Gay Comic Geek…you keep making your wonderful vids! Oh please keep making them!

After I went to the REI presentation of the Benton MacKaye Trail (yes, this one actually happened), I came back home and we left for Stone Mountain.  If you haven’t a clue as to what I am talking about, hop on the Google and type in Stone Mountain, GA.  Stone Mountain is the largest exposed granite dome in the world.  It stretches underground into Tennessee and the Carolinas and also into Alabama.  The park is kind of a memorial to the old South in the way of its hospitality and its beauty.  There are many things at the park that I love, including the Antebellum mansion, the railroad, the grist mill, and most importantly, the carving.  The main road around the mountain is rightly known as Robert E. Lee Blvd.  Everything about this place is family friendly and definitely something people here in the area look at as a wonderful asset.  The laser show is spectacular and takes place on the carving side of the mountain.  On the opposite side, there is a trail that leads from the bottom to the top of this gigantic mound.  The views of Atlanta from the top of Stone Mountain are amazing.  You honestly have to be there to get the true feeling of a breathtaking site.

Glad to be at the top!

We reached Stone Mountain around 4:30 pm and decided to climb to the top instead of taking the Skylift.  It gives you an incredible workout.  Since I am going to be doing a strenuous hike in the near future, I decided to go up with my loaded backpack.  Now that it’s all over, I am very happy I did.  I hurt today, but I can now say that with a full pack, I should be able to handle the mountains of North Georgia fairly well.

When we got to the top, we took a few pictures of Atlanta and other crazy things.  You can go into the building on the top and there are posters and stuff that describe life that exists on the top, including tiny shrimp that survive in the water puddles after rain storms.  The puddles are found in craters left from lightening strikes over the centuries.  There are a few small pines that have survived up there over the years.  I couldn’t find it yesterday, but there is a USGS marker located on the top for an elevation comparison.  The mountain is 825 feet tall and covers 583 acres. The top of the mountain is 1,683 feet above sea level.  It’s an amazing sight to behold and bring your hiking boots!

We reached the bottom and went to the car to get the cooler.  We were not aware they were doing work on the green, so when we reached the base of the mountain, the crowd was amazingly large.  We are used to sitting closer to the main building.  This time, however, were were right beside the pond at the base.  Thank God they did not do the “Great Balls of Fire” show.  I believe our hair would have been burned right off our heads.  There are effects that take place throughout the laser show like fireworks, various colored lasers, and blasts of fire.  The fireworks were definitely louder this time around.  We ate a few sandwiches and some fruit and had a fantastic time watching the show.  There were some new additions and some old time classics.  There is a classic segment containing various geometric shapes in sync with the Ray Lynch song “Deep Breakfast.”  The other, of course, would be the segments devoted to Georgia and the songs it is mentioned in and sang by artists from our state, such as Sugarland, Ray Charles, REM, The B52s, and Alan Jackson.

The gang left us around 10:30 pm heading back to that wonderful state of Alabama.  We were worn out from the day and I fell asleep on the couch.  We slept this morning till around 11 am and when my eyes opened, they immediately wanted to close again.  I felt every muscle in my body!  It’s a great feeling, but one that you have to experience between long breaks!  If you want to experience a feeling of the South and see some lovely surroundings, make a plan to come visit Stone Mountain Park located in Stone Mountain, GA.

I can’t wait till we see SW again.  He is truly an amazing guy that the other half has known for years.  I was able to SW after we met.  He isn’t bad on the eyes either, my friends!  He’s a looker! LMAO!  But, looks don’t mean much when there isn’t a great mind to go along with it.  He’s got it all.

On the way, we stopped to eat at a new place to us called The Brick Store Pub in Decatur, GA.  It was rather different from what we are used to…that being Italian McDonalds (Olive Garden), Outback, Applebees, or the other few restaurants in the general area of the Mall of Georgia.  This new place was in a small row of shops in an older building.  The wall of the restaurant was made of red bricks and since Atlanta is really cold right now, those bricks were freezing.  The door to the place was made of wood with an odd large wood door handle.  The bottom of the door allowed light to come underneath it and freezing air.  The atmosphere of the pub was cool.  There was a large bar in the back with a great muscle bear bartending.  There was an upstairs area over the bar where, I guess, you could go if you wanted to get away from everyone and be closer to the heat vents.  The food tasted great.  Travis had the chicken fingers (original) and I had the Pirogi Primavera. You can check out the place at http://www.brickstorepub.com/home/.

We then visited Don and caught up on things.  We talked about people we went to UWA with and how we were getting reunited on Facebook.  Don was a photographer years ago before his eye sight began to go bad.  He has a ton of equipment and wants to get back into taking pictures.  The only problem is that his eye sight requires him to have a magnifying glass to see the digital screen on the camera.  We think we can get him a tool for it.  We will have to see what we can do.

After leaving Don’s house, we met our longtime friend George at Roxx in Atlanta on Cheshire Bridge Road.  Look them up online for directions because they do not have a website.  We had never been to that restaurant either.  It somewhat reminds me of another place in Atlanta called Joe’s on Juniper.  They have a good variety of wines and beers and the entrees are good too.  I settled for a large salad since it had not been that long since eating.  We talked to George for a while over good food.  We had not seen him in person in a few years but had somehow kept up online.  While at the table, a friend we had made while playing Texas Hold’em at a local bar walked by and we got a great hug and Hello!  We finished eating and talking to George for a while longer.  As much as we didn’t want to, we put on our jackets and hats and went outside into the freezing night air.  We hugged George good-bye and hopped in the car, starting on our journey back to our home north of the city.

It’s great to get out sometimes and go visit those that mean a lot in your life.  Even though you may not see them often, true friends hold a part in everyone’s life and an important one at that.  I plan on making these more important than they already were, even if it means letting some other things go to do it.