Mayer girl, I pass Dobbins all the time, because we live north of the Dobbins exit on I 75. [img]smile.gif[/img] Dobbins offers a great summer camp for future pilots. My son just did his engineering merit badge there too, so they do things with the BSA as well.

The zoo here is 17.00 for adults and 12.00 for kids, plus state tax. Fernbank is 12.00 for adults unless they have a special exhibit ( they usually do) and then it is 15.00. for kids it is 10.00/13.00. Since these types of things are free in St. Louis, it could come as a real shock to try to take the kids to the zoo and find it costs 58.00 plus tax just to walk in - hence my warning.

We are a family with a 14 yo and a 10 yo, who are both involved in a great number of activities. We have lived here 10 years, and I also lived here through elementary school. Costs of every activity involving kids has soared in the last decade. There are still a few dollar theaters, small parks, and McDonald playgrounds, but you're going to pay 40.00 - 60.00 and up for entrance for a family of 4 into any event, museum, class, etc. and tha tincludes places like Stone Mountain that used to be free. As a homeschooler, I have watched classes go up from 10.00 an hour on average to closer to 20.00 in the last 5 years alone. There is also no longer a difference between pricing in Midtown and the suburbs, however small towns like Fort Benning might still offer reasonably priced activities.

There are ways around the price structure though, so don't dispair. You can get a group together and apply for field trip or group rates. Some venues have a military (or homeschool) family day where prices are reduced and homeschoolers have found that often if you simply talk to businesses they will come up with some sort of package deal. I'm sure the same is true for military families. We also have HalfPrice Atlanta where you can get day of show tickets for half price, and Atlanta Ballet, Georgia Ballet and the Atlanta Opera have special shows for school kids. Contact their offices to get in on these. They are shortened productions, but well worth the price (about 10.00 vs 50.00 for a regular balcony ticket), and the Opera also has a festival day where kids can try on masks and learn about the underpinnings of the opera. If you like zoos or museums I recommend a year's membership with reciprocation from other like attractions. That will reduce costs considerably. especially if you travel a lot. You can even compare prices of different museums and buy out of state but use it in your own.

I probably should have PM'd this ( sorry) but perhaps some will find tips for their own locals.