to Do with Kids

Sue — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:06:35 +0000

Photo by Liz Gray

This past spring break, we opted for a vacation close to home and took a tour of west Georgia. We had the opportunity to visit some wonderful places in our home state that have been on our list for a while. What we found was there is a whole lot to do in the state of Georgia with kids. Here are five things to do in the southwestern city of Albany. Click the title to see video.

Flint RiverQuarium: Steps away from the Flint River, is the Flint RiverQuarium where guests can get an in-depth view of the wildlife living in and around the river. In addition to the animals, there is also a very interactive area that helps kids (and adults) learn about water conservation and how streams form. In the aviary we were interested to learn that female quail lay their eggs in the same nest then take turns sitting on them. We actually saw the quail and the eggs! In May, June and July on the third Thursday of the month, admission is $5 for all ages from 5- 8 pm. The price includes admission to the RiverQuarium and a movie in the large-format theater.
RiverFront Park: Along the Flint River, and across the street from the RiverQuarium is RiverFront Park. Still in development, the park includes three miles of trails. Eventually it will connect downtown to The Parks at Chehaw. The trailhead is already completed and includes Turtle Grove Play Park, which is a great playground for the kids and Ray Charles Plaza featuring a life-sized sculpture of the singer. Visitor’s can sit on a piano key and listen to Ray play. There are also fountains for kids to run through, so bring a bathing suit or at least a towel.
The Parks at Chehaw: This park was started by Jim Fowler of Wild Kingdom fame. I found the Muckalee Swamp exhibit in the zoo portion to be quite relaxing. The boys really liked the Chehaw Playground. The space is huge and unlike most playgrounds today. Built in 1998, the playspace is in good shape, but is getting an overhaul before the summer, so it will be even better soon. There is a great BMX track, so if you can, bring a bike; and a Frisbee golf course.
Thronateeska Heritage Center + Weatherbee Planetarium: Unfortunately we ran out of time before we could see this attraction. We’ll have to check it out next time, because it came highly recommend by the locals. The Weatherbee Planetarium has a high-definition projection system that is the first of its kind in the world and allows you to see the Universe like never before.
Jimmies Hot Dogs: This iconic dog joint has been in operation at the same location (across from the bus station) since 1925. It’s off the beaten path a bit, but well worth it. The prices will make your wallet smile too!

Where to Stay: We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, which is right across the street from RiverFront Park (and Turtle Grove Play Park) and within walking distance of the RiverQuarium and Thronateeska Heritage Center. The hotel has a full restaurant and bar and an outdoor swimming pool. It’s the perfect location to base a visit to Albany.

Family Vacation
Albany

Things To Do
Albany

National Wildlife Week: Get Out There and Bird Watch

Sue — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:39:49 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

This week, March 15 – 21, is National Wildlife Week, sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation. As one activity to get you outside, NWF suggests birdwatching. There are lots of great places in or near Atlanta to go birdwatching from afar or see birds up close. There are also several guided bird hikes around town. Here are five places to get you started. If you know others, please leave a comment for everyone.

Piedmont Park Bird Walks – Held the first Saturday of every month from 8 – 9 am, birders meet at the Community Center located at 1071 Piedmont Ave. near the 12^th St. entrance. The hikes are FREE and last one hour. When you’re done, enjoy all the other fabulous activities at Piedmont Park.
Atlanta Audubon Society – The society sponsors bird walks in a number of places including the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Fernbank Forest and Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. For those of you on the Southside, there is also a walk originating at the Newnan Wetlands Center. Kennesaw Mountain is one of the best places in the Eastern US to see spring (mid-April – early May) and fall (early Sept. – mid-Oct) bird migrations. The walks are free, but there may be a nominal parking fee at some locations. For a complete list of walk locations, dates, times and the types of birds you are likely to see, visit the Atlanta Audubon Society website.
Dauset Trails Nature Preserve – If you aren’t an early riser, or would rather see your birds close up, Dauset Trails has several birds of prey on display. The birds were injured and cannot go back to the wild. You’ll see hawks, eagles and lots of other animals too. The nature preserve is free, but they do accept donations.
Dunwoody Nature Center – Reserve a Birds I-Spy Backpack at Dunwoody Nature Center. The packs are $10, but admission to the center is FREE. Inside the pack you’ll find everything you need to take your own bird hike including: a notebook of information and activities, Peterson Guide to birds, Audubon Pocket Guide, bird song identifier, Professor Noggin’s Bird Game, Bird Bingo, Wild Bird Bandana Bingo, binoculars and more!
Chattahoochee Nature Center – On March 27 from 8 – 10 am, introduce your kids to birding with Master Birder and wildlife volunteer Zelia Lebeau. It’s a great class for the beginner birder. When you are done, you can visit the many birds of prey that live at the Chattahoochee Nature Center. These activities are free with admission to the Center. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $5 for children.

Things To Do
Atlanta

Five Plus FREE Things to do with Kids in Atlanta

Sue — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:30:25 +0000

Center For Puppetry Arts Museum – The Center for Puppetry Arts offers world class puppet shows and a fantastic museum of all kinds of puppets including a recently acquired collection from Jim Henson. The Henson display includes, Big Bird and Bert from Sesame Street, Kermit and the Swedish Chef from the Muppets, and others from various commercials, tv shows and movies done by Henson. The museum is FREE each Thursday from 1 – 3 pm. For a list of puppet shows, visit www.puppet.org. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll see.
Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta – The Second Tuesday of every month is Target Free Day and the Museum is free from 1 – 7 pm. Exhibits include a life-size John Deere tractor, wooden trains, moon sand station, UPS truck, water play area and more! There is also a section just for the crawling set, with soft walls, mats to climb on, over and under, musical instruments to play and even a water bed.
Home Depot Workshop - The first Saturday of every month, Home Depot sets aside a corner of the store for kids to hammer and glue a wooden craft. We’ve made treasure boxes, flower pots, fire engines, and airplanes to name a few. Kids get an apron and the craft they make all for free.
Lowes Build and Grow Workshop – On select Saturdays, Lowe’s offers kids a similar workshop to the Home Depot. Lowe’s provides all the materials, hammers and gives each child a kid sized apron. Visit the website for specific dates and projects.
Kids Day at the Thrashers – The Thrashers offer Kids Day where tickets are free for kids with a paying adult. Upcoming Thrashers Kids Days are March 7 and 14.
Fulton County Free Days at the High Museum – The first Saturday of every month, Fulton County residents can visit the High Museum of Art free. Think this isn’t a place for your toddler? Think again. Here is video of the Green Family Gallery and Toddler Thursdays. While you are there, check out a free Discovery Backpack too.

Things To Do
Atlanta

Things to do with Kids | Geocaching on Jekyll Island

Sue — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:01:15 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

What: Geocaching
Where: Jekyll Island, GA
When: Anytime
Cost: Free if you already have a GPS ($5 parking on Jekyll)

Recently we borrowed a GPS and headed to Jekyll Island to Geocache. Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt that uses a GPS. You can geocache anywhere, but I read something recently about geocaching at Jekyll Island and thought we’d try it while on vacation.

It took a while to prepare. We searched out locations to geocache on Jekyll. To find the coordinates, you have to register, but it’s free. Apparently you can load them to your GPS or phone with a click, but it didn’t seem to work for me. That could be because we’ve never used a GPS before and we had a learning curve getting the GPS up and running. Finally I just copied the coordinates by hand and brought the paper with us. Then we had to determine our pirate names, you can’t search for buried treasure without a proper pirate name.

Our first venture was a bit of a bust. We found our first cache, which was very exciting, but just as we started to get into it, the GPS died. Like good pirates, we didn’t give up, just went home for some ale before beginning again the next day. With a fully charged GPS, we headed out again. However, our family couldn’t find the side of a barn with the GPS and the coordinates. We did finally get our first cache, but only after a few discussions about mutiny.

In the end it was a fun afternoon exploring the historic district of Jekyll Island and we had a lot of laughs about our inability to follow the GPS. We got sidetracked once setting traps on the trail like Man vs. Wild, but it was fun to watch all three boys working together toward a common goal that involved more than a new computer level.

Things To Do
Jekyll Island

Win Tickets to Callaway Gardens

Sue — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:19:42 +0000

Image by The Suss-Man (Mike) via Flickr

Winner: Congratulations to the High Museum of Art ticket winner Laura K! Laura send me an email at sue@fieldtripswithsue.com with your address. FYI – All winners are chosen through random.org, I don’t actually pick the winners.

Now for our next present: Our prize today is four tickets to Callaway Gardens.

Although Callaway Gardens is free in January and February, you’ll want to go back in March and April when the azalea bowl is in full bloom. My children love the Birds of Prey show. I wouldn’t mind checking out the Callaway Gardens Spa. Hey, maybe leave the family home and head to Callaway with three friends.

How to win the Callaway Gardens Tickets: We’ll announce the winner Wed. morning, so become a subscriber of Field Trips with Sue via email (it’s FREE) and leave a comment below to let me know you want to win. That’s it.

Want an extra shot at winning? Follow @suerodman on twitter and tweet this: I want to win Callaway Gardens tickets in the Field Trips with Sue #FTWS Birthday Bash http://bit.ly/53XBco. Make sure you include the link.

Thomas the Tank Engine Prize Pack Give-a-way

Sue — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:29:31 +0000

Winner: Congratulations to the Callaway Gardens winner Brooke Werner McEckon! Brooke send me an email at sue@fieldtripswithsue.com with your address. FYI – All winners are chosen through random.org, I don’t actually pick the winners, I let the computer do that – the other way would be WAAYY too much pressure.

Now for our next present: We’re giving away a Thomas the Tank Engine Prize Pack. I know how much everyone LOVES Thomas and this is a GREAT package. Perfect Valentine’s Gift for that special little guy (or guys, there’s enough here to spread around.)

Here’s what’s included in the prize pack:
Talking Railway Knapford Station Set (Thomas Wooden Railway)
Join Thomas and his friends for an exciting stop at Knapford Station! This complete wooden set is a full layout destination pack that features exclusive engine recognition technology that allows Sir Topham Hatt to greet Talking Railway engines by name for hours of interactive fun! Hear Thomas, Percy and talk too!

Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails DVD
In this action-packed tale of friendship, determination and teamwork Thomas discovers an abandoned and broken down engine named Hiro from an exciting far away land. Fearing that he will be scrapped, Thomas enlists help from many friends including Victor, a new steam engine and Kevin, a new crane vehicle who both work at the spectacular Sodor Steam Works. But mishaps, mistakes and one boastful engine could foil their plans for a heroic rescue. Can the engine pals work together to help their new friend? Join the adventure and find out!

Repair and Go Station (Thomas Wooden Railway)
The Sodor Steamworks is ready for repairs! Lifte the engines with the crane to do a thorough inspection. Visit the repair stations to check the engines oil and replace and rest their wheels. After a visit to the Steamworks, the engines are ready to go! This is the newest destination on the Island of Sodor, as seen in Hero of the Rails!

Thomas Wooden Railway(tm) Engines: Victor & Hiro
Two of the newest engines on the Island of Sodor, Hiro and Victor help Thomas in his adventures in Hero of the Rails.

How to win the Thomas the Tank Engine Gift Pack: We’ll announce the winner Friday morning, so become a subscriber of Field Trips with Sue via email (it’s FREE) and leave a comment below to let me know you want to win. That’s it.

Want an extra shot at winning? Follow @suerodman on twitter and tweet this: I want to win a Thomas the Tank Engine Prize Pack in the Field Trips with Sue #FTWS Birthday Bash http://bit.ly/53XBco. Make sure you include the link.

Field Trips with Sue » OTP South

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