...we ended up 140 miles SE of Chattanooga in a little town called Helen. Helen, GA. Alpine Helen to be exact. Did you know there was a German/Bavarian-themed city in the mountains of Northern GA??? Neither did we until a week or so ago. Got up Tuesday morning, loaded the recycling, planned to go grocery shopping, ended up in a little town 3 hours away over two mountains in another state. Lon is so proud of me for becoming more spontaneous. I'd say this was pretty spontaneous! Especially since, after having a great time and not quite ready to leave, we found a cheap hotel room (on the Chattahoochee River no less!) and stayed the night. No toothbrushes, no change of clothes, no deodorant! Luckily for us the weather was pleasant, almost fall-like. Driving over the mountain the temp got down to 69 degrees and in town it was in the 70's with a nice breeze. Had some yummy German beers, some brat/knock/bierwurst & cheeses and enjoyed the cute little town. Lon wouldn't let me buy him any lederhosen, but was all for me getting one of the cute little St. Pauli girl dresses! Most of the town was closed (off-season) but they were getting ready for the Annual GA H.O.G. Rally that was headed into town today. They also have one of the longest Oktoberfestivals in the nation...lasting from 9/11-11/2 this year. Guess they do a full on Christmas thing, too. Got to have some way to pull the tourists in...this place is definitely OFF the beaten path. Beautiful drive, though...can totally see why the bikers love it so. It's smack dab in the middle of the Chattahoochee National Forest...winding mountain roads, waterfalls, gorgeous vistas, all with a little taste of Germany. They also have a year-round haunted house...Haunted Helen. Very creepy, even in the daytime. Especially the Headless Horseman...see the hazy image...why would that be hazy when the others were all clear? Had fun, met some friendly & some not-so-friendly people, but maybe the economy has got them down, too. Wouldn't imagine they've had a banner year. If interested, check out www.helenga.org.
Instead of coming home on Wed, Lon decided it might be fun to check out Little Five Points in Atlanta...give the big city another try. Well, we found it and we still don't like it ('It' being Atlanta...Little Five Points wasn't bad). Found a cool incense burner and had some yummy food, but the overcrowded, big city thing...WAY overrated! Guess we've always been small(er) town folk at heart. Good to be home...
Here's some more fun pics from our impromptu getaway:
4 comments:
Very cool! Glad you had a good, spontaneous trip. Enjoy the stories, so keep 'em coming!
Cool.... how did you end up 3 hours away when you were on your way to Walmart?
Sounds fun though!
HATE going to Wal-Mart...road trip sounded like a lot more fun...so we did that instead! :)
Ok, this is WEIRD because Royal and I were just talking about this place and wanting to go soon. Since we won't be heading back to Germany any time soon...
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