Many Spring Break activities found close to home
By Bryan Dillard
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Staff Writer
With spring break around the corner and gas prices being so high, traveling a long distance may not be a reasonable option.
Luckily, the surrounding areas of Rome have plenty of enjoyable and economically priced options for spring break. From the High Museum to the Lost City, spring break will not be short of fun.
Two Atlanta area museums are currently offering some very exciting exhibits. The High Museum of Art is currently exhibiting great works of art on loan from The Louvre Museum of Paris. Many of the pieces on display at the museum have not left Paris in more than 100 years. The Louvre exhibit will be in Atlanta for two more years. The exhibits change about every six months to be exchanged for new pieces from the Louvre .
The hours of operation at the High are: Monday-Wednesday, 10 A.M.-5 P.M., Thursday 10 a.m.-8 p.m., and Sunday 12 p.m.-5 p.m. Cost for adults is $15, children $10 and students $12, children 5 years and younger are admitted free. For general information call 404-929-6300.
The second museum that is a must see this year is the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Their current must see exhibit is called, "In the Dark." Patrons will experience the sights, sounds, smells and sensations of unseen and dark environments through use of mechanical displays, life-sized animal models and information panels.
Other exhibits at the musem include, "Time in Georgia," "Giants of the Mesozoic" and "The World of Shells." While at the Fernbank do not forget to visit the I-Max Theater.
Hours of operation are Monday through Saturday 10 A.M.-5 P.M., and Sunday 12 P.M.-5 P.M., Hours for the I-Max Theater are Monday-Saturday 10 A.M.-5 P.M. Cost for adults is $15, children $13, students and seniors $ 14, all special exhibits are included.
Atlanta also offers other exciting activities such as The Georgia Aquarium has the Ocean Voyager exhibit is the largest indoor exhibit of fish in the United States.
While visiting the aquarium you must see the show at the new 4-D Theater.The film is a three-dimensional type film with added surprises.
The Georgia Aquarium is open Sunday-Friday 10 A.M.-5 P.M. and Saturday 9 A.M.-6 P.M. To reserve tickets call 404-581-4000.
Atlanta also has Six Flags over Georgia which opens March 1st on weekends and adds more days open as the year progresses. Ticket prices for Six Flags over Georgia are $39.99 for adults and $29.99 for children. These prices are before tax and offered through online purchase.
For those who you like camping and hiking the Grassy Mountain/Cohutta Wilderness area is a great place to visit. Located northeast of Chatsworth, Georgia, Grassy Mountain offers camping, hiking and trout fishing.
More adventurous vacation goers may like the Lost Sea, located near Sweetwater, Tenn. Aside from the standard tour, the Lost Sea offers "Wild Tour Adventure."
The tour begins at 6 p.m. , but you must check in by 5 p.m. In this tour, patrons are guided to areas not open to those taking the standard tour. During this overnight tour you will see a lot of amazing formations and anomalies. You may be crawling around some so expect to get dirty.
Hours of operation for the standard tour are: March and April 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Cost for adults is $14.95, children $6.95, group rates (12 or more) adults $12.95, children $5.50. The Lost Sea also has a café and offer cabins for rent.
If you like to view wildlife then your best bet would be Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains.
Located northeast of Townsend TN, Cades Cove offers camping, horseback rides, wagon rides and landscape and wildlife scenery. On the eleven mile drive through loop, visitors will see tons of wildlife and will experience the history of some of the first settlers in Tennessee.
With so much to do so close to home why worry about missing spring break? In fact, why travel so far away when there are so many exciting things to do, close to home?
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