loving the decatur farmer’s market in the rain! it’s open every wednesday from 4 – 7 pm in front of the first baptist church in downtown decatur. it’s also open on saturdays from 9am – 1pm. the kids love the live music and running around in the grass. it’s become a weekly ritual.

– ryan & gub

decatur farmer’s market

308 clairemont avenue
decatur, georgia 30030
404-377-0894

our camping adventure to tugaloo state park was a great success! the pioneer site definitely had some cons, ie. a 50 yard hike-in and only outhouses in the direct vicinity, however all-in-all, i would say it was our favorite group camping spot yet!

the pioneer site was very secluded and located on a peninsula on lake hartwell, which was awesome! there were great views and you got to wake up to the sunrise over the lake. the tent and rv sites were down the road, so there was a lot of privacy and you didn’t have to fall asleep to the sound of rv generators.

there were three shelters where you could stash your gear or hide out if it rained, which we were fortunate enough to avoid! there was also a covered pavilion near the parking area with picnic tables, however it was not very close to the tents so we didn’t use it. there were also nice bathrooms and showers near the yurts and tent sites, so you could always head there for a nicer bathroom experience. i had a brief encountering with some critters in one of the outhouses! it turned out to only be flying squirrels (see below photo), however i avoided that outhouse afterwards!

this was by far our best packing yet! we were still packed to the brim, however we packed in such a way that everything was easily accessible throughout the trip. on previous camping outings, we were often scrambling to find what we needed when we actually needed something. we now use a handy list to help prepare and make sure we have everything we need and pack smarter. we keep our supplies in one bin and food in another and pack items with similar uses together so you can easily grab what you need.

we picked up a few new camping tips for this adventure. we pre-beat our eggs and brought them in a sealed container, which made breakfast super easy! you can do the same thing with pancake mix! we also made sure we double bagged items in the cooler, so they didn’t get nasty, and brought extra tupperware and ziplock bags for storage.

tugaloo state park had a ton of stuff you could do besides relaxing by the lake. there were kayaks/canoes for rent, a couple different trails to hike, beach swimming and also miniature golf! we did some lake swimming and hit up a playground, but that was about it. our friends mike and esther bee went kayaking and said it was super fun. next time we will make our way to the miniature golf for sure!

for our first family camping of the season, it was very successful! the weather was perfect, there weren’t any bugs and the camp site was beautiful. we would definitely head back to tugaloo. the pioneer site was only $35 a night for up to 50 people, so it’s a great deal for group camping!

– ryan & gub

tugaloo state park

1763 tugaloo state park road
lavonia, georgia 30553
706-356-4362