Stone Mountain SkyHike and Loganville Fourth of July Parade

Today we went to Stone Mountain so Elyse and Anna could try out the SkyHike "family adventure course" (which, thankfully, is free with our Mountain Memberships). Elyse has had such a good time at Tree Top Quest that she wanted another gallivanting-among-the-treetops experience, and she really wanted her mommy to try it too.

First we had a picnic lunch (from Subway) on the granite fields in front of Memorial Hall:

Then we went to SkyHike:

Elyse did okay at first, but some of the crossings fairly early in the course are pretty scary:

And unfortunately, after these wobbly, way-high-up first few minutes, it turned into not such a great experience for Elyse, and she was ready to get down. I let them know she didn't want to do this any more, and they sent one of the attendants to rescue her:

She didn't have to go all the way to the end of the course to get out, thank goodness, but she did have to cross a few more bridges before they made it to the "Emergency Exit - Authorized Personnel Only" stairs. (I assured Jessica that Elyse would be authorized to use them.)

There's nothing inherently wrong with the Stone Mountain course, and most of the people there seemed to be really enjoying it. However, they don't give the kind of instruction and practice time Elyse is used to from Tree Top Quest, they just secure the harness on you and set you out twelve feet off the ground. For some people that's not enough preparation.

Next we were intending to ride the skylift up to the top, but we got distracted by the museum in Memorial Hall and so never made it to the top of the mountain.

These are of the diorama of a nineteenth-century farm:

After we got home, we only had time to change clothes (those of us who got really sweaty at Stone Mountain, anyway) and use the bathroom, and then Elyse, Anna, and I went to downtown Loganville to watch the Fourth of July parade. (Yes, today is July 1st, but I guess they believe having it on a Saturday afternoon will yield a greater turnout.) (Jessica stayed home because she didn't care anything about the parade, and she likes the novelty of staying home by herself for a while, even if it also makes her a little nervous.)

You can't really tell from these pre-parade pictures of the route down Main Street, but there were hundreds of people there:

Elyse brought Else, nicely attired in the new dress that Anna made for her:

Me and Anna:

Me and Elyse:

I don't remember who these people were, but this picture gives you a feel for what this small-town parade was like:

I don't know if anyone else would see it like I do, but this old-fashioned cart, pulled by a tractor, bearing the July 4th Youth Ladies Club (a club whose requirements for membership seem to be that must be a lady of at least retirement age), decorated by their handmade "Celebrate" sign, struck me as something delightfully out of one of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegone stories.

I don't know who they are, but I hope there names are Wilma, Betty, Doris, Laverne, Shirley, and Helen. They were the best part of the parade, as far as I'm concerned. I hope they have a wonderful celebration.

The parade was half an hour long, and included noisy motorcycles, police cars, fire trucks, lots of local business (many of them handing out cards and candy) including a Karate studio, one or two insurance agents, and Bojangles, the high school beauty queens, and, of course, the mayor. Elyse was little disappointed: "What do cars have to do with the Fourth of July?" she asked as we were leaving. I don't think she was satisfied with our explanation.