There's a hill at City Park in Gainesville that drops down at a steep decline, plateaus and then drops off again. If a sledder can clear a tree on the left and a pole on the right, they'll hit the second hill and give new life to the skid, carrying momentum down to the parking lot.

"Oh, gosh, he'll give me a heart attack," Stephany McMurrow yells as her son Stephen swings left at the last second and misses the pole by inches.

Stephen slows a bit before the second hill but dips again and spins in a circle down the final stretch.

"I'm OK," he yells back to his mom as he grazes the grill of a car. Stephany presses her hand on her chest and lets out a laugh tinged with relief.

Monday was a rare snow day not only for Stephen, 12, and his brother Connor, 16, but also their mom.

"This is my first snow day ever," Stephany said. "They never close my work, ever."

Down the street, other parents join in the fun. Clifton Hastings had planned on driving to Atlanta to attend the Monday's inaugural events for Gov. Nathan Deal, but instead, he stands in the middle of a snow-packed street, holding a small camera as his son and daughter try to build up speed at the top of a hill.

Sarah, 12, and William, 22, squeeze onto one sled and as they take off, their dogs Misty and Scooter try to jump on, too. The dogs trail behind, sliding on their paws and bellies down the hill.

Families scatter the streets. One little boy is too small to pick up much momentum on his own, so his dad holds the sled and starts off at a run before swinging his son forward.

The sled only makes it about 15 feet, but the boy, whose hat has slipped over his eyes, lets out an open-mouthed scream for the whole ride.

In South Hall, lifelong Georgians Stephen Skeggs, 13, and his sister, Brittanie Skeggs, 10, sled down a hill in their subdivision off Spout Springs Road in South Hall.

"This is pretty awesome," Stephen said. "I have never seen anything like it before."

Brittanie nodded in agreement, smiling. "It's really cool," she said.

Others fill Monday's snow day with less strenuous activities. At the Chevron gas station on E.E. Butler Parkway, two of the three customers who pass through over a span of half an hour head straight to the coolers and pull out cases of beer.

To help beat the boredom, they say.

Normally the gas station opens at 6 a.m., but Melissia Robertson didn't set up shop until noon. One lone loaf of bread sits on the shelf and just a few gallons of milk are in the fridge.

"I felt bad when I pulled up, there were people by the gas pumps trying to get gas," Robertson said. "I rushed in and turned things on so they could get gas."

Tony Sims, 52, fills up his tank before heading back on the road. The heater broke and the defroster doesn't work, so every once in a while he pulls over to pound the wipers on the windshield and break off ice.

There's no four-wheel drive on his car, he said, but it takes a lot more snow than this to scare him.

"I love excitement," he said. "I came out for the adventure."

Staff writer Jeff Gill contributed to this report.