Last month we went to Destin, Florida, a place neither of us had been. While many of our friends in St. Louis made an annual pilgrimage there, that was not something we had done. Some good friends of mine have an ocean-front condo they rent out, so we decided to take advantage of the opportunity to visit. On the way down, we stopped at Stone Mountain State Park outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
Stone Mountain is the world's largest exposed granite outcrop. By Georgia state law, the entire 3,200-acre park is designated as a memorial to the Confederacy. Today it is rather commercialized with an amusement park, train and gondolas to take you up the mountain, and they charge a ridiculous $20 entry fee which only covers parking. We hiked in different parts of the park, ending up in the area where you can get close to a memorial carving in the side of the mountain. It depicts Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. Located 400 feet from the ground, the carving measures 90 x 190 feet and is recessed 42 feet into the mountain. Work began on the carving in 1924, but for various reasons was not completed until 1972.
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| Stone Mountain State Park |
From the park we drove to Montgomery, Alabama where we spent the night. The next morning we continued on to Destin, stopping first at a delightful gulf-side restaurant for a late lunch before going to my friend's house to pick up the condo keys. It was great to see them, and we had a couple of meals together and played games and pickleball.
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| lunch spot and balcony view |
The weather was not the greatest while we were there, with lots of clouds, high winds and a few showers thrown in. Nevertheless, we made the most of our time in Destin. We played some pickleball, visited museums and wildlife refuges, did some walking on the beach and very much enjoyed a trip to the Gulfarium. We are glad we got a chance to see the area, but will probably check out other parts of Florida before considering a trip back there.
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| Destin, Florida |
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