I live for vacations as do most people! I enjoy the anticipation leading up to the trip almost as much as the trip itself. And again like many others, we had a few already booked vacations that were cancelled due to Corona. I totally understand this. Yet after a couple months of time spent in our house and not really anywhere else, we needed an escape! Can I get an Amen! My husband came up with the idea of renting a cabin. This way we wouldn’t have the health concerns that come along with a hotel and its’ many guests. With a cabin, once we personally sanitized it, no one else was coming in or near it. And it’s easier to social distance in the great outdoors! Also wearing a mask was more comfortable when the heat and humidity wasn’t so high. So along with another close family, we set off for the mountains of North Georgia! This was a different style of vacation for us. As we are usually headed to beaches or big cities when we vacation. With an open mind, we hit the road at 4am! Georgia, here we come!
We arrived in Helen, Georgia early that afternoon. Our first stop was tubing the Chattahoochee River. We came prepared with water shoes and a broom handle (minus the broom head). This is what a friend told us we will need for our tubing adventures. Bathing suits on, sunscreen sprayed, fashionable water shoes on, we headed in to Helen Tubing and Waterpark with our broom handle in tow. After paying $10 each, we jumped on their bus to shuttle us to the entry point. Once we were dropped off, we were handed our tubes and straps and we began to get into the water. Well, guess what? We are not in Florida anymore and this water is icy cold! So we quickly hop into our tubes, connect the straps through the handles and the Mesa’s are tubing for the first time! This was the most entertaining and enjoyable 2 hours! It was not fast paced at all. But rather there was a leisurely current that carried us. But boy did that broom handle come in handy! Numerous times, we got stuck on rocks but that broom handle was the MVP! We could always count on her to release us from the grip of the rocks with just a few good pushes! The weather was great and we laughed and relaxed the whole time. It was exactly what we needed. When we got out of the river, all 3 of us kept saying how awesome it was and that we should do it again before we leave.
From there, we headed to the cabin as it was check in time. Our cabin was located in Sautee Nacoochee. It was about a 15 minute drive from the heart of Helen to our cabin. We used Vacasa to rent the cabin. I was beyond pleased with the experience. The prices were reasonable and the cabin was huge, gorgeous and semi secluded! It had everything we needed, including a large kitchen, great front porch with rocking chairs, a fun back porch with a hot tub and grill, a fire pit in the backyard and plenty of space! The cabin was stocked with extra cleaning supplies, paper towels, water and all the cooking utensils you need.
After unpacking, we were hungry! And there was nothing I wanted more than some German food! Schnitzel, I’m talking to you! We drove back to Helen to have dinner at Bodensee. Upon entering, our temperatures were taken and they sprayed our hands with sanitizer. This was the only time this was done throughout our entire stay. There was no holding back! Our table was filled with a giant pretzel with creamy beer cheese, a perfectly breaded pork schnitzel snuggled next to tart sauerkraut, and a variety platter of sausages and potato salad. Holy moly, was it heavenly!
With our bellies full, we headed to the cabin to hang out and relax with our friends. The kids had a blast catching fireflies as we enjoyed the stunning view while sitting on the front porch. Our first day in the mountains was perfect!
The next day, I had planned for a few touristy stops in Blairsville. But before that, we needed a mountain man’s breakfast. Enter The Huddle House. I would describe this place as a cleaner, more expansive version of the Waffle House. And I mean that in the best way possible! Let me tell you, Huddle House did not disappoint! No it did not. We gorged ourselves on butter pecan praline pancakes, a smothered fried chicken biscuit platter that was to die for, and chocolate chip pancakes. Wow, is all I can say!
After indulging in all that goodness, my body wanted to nap. But there’s no time for that. The solution…. a cup of coffee from Cabin Coffee Company. This was an adorable coffee shop. The location we stopped at was very large. Two iced coffees later and we were ready for our next stop, Sleepy Hollow Fairy Garden.
The owner of Sleepy Hollow was previously a Disney artist. It’s a large area of land that he lives on. On this property is a shop that has true artist supplies along with the most charming fairies and fairy homes for sale. They were just darling! I must admit that Bella and I both purchased fun little fairies as well as houses for them! Outside of the shop is a vast area of everything fairy! There were beautifully constructed fairy houses, gnomes and fairies everywhere! You could walk through all of it as well as play in some of the areas. It was the neatest thing I had seen in a while!
We couldn’t stay there too long though as we had reservations at Lassso the Moon. What is Lasso the Moon you might ask! It is an alpaca farm!!!!! I know, I know, it is a fun as it sounds! Upon arriving, we were greeted by 2 sweet dogs. This alpaca farm is on the same property as where the husband and wife team that owns it lives. The wife gave us a tour of the place. We were able to enter an area to feed the alpacas. Those alpacas sure like to eat! Same alpacas, same! There was also a gallery onsite where the owner showed us many artistic ways to use the fiber from the alpaca. Of course we walked away purchasing a couple of her works!
Our last stop of the day was Track Rock Gap Petroglyph Site. This was also located in Blairsville. It was a very short hike. For the record, one that can be done in flip flops as I can attest to this from personal experience. Within less than 10 minutes, we were at the area where settlers there had previously carved their life stories into the boulders there. It was a short stop but interesting to see.
After the busy day of sightseeing, we were ready to head back to our picturesque cabin and enjoy the sunset views! We also needed to get a good night’s sleep because we may strike it rich the following day!
Today’s agenda included trying our luck with some gold and gem mining! And Consolidated Gold Mine in Dahelonga was just the place to do that! First we did the mine tour. Going down in the mine you could feel the temperature drop. You really got a sense of just how much hard work it took to mine back then and how dangerous it was! The tour was extremely interesting. Fun fact though, there’s now a Walmart built on top of the gold mine! After the tour, we were given a pan of sand to mine and see if we were going to hit it big with some gold. Spoiler alert, we did not. It was more labor intensive than I had thought it would be. But it was still fun. Now we move on to the big boys… gem mining! Yes sir, we will take the $100 bucket! The 3 of us worked that bucket for about 30 minutes and we came away with multiple bags of treasures. Some pieces were tiny and some were huge! It was a ton of fun!
Not knowing if we had found the next Titanic blue diamond, really stirred up our appetites. We had lunch at The Smith House. This is located in Dahelonga’s historic town square. They offer a family style feast of southern favorites! Our table was filled with fried chicken, country fried steak, mac and cheese (and I mean real mac and cheese), creamed corn, fried okra, mashed potatoes and cornbread. Oh and of course, there was sweet tea. Because are you even in the South, if you don’t have sweet tea with your fried chicken? It felt like we ate and ate and barely made a dent in that feast!
Once we rolled ourselves out of the Smith House, we strolled around the area checking out the little stores and antique shops. Thanks to all the walking, we began to come out of our food coma. So to the Mountain Coaster we go!
A mountain coaster falls under the ‘seems like a good idea at the time’ category. I mean how fast could this mountain coaster really go. The cart you sit in is pretty small and you’re on a basic track. Well, well, well, looks can be deceiving! So apparently, this thing goes pretty darn fast! It was cute on the way up, very Disney like. I was waiting for the seven dwarfs to appear. But then, then you get to the top and are released to what seems like could be your death! I don’t recall the last time I was that scared! But I lived to tell the tale so don’t say I didn’t warn you! That was my first and my last experience on a mountain coaster!
With my feet on stable land, I gathered myself as we are back in the car driving to the cabin. Our goal each day was to be back to the cabin before it got dark as it was a long, steep, winding road to get there. Plus, the views were breathtaking in the evening so we wanted to soak that all in.
We only have 2 days left here but many places to still visit! I love trying out different local coffee shops when we travel so today’s caffeine would be provided by Jumping Goat Roasters. We had a few things planned in Cleveland that day so we stopped at their location there. They had an interesting menu with creative and delicious sounding drinks. We tried 2 different cold concoctions and were pleased with both. The staff was super sweet. They also offer mead samples but it was too early for me. Instead, we bought a bottle to try later!
From there we made our way to Old Sautee Store. The front part of this shop is a true step back in time while the rest of it is a fun gift shop.
While driving around this area, I noticed quite a few wineries. Let’s do this! The first one we pulled into was Hamersham Winery. It looked very regal from the drive in. Once we were walking up to the door though we noticed trashed scattered throughout the grass and walk way. Nelson was kind enough to pick it and throw it in the trashcan by the door. We should have taken that as a warning. They offer a 5 wine tasting so I went with that thinking I would purchase a bottle of my favorite. Well the woman helping us could not have disliked her job more. Almost immediately, I could tell that her pouring my 5 tiny glasses of wine was a huge inconvenience to her. And to be honest, none of the wines I tasted really impressed me. I asked her which was her favorite. She told me the name of it followed by “but we are out of it”. Ok, Ok, I see what type of place this is. And like I said, there’s plenty of wineries around so we moved right on to the next one after paying for my tasting.
Not too far away was The Cottage Winery and this was the complete opposite! It was gorgeous AND clean. And the employees were very kind and helpful! I had a glass of their peach wine and we took it outside to one of their seating areas. We sat on a swing while I enjoyed both my wine and the stunning views! It would be the perfect place to spend a cold winter evening at. This place was amazing!
Continuing on our way, we went to Stovall Mill Covered Bridge. It was built in 1895. Unfortunately, it has been vandalized and it now protected with 24 hour video security. It is set above a stunning flowing river. It would be a perfect place for a picnic! After taking photos and enjoying the scenery, we were on our way to the big stop of the day, BabyLand General Hospital!
Hello BabyLand General Hospital! Walking into BabyLand was like walking into my youth! Oh the memories of my Cabbage Patch dolls! What a sight to see. Let me tell you, this place is no joke. It is called a Hospital for a reason! Upon entering, you notice nurses everywhere. There is also an extensive collection of original dolls as well as dolls throughout the years. And if you’re lucky enough, you just may witness a baby being born. I know this sounds a little creepy but I promise you it is not. There’s an actual cabbage patch and throughout the day, babies are born there. We watched this and it was rather entertaining as the speech that the nurse gave was full of cute jokes. We spent over an hour here and had a great time! I was surprised that there was no entry cost. I’m sure they want you to put that money towards purchasing a doll which is exactly what we did! Don’t laugh, we had to! It would be wrong to come all this way and not indulge in this childhood memory! There I said it and I am not ashamed!
The last stop before going back to the cabin was a hike at Anna Ruby Falls. It’s located in the Chattahoochee National Forest. Once you make it to the top, you are rewarded with a magnificent view of twin waterfalls! The hike is an easy one though it is quite steep. It’s a half mile to the falls. We were able to enjoy a rain shower during our hike which made the steep areas that much more thrilling! But don’t worry, lessons were learned from our last hike and I traded in my flip flops for sneakers! The night concluded with s’mores at the cabin and again enjoying the quietness and pretty mountain views from the front porch!
This is our fifth and final day. Each of us completely enjoyed all the activities we did. We each said that this was one of our favorite trips! It was unanimous that our favorite thing was tubing. So we had to squeeze in one last trip down the Hooch! This time, we were at Helen Tubing and Waterpark shortly after they opened. There was no line for tickets and we were on the bus to the drop off point in no time. It was early enough that it was not very hot out yet so it made the water seem even more frigid! But we still had a blast! After we changed, we explored Helen and all the cute shops there one last time. We also squeezed in one more meal. Where was that at? The Old Bavaria Inn. You think I was going to leave Helen, Georgia without getting in one last German meal! We dined on a giant pretzel with beer cheese (yes, again), a schnitzel sandwich and a reuben sandwich. I needed some energy in the form of sugar for the ride back to southwest Florida so I indulged with a black forest cake. I did allow Nelson and Bella to have a bite! Bella’s form of sugar energy came from Hansel and Gretel Candy shop. It was a caramel apple, yum!
And that my friends was the tale of our first mountain vacation. But I can assure ya’ all, it won’t be our last hiatus spent in Georgia! Til next time!
