we recently went to fort mountain state park for some outdoor family fun.  it was our first camping trip with the two little ones, so we definitely overpacked and were totally nervous.  in the end we encountered a bear, a (potentially) poisonous snake and a torrential rain storm and still somehow walked away wanting to go camping again as soon as possible!

clementine loved the whole outdoor experience. all she can talk about is going camping again.

‘i go camping outside!’ – clem

fort mountain had plenty of nice trails/hiking and a huge 17-acre lake for swimming in addition to camping. it was also a good 10-15 degrees cooler in the canopied mountains than the city. we weren’t expecting it to get so cold at night, we actually had to zip up our sleeping bags to stay warm!

for an outdoor getaway only two hours from atlanta, we totally recommend fort mountain state park.

– ryan & gub

fort mountain state park

181 fort mountain state park road
chatsworth, ga 30705
706-422-1932

i really love the new panoramic capability of the iPhone 5 camera! holden beach was the perfect backdrop to test it out. the forced perspective is pretty interesting, for instance seeing the front and back doors of a house! it does a good job of blending the photos, way better than the old method of stitching them together in photoshop.

– ryan

we recently went on a trip to our favorite getaway holden beach, nc! we heart this small beach town and its great seafood! for the first time we went to provision company, a casual seafood restaurant that overlooks the inner coastal. we tried eating there on a previous trip, however they had a private event and it didn’t work out.

we definitely enjoyed the restaurant and will be heading back on future trips! the seafood was very tasty and the views of the inner coastal were even better. we ate our dinner during sunset, so the glowing atmosphere was very romantic. provision’s is known for their shrimp burger, although we opted for various steamed and fried seafood on our visit instead.

i would say captn pete’s has a fancier menu to choose from, but provision company may be our new go-to seafood joint on holden beach! the personality, casual atmosphere and great views sealed the deal!

– ryan

provision company

1343 cedar landing road saw
holden beach, nc 28462
910-842-7205

we recently saw an oscar mayer wienermobile while in athens!!! they were handing out hot dog coupons and whistles!

– ryan & gub

for the second year in a row, we went to kinsey family farms in search of the sterritt family christmas tree! it’s about an hour outside of atlanta and offers some great winter agritourism. besides picking out a tree, there’s plenty of holiday fun to be had! they have tractor rides, a petting zoo, and even hot cocoa & s’mores by a bonfire.

kinsey farms offers lots of christmas tree options as well. there are pre-cut firs, living trees, cut-your-own trees, as well as small charlie brown style ones and various wreaths. we went with a cut-your-own leyland cyprus like last year. clementine was a big help cutting down the tree, as you can see in the photos.

check out our post from last winter when we first discovered kinsey family farms. we are glad we’ve made it an annual family holiday tradition!

– ryan & gub

kinsey family farms

7170 jot-em down road
gainesville, ga 30506
770-887-6028

we took clementine to washington farms this weekend for some fall festivities and had a blast! there was a pumpkin patch, a huge corn maze, a petting zoo, pig races, slides and plenty more. clementine loved all of the outdoor space to run around and being able to pet the goats, bunnies, chicken, horses, donkeys, peacocks & more. she also enjoyed trying to lift the pumpkins, although they were mostly too heavy.

the patch still had ripe pumpkins on the vine, which was exciting! we grabbed a wheel barrow and headed out in the field to pick our favorites. we ended up getting 3 pumpkins, including a huge 30 lb pumpkin!

if you are looking for some fall festivities that are close to atlanta (about an hour away), definitely consider washington farms. we had a lot of fun and will be heading back next year!

be sure to also check out our fall outing post from last year to see how much clementine has grown.

– ryan & gub

washington farms

5691 hog mountain road
watkinsville, ga 30677
706-769-0627

a big staple of our holden beach trips is eating lots of seafood, especially local shrimp! we generally have a low country boil on at least one occasion and often have seafood for other meals as well.

we were very excited to discover capt’n pete’s seafood on our recent trip! it’s on the island, so you don’t have to go far, and it has a restaurant and a dockside seafood market, both of which are outstanding. it quickly became one of our new favorite places!

our meal at capt’n pete’s seafood restaurant was very nice! gub had the best shrimp & grits she’s ever had, and my fried north carolina seafood platter (shrimp, oysters & flounder) with homemade fries was superb. here is the menu!

we also bought fresh north carolina shrimp from capt’n pete’s seafood market on numerous occasions! they had all sorts of wild caught seafood available, from flounder, snapper & grouper, to pre-made goodies like crab cakes and hush puppies for baking at home. you could order entire fish or just filets and everything was very affordable. they also had various seafood spices and accessories available and a great selection of bottled sodas, including ibc root beer and mexican coke.

we will definitely be heading back on future trips! you should do the same if ever visiting holden beach.

– ryan & gub

captain pete’s seafood

103 south shore drive
holden beach, nc 28462
910-846-9988 – restaurant
910-842-6675 – market

there was an amazing handmade sign on our way into holden beach for a pro-wrestling event at the civietown fire department. we can only imagine the awesomeness we missed out on!

pro-wrestling
civietown fire depart.
sat. july 14 7pm
tickets $8
children 10 under free

– ryan & gub

although clementine was a little fearful of the ocean and sand at holden beach, she was definitely a huge fan of eating watermelon in her kiddie pool!

go figure!

– ryan & gub

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in the end we found one that was really amazing at the north end of the island, although it didn’t appear to be a rental. it was super cute with great nautical decor, and it was right on the beach! the other few we found weren’t anything to write home about. they had potential, but weren’t really our style.

– ryan & gub