Strike two items off of my self-imposed list of thirteen places to visit before the end of the year! Only eleven more to go, and I’m already exhausted, y’all. However, this time I was sure to take my allergy medication, because the months of September and October mixed with anything resembling plant, goat, or otherwise, obviously do not bode well for Lulu’s nasal passages, lungs, or latent hypochondria.
Anyhow, on Sunday, I once again loaded up the granny-mobile and headed off for a great Georgia adventure. And this time, I persuaded the following victims to travel with me…
- My mother-in-law
- GR
- This devilish little critter:
Isn’t she the sweetest thing?
And away we went on our journey to Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia. It was a LONG drive. Bindi was trying to chase a tennis ball in the back seat. And then she peed.
And after 2 hours (gasp!) we finally arrived here…
At the gate, we paid $13/per person to cover the cost of admission into the gardens and most of the attractions. Not a bad deal, right?
So, we started at the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center…
The conservatory is over 4 ½ acres and contains approximately 1,000 colorful butterflies. GR was scared of all the fluttering…
His mama had to hold his hand. Or so she told me. I wouldn’t know because I was outside with Bindi because of this…
Remember the Snoopy, Come Home movie? My heart turns cold and sad just thinking about it. That sign reminds me of this:
But I digress.
After the butterfly center, we made our way to the John A. Sibley Horticultural Center, where there was beauty such as this:
And this…
Or that could be a picture of my backyard. I wouldn’t know because I was outside with Bindi because of this…
But Bindi did not care…
And after we were all good and tired of looking at plants (ah-choo!), we decided it was time to find a quiet, shady spot to eat our non-horticultural lunch.
But it was so very crowded that we could barely find a place to set up our picnic…
It’s the first time that I’ve been on a picnic in a very long while. The weather was beautiful, and my mother-in-law really knows how to pack a picnic! And thankfully so, because if it were up to me, we would be having crackers and Mountain Dew.
Let me just say that my dear mother-in-law makes the best pimento cheese EVER. And I know that it’s only pimentos mixed in with some cheese and mayonnaise and slathered on some white bread, but sweet mother of God, I’ve never had anything like it. Even Bindi thinks so…
So, after one of the greatest picnics ever, we decided to take a short hike on the wildflower trail so that we could look at wildflowers and walk off the three pounds that we had just gained from eating cheese, white bread, and mayonnaise. And guess what? We saw wildflowers, y’all…
And then we visited the Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel to ask forgiveness for our gluttony. The stained glass is beautiful…
Then we visited the pioneer house…
And the last attraction that we visited before our LONG ride home was Mr. Cason’s Vegetable Garden. Except for there weren’t any vegetables to be seen on the 7 ½ acres. Mainly sunflowers and whatnot…
In summary, Callaway Gardens is a lovely place to visit, and we had a very memorable day there with GR’s mother. Besides the attractions that we visited, there are so many other things to do—biking, hiking, fishing, golfing, and so on. There’s also a resort on the grounds as well as several hotels in the area. And Pine Mountain is a quaint little town just outside the gates of Callaway that is filled with restaurants, antique shops, and specialty stores. Crowds generally flock to Callaway in the Spring, as the gardens are best known for the mass number of azaleas that are in bloom. As you could probably derive from our picnic photo, Fall is a great time of year to visit to avoid the crowds.
In total, we spent about 5 hours in the park, and we were all fairly tired on our 2-hour LONG drive back home. Especially The Ornery One:
NOOOO DOGS ALLOWED! My family and I used to say that all the time. That was one of our favorite episodes of Peanuts.
And there is nothing, nothing like good, ol’ fashioned homemade pimiento cheese. My mom’s is awesome. If you ever get desperate, though, Publix deli’s Cheddar Jack pimiento is pretty darn good. I lived off that stuff when I was pregnant with Bubba. As is evidenced by the cottage cheese on my thighs!!
Bindi is the most adorable thing! I could sop her up with a biscuit!
I didn’t realize how small she still is until I saw the pic of GR holding her. Tiny!
Great pictures! Sounds like you had a good time!
I have to confess..Ive never had pimento cheese..mostly because I had no idea what was in it (besides pimentos; and what the heck is a pimento anyway…?) but after that description I may have to try some. We’ll see.
Ive been once to Callaway Gardens, but all I did was eat at the amazing buffet they have there. I ate and left..how sad! (and typical if we’re being honest here…) Next time I’ll at LEAST check out the sunflowers.
Lulu - looks like so much fun! You’re right, that is one heck of a drive! I went once in high school and I remember the butterflies and riding the train! Ha ha ha!
Good news - I think I broke Phoo down to visit Babyland General. I think we should combine that trip with the apples!
That’s definitely a place I want to visit. How FUN to have a pimento cheese picnic! I can’t really think of anything better than that.
Thx for sharing pics! Bindi is capital C-CUTE!
MQ - Thanks for the Publix tip. I’ll definitely try it!
Christie - she is tiny! But she’s grown a lot in the past two weeks. And she’s a little devil…
Lauren - did you say BUFFET?
Obviously, you have not read my take on buffets. I will enlighten you…
http://luluslaundryblog.com/2007/02/20/welcome-to-the-hoof-mouth-buffet/
el-e-e:
It was a fun place to visit, and the pimento cheese picnic made it all the better!
Big H - I haven’t broken the news to GR yet about BabyLand (not sure that I will!), but he really wants to go to Amicalola Falls that day, too. BabyLand is on the way back home from the falls, so we should be golden!
Don’t they grow up fast?? How is it going w/ that leash? Jack will NOT walk at all. I take it you carried her on the hike?
I LOVE LOVE the sunflowers, that looks SO nice but yeah..I’m sneezing looking at the pictures.
I think keeping Bindi out of the Butterfly House may have been a good thing…I know I’m picturing Jack jumping 8 feet in the air trying to get the moth last night…when he was supposed to be out going #2..
We’re going on a weekend trip to KC…BBQ, booze, Family and lots of laughing. I’m psyched. We will NOT be haveing pimentos spread..which really doesn’t sound very good..I’ve never had it. We’ll be having brisket, pulled pork etc.
I always think of that Peanuts special too. I hate all dog unfriendly places. I resent that I have to leave my baby in the car when I go into Lowes and Wal-Mart.
Your telling of the adventure was too funny though. I love the bit about Bindi chasing the ball and peeing.
Looks like a beautiful way to spend the day!
Callaway Gardens looks suspiciously like it might be a museum. Or a museum-type place, where one is suppose to LEARN while relaxing. So yeah, I don’t think I’m going. I like to keep my learning and my ‘laxing 100% seperate. Plus the Callaway Gardens people evidently hate dogs. And I just can’t get behind that.
Is a Chihuly Rex a glass blown sculpture or is it a variant of an el chupacabra?
Hmm…pimento cheese? Is that a southern thing? I’ve never heard of it before. And it is scaring me. Will GR’s mama hold my hand? PRETTY PLEASE?
Your captions are SO funny. They really add to the story.
Dang Alpha, I had to look that one up—el chupacabra, that is. Creepy little critter, huh?
And pimento cheese is the Southern shizbomb.
MP - I think I’m a bit late answering you question, but yes, Bindi DID walk on a leash and she did great! For two straight days before we left, I tried walking her around the yard with it on, and she hated it. Amazingly, the day that we visited Callaway, she acted like she’d been walking with on a leash forever. I think she just wanted to show off.
J. Lynne - sorry for the late response, but I know what you mean about Wal-Mart. My cousin just had an episode last week with her tiny dog and Wal-Mart. I’m not quite sure what harm a small dog in a carrier would do.
Glad you enjoyed my story!
Bindi sure is a cute dog!
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