Lionhood Family Reunion - Lake Lanier Edition

August marked the 2nd annual Lionhood Family Reunion. As usual, the Reunion involves a nationwide search for a place none of us have ever been, that is relatively close to the geographic center of all of our homes since we are fairly spread out, and that we maintain a moderate budget. On top of that, the family typically selects a general theme. This year's theme was to look for a property that was close to some fresh water so that we could make use of Rick's pontoon and Christine's set of kayaks.

So the search began. I looked for property all over a general region of the country that was close enough to equidistant for all and that initially narrowed the search to a general area of western North Carolina, South Carolina, northern Georgia, northern Alabama, and Tennessee, and all on major bodies of freshwater (primarily on a large lake). Large lakes are key because they tend to be more likely to have rental properties that are large enough to accomodate the family.

This year's winner was Lake Lanier, Georgia. I was able to secure a 10,000 square foot home on a bluff overlooking the lake down below. This castle shaped mansion had everything we needed. Four stories, an elevator, several family rooms, a movie theatre, huge bar, pool table room, a workout area/gym, pool with jacuzzi next to an outdoor wood burning stone fireplace, massive dining room and kitchen, 4 large bedrooms, a massive downstairs apartment (Mother-in-law quarters), and a huge boathouse complex with 6 boatslips and a 100 square foot party deck. The property's current listing is $2.2 million, which should give you some idea on the size/scale of this property.

As we all arrived, we quickly settled into our rooms and after a few adjustments to everyone's accomodations, we got the kids together, which is the most important part of the Reunion. The boys had a blast with their cousins and each year, they are a little bit bigger. This was the last year that Billy will have to sleep in our room. Next year, we will let him stay with his cousins and the following year, AJ may get the chance to do the same.

When we were in Pigeon Forge, we setup 3 excursions. This year, we decided to spend more time at the property and narrow the excursions down to just 2. With our first excursion, we took a trip to Stone Mountain on the east side of Atlanta. Since we went after 5 PM, the park was empty and the weather was perfect. We had the entire open area in front of the mountain to ourselves and the kids had acres of land to run around, throw footballs and frisbees, and setup a picnic and relax. We also took the family photo for this year's trip in front of the mountain. All in all, it was a great afternoon.

The next excursion was a trip to the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta. The major draw here was what has been referred to as the largest aquarium in the world including the only facility in the Western Hemisphere to house whale sharks in captivity. In this case, the main massive tank has four of the enormous animals in it and they were pretty impressive. The kids have really enjoyed aquariums in the past at several family trips we've taken, so it made sense to give one of the best in the world a shot.

The remainder of the trip involved taking advantage of all the property had to offer. We rented movies for movie nights and let the kids end a few of the nights watching their movies while the adults spent some time out on patio by the pool or shooting pool in the game room. The heated pool was outstanding as a few of the nights got chilly in Atlanta, but everyday was sunny except for our final morning of departure, when we finally got a little rain.

We also spent time fishing off the dock and taking the boat out on the lake for a few afternoon and sunset boat rides. Without question, the 2nd annual Lionhood Family Reunion was a success. You'll see in the video most of the pictures and video of the time the family had. Until next year, which is already in the planning phase.