Fernbank Field Trip

Yesterday RaDora and I took the kids to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History for a field trip.  We explored the whole museum and, for most of our visit, we had the place to ourselves, which was great!  It's nice to have the leisure and peacefulness of no crowds at a place like that.  With the exception of the museum's missing out on the clear evidence of our Creator's amazing hand in our amazing world (but we had addressed that ahead of time with the kids), this was a great field trip and we plan to go back throughout the year as special exhibits arrive...and when an interesting Imax movie is showing (the two showing yesterday weren't appealing, so we skipped it).

Our favorite exhibit was undoubtedly Sensing Nature, a hands-on exhibit that explored cool things about the body, the brain, and nature.

We all loved the bubble maker...

RaDora and I laugh that one of the reasons we get along so well is that we are both so easily amused...but it was cool to see our eyes up close!

The lightning globe was amazing and was David's favorite part of the trip.

 They had a kids' area that we spent a few minutes in...Abigail fit nicely into the flower 'garden'...RaDora was a good sport about sitting in the cave so I could take this picture!

This little thing had stuffed 'worms' that you dropped into the baby birds' mouths, then retrieved from the bottom of the tree trunk to feed them again.  David HAD to figure out how it worked. :)

 After our museum trip was done, RaDora treated us to lunch at an Atlanta tradition -- the Varsity.  It's a classic 'greasy-spoon' kind of restaurant, and...oh, was it good!

 We all practically licked our plates and then decided that we couldn't leave without trying the fried pies, too.  Yum!

At one point on our journeys through the downtown area, I spontaneously burst into song..."Green acres is the place to be...Farm livin' is the life for me...Land spreadin' out so far and wide...Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside!"  It was a good thing RaDora knows downtown, because not too long into our driving, I was very lost!  I don't mind city driving, but the navigating ability abandoned me completely yesterday.  No worries, though, because RaDora knew exactly where she was taking us next...to a special place just for my enjoyment...

This is a little hole-in-the-wall type shop that is so charming in a downtown setting.  It's a co-op of local artisans, so we wandered through and saw lots of neat handmade things, from soaps to jewelry to clothing to purses.  As a crafter, I am always up for new ideas and inspiration, so it was lots of fun.  I bought a fat quarter as a souvenir of our day...I'll incorporate it into something at some point...not sure what...but every time I see it, I'll remember our fun day!