6 posts tagged “georgia”
We've been to this lake before, this past spring but it was too cold to swim, we decided on going to the same spot. I had expected a few tourists maybe a family or two on the shore but just as the last time it was desolate. Not a person within sight and we had a whole cove of the lake to ourselves. I got into the water (second to Luna) and held my breath expecting it to be just as frigid as the rivers and streams. To my surprise it was the perfect temperature. We spent a few hours playing with luna, swimming, floating and enjoying the quiet lakeside views.
This was my first time swimming in a lake, I've lived my life ocean-side, so I quickly learned a few things.
- I'm not as naturally buoyant as I thought, its hard to float when there is no salt.
- There are fish in lakes too!
- Spiders swim on the surface of the water and move very fast.
- Swimming snakes can look like turtles.
- Drink the water & open your eyes.
I learn things new every day...
We've spent most of our vacation getting lost in the car, mostly because of my navigation but the lack of a map didn't help either. So this morning Julia, Jon and I had planned to go waterfall hunting and were fully expecting another day of driving around getting lost. We were prepared, bottles of water, sunscreen, partial maps and semi-directions... ready to hit the road or the mountain in this case.
Amicalola Falls was the first on our list, very touristy as it is a state park and the beginning of the Appalachian Trail but it was a must see because of it size; a stunning seven hundred feet tall. We were completely ready for a small hike from the parking lot, but as we neared the falls we all realized that this wasn't going to be a traditional hike, it involved hundreds upon hundreds of stairs. We took it in stride and as we finished 250 stairs we landed onto an overlook/bridge that crossed the falls at their peak. We proudly took our photos and rested a while before heading back down the mountain side and skipping our way down hundreds of stairs. By the time we had reached our car we looked back to the falls and realized that we had not gone as far as we had thought, in reality we had gone less than half way up. It ruined the whole effect because we had all been so proud of our accomplishment but we jumped at the opportunity to drive to the top, instead. The view from the top was stunning (if you can see the white spot in the distance, surrounded by woods, that is the parking lot that we walked from.) At the top of the falls there is a sign that shows how many steps it is to the platform that we had stopped at... an additional 425 stairs and a damn good thing we turned around.
A stop for sweets and sodas in the gold mining town of Dahlonega and we were on the road again.
Sea Creek Falls was next on our list, a 30-foot waterfall in the Chattahoochee National Forest. My directions were for coming from the cabin, so we had to improvise a little because we were driving from the opposite direction. We entered the park and clocked the milage to the trail head... about an hour later after stopping at many potential trails we had finally found the right spot and realized that we had gone into the wrong park entrance. It was maddening how large the park was and how at each time the mileage was almost exact even though we had been in the absolute wrong end of the park. We had finally reached the falls and with sighs of relief we walked into our own private waterfall paradise. It was beautiful, private and untouched. Without a soul around we climbed to the second level of the falls and waded our way to the center of the falls, carefully with cameras in hand. Everything was cool, crisp and the dusk lighting was perfection. We were all exhausted by the days events and this final waterfall was what we had been looking for and well worth the hunt.
We arrived at the cabin around five o'clock to be greeted by some of my family, who had been staying there the previous week, two aunts, a grandmother, two cousins and a boyfriend. Jon & I had extended our vacation, taking it one day earlier so that we would overlap a day with my family. The younger crowd (in their early twenties/late teens) took us bowling in town and though I usually am an embarrassingly horrible bowler, some how I ended up with a score of 124, a personal best. Later that night we ate at the "pink pig" an experience all on its own. A small family owned restaurant in the mountains, its pretty much two small shacks joined together by bare plywood (no exaggeration). I was warned by my cousins to avoid the pork and stick with chicken, but the cobbler... oh the sweet blackberry cobbler... it was heaven. I'd battle the rats, eat with the inbreds, dine in a shack.... all again for another sweet bowl of cobbler.
Our first night in the cabin was a restless one. Luna nervously paced the room and as she did her nails clicked and clacked on the wooden floor, the noise pounded away in my head. I'd woken Jon up who seemed not to be as bothered by the excessive tapping and convinced him to move to the upstairs bedroom because I believed it had carpet. One thing I've learned about being in the "middle of nowhere" is if its anything, its dark! We stumbled around the cabin looking for light switches in pitch dark and I ended up on the floor with the giggles as Jon found himself accidentally in the bathroom or excited because he'd found a closet. We slowly made our way up the staircase exhausted and laughing until we finally found the bedroom and noticed I was horribly wrong, that this room had wood floors too! Not a rug or carpet in sight. We decided to stay anyway in hopes that since the room was half the size it wouldn't echo as bad. I'd woken up tired and managed to catch and hour or two of uncomfortable sleep. Needless to say the following night we claimed dibs on only bedroom with a carpeted floor.
In the afternoon my mission was to find a nearby lake that was said to have Caribbean blue waters. A few dirt roads and a horribly dirty car later we stumbled down onto a rocky beach to see picturesque lakeside views. I'd never been on terrain like this, the clay had turned every rock in sight into this bright orange and it distinctly reminded me of the surface of mars. Luna didn't care about the views or the surface of the rocks she ran straight for the aquamarine water and splashed right into the frigid cold. Her dog paddle could be called enthusiastic, as she splashes excessively and looks as if shes drowning.
An hour or so at the lake and a hike in the woods lead to some much needed downtime. We found ourselves on rocking chairs on the porch breathing in the clean mountain air and really relaxing. Luna finally slept, like a log in fact and we shared stories and laughed as we enjoyed each others company in the "middle of nowhere".
The five hour drive went quickly and by afternoon we were three states away in the middle of a national forest. The cabin was beautiful and hidden well off the beaten path in a scenic valley. Mom was sitting on the front porch dressed in all white, she looked so peaceful there alone and I was so happy to see her smile. After the hugs and greetings we grabbed our things and went inside to laze around and enjoy the views.
The cabin was decked with christmas decorations from months ago, since it was the last time it was used. So I giggled at the gnomes with gifts in their hands and pictures of Santa on the wall. Once the silly decor was ignored I got a chance to look at the beautiful hardwood interior, and it was gorgeous. A little too woody for my taste but it seemed to fit the mountain cabin feel so well. We spent the rest of the evening sitting on the front deck talking and catching up as Jon played his guitar and his music filled the cool night air.
I'm planning a soundtrack and this can only mean one thing... ROAD TRIP! Along with my regular packing plans one at the top of my list is to create a driving soundtrack. It might be silly, but I take pride in the music i chose for specific trips, it sets the whole mood of the drive, so these are a few I'm thinking of including:
And your wondering where I'm off to? The mountains! Mom (a Florida snowbird) is driving back home to Kentucky and will be stopping at the family cabin in northern Georgia. She invited Jon and I to drive down and spend the weekend with her and we jumped at the opportunity. We've been dying to stay at the cabin and haven't had the chance to go yet. So I'm off for another weekend away. If you need me, I'll be five hours south and four thousand feet higher with my head in the clouds of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
