A Staycation: Glamping in a Yurt!

When Ernesto asked me, "what do you have going on next week?" I said my usual "nothing."

"ok, well, don't plan anything. I am planning something special. You have no idea!"

He is a man after my heart....because NO ONE loves surprises more than me. (except maybe Mateo)

On the way home from school that day I asked Mateo where he thought papi was taking us, and he said "maybe camping."

Monday night he left to do some shopping and I went to bed. "Be ready to leave around 10am tomorrow morning, we have a couple hours to drive" he said before he left.

 

Tuesday morning came and I was beginning to think Mateo was right about us going camping. Ernesto was making salsa and I saw him put a kitchen knife into a rubbermaid tub. Hmmmm.. The fact that the weather forecasted rain all week had me a little worried, but it had crossed my mind, that MAYBE he had rented a YURT.

At 10:30am, the truck looked like this and we were off. I didn't lift a finger besides packing some clothes.

We were heading east and for a second I thought, are we going to Stone Mountain? I hope not, they don't have yurts there. As we approached the park entrance, Ernesto moved into lane further from the entrance, but in true NESTER style, weaved over at the last second and we both busted up laughing.

Ok, no yurt. Oh well. As if on que, the rain started.

We stopped at the check-in and Ernesto said we had a little time to kill before we could "set up."

We took a cruise through the campground and I was soooooooo pleased when I saw three of these right on the water.

YURTS!! Yes! We didn't have to sleep in a tent in the rain!! What a good surprise. I had no idea that Stone Mountain Park had Yurts. I guess they just opened/built them this past Spring.

We have been up Stone Mountain several times over the years. It's a pretty steep climb and takes about 30 minutes. It's a great workout. I really think the boys could handle it, however, with the looming clouds, we opted for the tram that reaches the top in a few minutes. The boys were excited.

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Once up there the kids had a blast running around and splashing in the big puddles.

Although very cloudy, it was beautiful up there. We could just barely see downtown.

The boys were supposedly "tired" and all took a nap. Look at Marcelo's mouth, he is actually making snoring noises.

Of course everyone perked up really quickly when we got the keys to our YURT.

Our spacious, clean, rustic, and DRY yurt. We had never been inside one before, and we were so impressed. Look how awesome it is!!

These guys could not believe there were bunkbeds in our huge tent. They probably climbed up and down the ladder 1 million times (roughly) in 3 days.

They packed their suitcases themselves, and turns out they had a full train set and a bunch of Legos to play with. They bunkbeds were still the best 'toy' though.

Outside the yurt they found plenty to do too. For example, moving rocks.

Feeding ducks. I guess the they were just waiting for us. We Just needed to walk to the edge of the water and they flocked from across the lake.

Ok, the bread may have helped, but I think they really liked us. They didn't forget us the next day either and made their way up the hill to our picnic table. One guy just stuck around hoping for any crumbs.

We were happy that we were so close to home. In the morning we sat outside and thought, we could be any where, just look at our view.

My stacation planner of a husband really did an excellent job. cooked over the fire, while water boiled for our Starbucks instant coffee.

Papi even brought surprise Spiderman fishing poles for the boys and they were a huge hit.

 

Marcelo had more fun playing with the worms, but it didn't take Mateo long to get the hang of casting the line in the water. And despite this next picture, there was no patient waiting for the fish to bite.

It was cast it out and reel it in fast. Cast it out, immediately reel it in. Repeat.

We were the only ones fishing. As a matter of fact, the campground was pretty much a ghost town now that school is back in, but we didn't mind.

We spent some time each day at the pool, which was very clean and refreshing. We had that to ourselves too.

At night, Ernesto started the fire and we ate chicken (that he had marinated), beans, raw veges and smores.

Look how cozy our yurt looks. And it was. I can't wait to go back in cooler weather. Anyone want to join us in late September??????

One of the nights it did start raining at 5pm and continued for hours. Around 8pm I had to break out my ipad for a movie. I know, I know, but we were GLAMPING ok? AND if you know my active boys, you will understand!

They were out by 930 and then Ernesto was able to get a roaring fire going. He and I sat outside for a couple hours just talking. Talking around the campfire. It was pretty great.

 

The next morning we ate smores for breakfast (along with papaya and quesadillas!) because the boys missed them the night before. We fished one last time and headed to the pool for a quick dip before driving home. Our 25 minute ride home. We are going to have to plan more Staycations!! That was just too easy. And wonderful! Did I mention that I love my husband? Thanks for the little getaway mi amor!