When we first arrived in the States no one took MLK Day as a Holiday and now it seems the whole of the States closes down for the day including the schools. It always seems way too soon after the Christmas break to take another long weekend and I am never in any mood to have the children at home again – yesterday was no exception. So we decided to get wrapped up and pack a picnic and head an hour and a half North of Atlanta to Amicalola Falls.  The children were really excited about the impending adventure and with the amount of gear we had with us you’d think we were heading to the North Pole for a month. Needless to say our day out turned into one of the best family days we’ve had for a while.

My daughter is almost 6 and my son turns 4 in March so it has been difficult to walk too far with them as their little legs don’t get them anywhere quick…but yesterday they were real troopers in every sense of the word. They walked the mile up the mountainside then back down the 600 steps that take you right down the side of the Falls and across the Falls without any complaints.  We skipped, ran, walked and splashed in puddles.  DD did her Pocohontas impression and stopped every few hundred yards listening to the sound of the water getting closer.

We got back down to the car to enjoy our PB sandwiches and within no time both children were fast asleep in the backseat.  What a fabulous day and no complaints – at least not from them – my calves are still killing me today!!! I can’t wait for more fun family hikes in the North Georgia mountains – maybe we’ll get more adventurous each time and head off the beaten path! (N.B. leaving the beaten path has, in my experience with my parents, resulted in up to 10 mile hikes expectantly looking round every corner for the car park…)

Photo shows us taking a break up the hillside – I’m in my Hudson Collin jeans, green Hunters and Patagonia nano pullover.