Note: This post got a bit long and rambly. So sue me, I was having fun writing. Anyway, you've been warned.

So I took Lovely Wife and the kids to Stone Mountain yesterday. We love this park. From the top of the mountain you can see clear to the Appalachian Mountains and you have a stunning view of the Georgia countryside. You get a very nice view of Atlanta too, especially on low smog days. The kids have a blast at the petting zoo and we never get tired of walking through the antebellum plantation. But I digress...

Lovely Wife has been feeling steadily better since her surgery so we decided on a trip to Stone Mountain since it would be my last day home (yes, I'm back at work today). It's close enough so we could return home quickly if she started ailing and we figured the fresh air and sun would be a nice change after being mostly cooped up in the house for a week.

We went on a nice trip around the mountain on the Stone Mountain Railroad. Our first time this year and Burger's first time ever (since evacuating the Momma belly anyway). Best part about going to the attractions on a weekday after school starts is no lines. Worst part is a lot of the actors and special stuff isn't there. Usually the train stops about a third of the way around for a comedy sketch of a train robbery. When we reached the spot where the stuff is usually set up for the robbery the train slowed down. Bear started getting excited - he remembered it from the last time we went on the ride. The train chugged past the spot and we saw all of the familiar props were gone. No cart full of TNT and nitro. No outhouse. No water tank. I was bummed. Bear got quiet and looked confused. The train continued to creep on and we saw a whole new area set up. There was the cart! The water tower! And a whole new little ghost town! Awesome! It got bigger and better! Bear got excited again. Bacon started to catch the fever too. Burger started wiggling on my lap and pointed at the Old Tyme buildings. But the train didn't stop. It just slowly chugged past and then picked up speed again. Double bummer.

After that dissapointment the rest of the ride was a bit subdued. It's always a nice ride, y'all, don't get me wrong. Beautiful scenery and very peaceful (once you filter out the train engine, anyway). There were hardly any people on the train and that was nice too. We were just a bit put out by the missing show.

After the train ride we figured we would walk over to the plantation so the kids could say hi to the animals at the petting zoo. We've been regulars for years and they know most of the animals. We started walking through Crossroads. This is supposedly a recreation of an 1870's southern town. I suppose it is, in the same manner as a mega mall is a recreation of a village green. There are lots of places to buy things and several of the things look like somebody could feasibly delude themselves into believing they resemble items from America's past. I'm sure Hello Kitty purses and Coca Cola trains were popular gifts in 1873. They do have a blacksmith, glass blower and candlemaker though and I get a kick out of watching them.

It's usually way crowded in Crossroads but seeing as it was a weekday with school in session there were only a handful of people walking around. We stopped at the fountain (it spits water at you - quite fun to watch tourists get nailed) so Bacon could throw in a penny he found. Burger bought a blast of agua right in the kisser. His expression was priceless. Where the hell did that come from? He looked around for the perpetrator. Lovely Wife got an accusing glare, as did Bacon. Bear and I apparently weren't considered criminal material 'cause we both got a pattented Burger smile.

So we continued our jaunt through Crossroads and came to...The Crick. The crick is a 25 foot or so span of running water designed for kids to get wet in relative safety. It's in the shade, smooth bottom, pool safe refiltered water. Normally you can't get near it but today it was completely empty. What to do? We have no swimsuits with us and only have a change of clothes for Burger. But this is not an opportunity to be missed. We give the orders of necessity: Shoes off. Wading only. No splashing. No jumping. Attack!

Bear walks in with his shoes on. Bacon rips his shoes off and jumps in. Burger waddles in, sits in the middle of the stream and starts splashing happily. Ah, well. The best intentions don't matter a hill of beans when you add kids to water. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Lovely Wife goes to the car to get her sandals. I deshoe myself and start splashing kids while she's gone. What a great time.

After the kids exhaust themselves in the crick we head for home. It's a miss on the petting zoo but there isn't too much complaint. The boys are tired and hungry so they just mutter some half hearted whines about the animals. On the ride home the shorter two fall asleep and Bear gazes out the window with a dreamy glaze to his eyes. I look over at Lovely Wife and see her eyes half closed and a smile of contentment on her face. I take her hand and kiss it. She turns to me and mouths "I love you".

It just doesn't get any better than this.