Bye For a Bit

We are off early tomorrow morning to head up to Heathrow ready for our flight over to Georgia. We are both so looking forward to our break away. When we get back we will no doubt both be blogging about our adventures. Until then Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I'll see you all in December.

Sunday Snaps 8 - Georgia On My Mind

It’s Sunday and so it must be Sunday Snaps time! Today I am going back to some photos taken in Dori’s home state of Georgia.

These pics were all taken at Stone Mountain Park, which is said to be home to the world’s largest piece of exposed granite. The first picture shows one side of the top of the mountain which features a relief carving of three figures – Generals Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and Robert E. Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis. It is the largest bas-relief in the world, measuring 90 by 190 feet.



This second shot was taken from the top of the mountain, which can be reached either by foot or, for the less adventurous smarter, via a cable car which provides a great close-up view of the relief carving on the way up. If you look really closely at the photo you may just be able to see the Atlanta skyline some 16 miles in the distance.



Stone Mountain Park is some 3200 acres in size and has a number of attractions other than the mountain itself, including a railroad that encircles the top of the mountain, a riverboat, laser show, woodland walks, a campground, demonstration crafts, a 4D theater and shops and restaurants. This last photo shows the main thoroughfare of Crossroads, a recreation of a small town of yesteryear.



I love this place – do go visit it if you ever get the chance.

If you look closely at the final picture, you may just be able to make out some Christmas decorations and trimmings on some of the buildings. This is because I took that photo when I was visiting Dori for Thanksgiving, back when we used to live on either side of the Atlantic before we got married. Which brings me to the reason for posting these pictures today – we are going back for Thanksgiving again this year! Woo Hoo! We are both so excited to be going back “home” for a week. Be sure that we will both be blogging about our trip in the upcoming weeks. Now, got to go – got plenty of packing to do!

Sunday Snaps 7 - Royal Kensington

This is another in my occasional Sunday Snaps series. Today I am staying closer to home and sharing some of the pictures we have taken during our many trips up to London.

The first is of Kensington Palace, which lies within the boundary of Kensington Gardens, which itself borders onto Hyde Park. The palace is a working palace to this day, currently the official residence of several minor royals. It is perhaps most famous today for being the former home of Diana, Princess of Wales following her separation from Prince Charles.



Lying just outside of Kensington Gardens is the Royal Albert Hall. It was built in 1871 and named, at the behest of Queen Victoria, after her beloved husband Prince Albert, who had died 10 years previously. It is a wonderful building and hosts many concerts, including the BBC Proms, as well as some sporting events. Dori and I are hoping to get the chance to attend a concert there sometime in the future.



Just across the road from the Albert Hall, back within Kensington Gardens, is the Albert Memorial. Completed a year after the Royal Albert Hall was opened, it is the official memorial for Prince Albert. The statue of Prince Albert at the centre of the memorial faces south towards the Royal Albert Hall, and is surrounded by a number of other sculptures that represent Agriculture, Commerce, Engineering, Manufactures, Asia, Africa, America and Europe. It is a wonderful memorial, and is certainly much more fitting than the abomination that is the Diana memorial which lies just a few hundred yards away!