The Rock Ranch!

This weekend we did something we've been wanting to do for a long time...go to The Rock Ranch!  The Rock Ranch is a 1,250 acre cattle ranch owned by Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy. He has turned it into a beautiful, activity FILLED place for families to enjoy the day together.   Check out the website if you've never been...we will definitely be going back! (I am going to post some tips at the bottom of this post in case you want to go too...)
http://www.therockranch.com/index.html

It took about an hour to get there from Newnan...and since we had not had a nap yet, we had a bit of a melt down on the way...about 20 minutes before we got there, the GPS said "right turn ahead" and Madison started boohooing and just repeating over and over "you gotta turn right, you gotta turn right"...she probably said it for 10 minutes straight with tears streaming down her face.  At that point we knew she was on the brink of falling asleep...of course she did 5 minutes before we got there.  There were a couple of small melt downs when we got there and then she was fine the rest of the day.

And now, she will demonstrate some of the fun to be had: 


Tiny Town - a little town filled with little houses, bank, jail, soda shoppe, etc...just her size...

Face painting...we weren't sure she was going to go for this one, but she couldn't wait!  She chose "banoons"...

Petting Zoo...

Corn Box...considering the sandbox is her favorite thing, this was a dream for her...She just wasn't thrilled about the kernels between her toes...

Cow Train - she bravely rode by herself around the park...

Sno Dream?? Snow Cone + Ice Dream = yes please...

We chose this day to go because it was 'hot air balloon' day.  Unfortunately it was too windy all day for the balloons to land ;(  They didn't come until after we left at night.  Baby girl patiently waited for a long time before we decided to call it a day...

Pumpkin Patch...

We were so pumped our friends, The Fifields, went with us. Madison sure does love some baby Charlie time :)                                        

Maybe a little too much...woah there...

There are tons of other things there that I haven't shown here or we didn't do...a real train that goes around the acreage, hay rides, pumpkin cannon, produce market, pony rides, corn maze...I could go on and on. 


So here are some tips/advice: 

• It is a FULL DAY of fun...I believe it opens at 10am...we got there shortly after 11.  After hearing from a friend that it was a full day we decided to voluntarily forgo a nap...something we have never done before.  But it was a full day...we were there from about 11 to 5 and we still didn't do everything!  Next time I would probably choose to stay home for an early nap and then go from 1-8 or something.
• $2 off - admission is $14 for adults, kids under 3 are free.  You can get $2 off coupons at Chick-fil-a (that you can use for up to 6 people)...just ask!
• If you have a stroller, take it! (good advice from a friend). Madison rarely got in it, but we used it to carry our stuff!  You are on hilly, farmland terrain walking around all day. 
• No coolers are allowed, but you can take in whatever you want otherwise.  We took a bookbag with clothes, wipes, camera, $, snacks and water bottles (there are water fountains to refill).  Next time we will take more drinks in the book bag...maybe some Gatorades...and maybe even PBJs for lunch.  Food is reasonably priced inside, but lines are long. 
• Bathroom lines are long...my one complaint.  This is hard with a 2 year old that needs to go, but she was able to hold it every time, I was so proud of her. 
• Take Sunscreen!!! There is not much shade.
• Take a blanket (if you can push it in the stroller)...there are lots of open green areas that you could sit with the family to eat if pavilions are taken or if you want to just look over the water. We were wishing we had one when we decided to rest a bit at the end of the day (waiting for the nonexistent hot air balloons)
• The only thing that costs extra inside is the Zip Line (and food of course).  The entrance fee is an incredibly reasonable price for everything there is to do in there!

So that is my public service announcement for the Rock Ranch! Go and have fun! We'll definitely be back!