Anna Ruby Falls and More

Let me just tell you, before I begin on more trip stories, right now the house smells absolutely amazing. In fact, if it weren't 88 degrees outside you might think that it was Autumn here in Central Florida. Apple Cinnamon Bread my friends, thanks to this recipe and some homegrown apples given to me by Karen, our longtime friend who has lived in Murphy, NC for more than a decade now. And how was it that we came by these apples you wonder? We visited not only her, but more friends and family making this trip absolutely delightful. 

Today though, this post still finds us in Helen, GA and we shall end in Murphy, NC. Along the way the sights were fantastic and frankly, deserve to be shared. So let's get to it, shall we?

Getting up early, as is our custom, we left Unicoi to head back into town, followed by seeing Anna Ruby Falls. First we stopped by the lake. I am a sucker for smoke on the water and fog in the mountains!

Afraid to try the breakfast buffet at the lodge, we went to Betty's Country Store for a breakfast sandwich which really hit the spot.

Who doesn't like to look around a country store?

They had cookies the size of lunch plates for $2.25.  Lots more to see there but onward we move or you will be reading all night! 

Lots of photos my friends. Lots of photos.

The falls. Wow! My photos do not do it justice, in part because there is no sound. Yup, the sound of that water falling from so high up is pretty darn thrilling. Majestic indeed.

So here's a funny picture which probably looks anything but to your eye, but I know the real story;  Bruce is reading his phone to measure the grade of the climb to the falls which is something a builder would do. Thankfully, we had our walking sticks. We watched as younger folks confidently climbed and maybe that could have been us some years ago, but these days we take things slow and steady!

Well here it is, probably one of the most well documented waterfalls in Georgia, but when you see it for the first time it is awe inspiring!

We had the obligatory tourist photo taken by a kind stranger. 

Bruce's denim shirt kept me just warm enough. Going up was a bit challenging, but coming down was harder yet on my old knees! That said, it was so worth the effort. 

Along the way massive boulders are everywhere.

Living in Florida most of my life, I am just not that used to rocks. Sure little tiny ones, but I'm talking big rocks. Nor am I accustomed to mountains, however that year in Vancouver turned me into a mountain lover. Seeing the mountains every day brought me such joy which is why I am loving the ability to go to North Carolina for a fix!

The website claimed there was a swimming beach at Unicoi State Park and Lodge but it wasn't until our second day there that we found it while going on a hike. Imagine that, we still had energy! The trail took us through the woods, skirting the lake which was quite lovely.

That's another thing Vancouver introduced me to and that is changing leaves. Oh how I loved them in Stanley Park and really, all around the city. But that was then, and this is now...

Finally there really is a beach, not that anyone would be using it this time of year, but it does exist and the setting is pretty.

On our way back, Bruce stopped to chat with a fisherman while I went in search of a restroom. Found it! Our hike had brought us back to the campground welcome center. While there I saw this and tried really hard to remember how it is played. Who knew that 40+years later, passwords would rule our lives???

Time to head back into Helen, which as I mentioned, we both found so strange. Maybe that sounds silly coming from folks that live in the theme park capital of the world! What do you think?

What's so wrong about staying at the Heidi Motel in Northern, GA? After all, people from around the world come to Walt Disney World to be married at Cinderella's castle! Is there a difference? Probably not.

Perhaps it was the crowds? It's been a long time since we've been amongst lots of people, so maybe that added to the weirdness? And then there is the matter of too many people wanting to eat out
 and not enough people who want to serve them. All the restaurants were full, so when we went to the Troll Tavern for lunch, as we sat at the bar in order to avoid the hour wait for a table, the bartender took our order but said he had to wait for the food order as the kitchen was too backed up.

First it was Password and now trolls? Nostalgia alert! I will say, by the time we did get our food, mine was a pretty darn scrumptious Reuben sandwich.

Because lunch was so late, when we returned to the lodge we grabbed our books and sat in the Adirondack chairs to read while the sun was going down. Bruce then started a fire in the provided pit and eventually we were joined by others. This is when I left my book. This is also when we met the folks from Madison, GA, the town I so loved, and this was also when we met a young woman who told us she was a wild animal caretaker. Showing me the photo of her hugging a hyena, well, I was at a loss for words.

A lot could be said about that fireside chat, alas we must continue.

In the morning it was raining, the first of our trip, but again, not chancing the restaurant, we packed our things, checked out and went into town, this time eating at this tiny restaurant where I had the most fantastic bagel, flown in from New York, and Bruce had memorable grits among other things.

The most amazing thing about this place is that the owner was the cook, and the server was delightful, something I want to remember. One cook, one server for about 16 seats, all full, and yet she could not have been sweeter. A real treat.

Someone mentioned the road to Murphy, our next stop, was winding and they were not kidding.

And it was foggy...

and then there were gorgeous leaves.

Crazy right? Because I have the iPad on my lap and watch the road ahead, when Bruce began getting a wee bit drowsy, I told him there was a church ahead, one of very few places on the journey. What a great place to stop! While he took a 15 minute nap, I explored. Imagine that. :)

Score!! 

Extra points for the field across the street.

Not pictured, because I am going on so, is a huge field of sunflowers adjacent to the cornfield. Could it have been any better?  I think not.

Before we got to Murphy I wanted to stop in Hiawassee, GA because I had learned of a pickleball complex of 14 courts in the tiny town. How tiny? Well the population was 800 in 2010, so maybe bigger now, but it sure can't be by much. Amazing! Set on this huge lake, how could a person concentrate with mountains and water to distract? Maybe the same way I do when the birds are calling my name while I am playing? Happened just this morning as a hawk flew into my vision. 

We watched for a while and chatted with a few people, but the best I could do for a photograph was this as there were folks playing.

The sky cleared and we continued our journey to Murphy where my sister Carol's husband just moved from Long Beach, CA. For years he wanted to move, however Carol did not, so they stayed there. It has been a little more than three years since she died, and finally he found a place with wooded acreage which you will soon see. 

I'm skipping over some things, but one thing that I totally want to remember is this photo I came across in an antique store near Hayesville. I studied this photo, noticing how each little girl looks and wondering who could the lone boy be? Did his mother insist? Who came up with these costumes? Those ankle ties!

Not to mention the amazing quality of the photograph. I love it!! Make it big if you are reading this on a phone!

Nearing Murphy, we stopped in Hayesville where we again ate at the bar, enjoying the local flavor, and I mean that in two ways, at the Black Dog Tavern.

It was the kind of place where the owner is sitting across the way and the bartender calls you all sorts of sweet names. Honey, baby, sweetie...you get the idea. The food was quite good, but town folks would not be having dinner there because they had to close after lunch due to a staff shortage. As I mentioned, a continuing theme on this trip.

Gosh I love it when this happens. 

Mountain, upon mountain, upon mountain. 

With the iPad guiding us, once in Murphy we made our way to Hank's place on all sorts of roads, both stone,

and paved. 

Woo hoo! We made it. While Carol was sick, Hank lost a lot of weight, however, three years later, while still thin, he is now having the time of his life, which makes our hearts sing with joy. He made us a pot of delicious beef stew while the dogs were anxiously awaiting their own dinner.

He bought the place furnished, filled with only things an old lady would like. Fine for now, Carol would not have stood for the furnishings, and according to Hank, she would have lasted about three days in the woods. Here's what his surroundings look like.

Murphy turned out to be quite the destination for this couple as you will find out in my next post which will be soon. For those of you who have come to this space in recent years you might assume that I have been posting once a week for a long time which is not how I started. Because I know most people read this on their phones I don't think the list of years and posts shows up, however, for those who do read on a bigger screen you will see that I was crazy for blogging, posting 251 times in 2007!! That even astonishes me. 

your friend,

Gail

Arriving in Helen

An email popped up this week from our local library with some astonishing news. They are no longer charging fines for late returns. Seriously? I wonder how they will feel about books that you left behind on your vacation and will never be able to return?  Good grief, I've done it again, although somehow I got away with the book that I'd left in the rain at Deerwoode. Darn lucky is what I was. No more library books on trips for me.

Of course I did not know that I'd left a book behind until we were a few hundred miles from Unicoi State Park and Lodge, our destination in Helen, GA. I'd heard about how cute the town of Helen was for ages and the fact that it is is the third most visited place in Georgia only sealed my desire to see it for ourselves. It is certainly a place with a lot of tourists that's for sure. It is also sort of weird in our opinion.

But what the heck, let's have a look-see and you can decide for yourself. 

The fact that it is fall in the South really added a lot to this hastily planned trip.

It was warmer than we'd hoped for but better that than colder for these Floridians! If you've not been to Helen, here's a little glimpse of the town.

As is the case with most tourist towns, food, drink and shopping are the main attractions. We went into only a couple of shops, bought very little besides a hostess gift for Michelle as she and David are hosting a Halloween party tonight. Well, Bruce did the transaction, and as we left the shop with him carrying this bag which looked so out of place to me. I began laughing and seriously, I could hardly stop. I even got him to pose for me.

Adding to the weirdness was the fact that said gift was not very big and looked quite lonely in that bag with no tissue paper to be found. Very strange, but it fits with the theme of Helen in our opinion. 

We came across a big fence with locks people have left behind and in a nod to that, we came across this at a little shop.

In a testament to the large volume of tourists that visit the town this was but one portion of the tags with visitors names.

More of the town...

We did enjoy the art center where there were local artists displayed.

For us the main attraction, after having perused the little town, would be the nearby  Anna Ruby Falls.

But first we had to get to our lodging, a few miles outside of town.

Because it is leaf season and I'd only just thought to go see what we could see, when I found Unicoi State Park and Lodge I thought it would be perfect for our needs. We registered and got the keys to our room which had a nice little balcony just outside our door. It felt like we were in a tree house!

The truth of the matter is that it is a little tired there and the website was somewhat misleading because we had to get back in the car to see the lake which was indeed lovely but not nearly as accessible as I'd imagined.

The leaves were just beginning their magical annual transformation. Seriously, isn't it like magic? Some places it was better than others as in this view on the other side of the lake.

We had a very amusing dinner situation in the lodge which promised dinner available at the onsite restaurant. The other guests must have already known that it was terrible because there was but one party in a huge dining room. Originally the hostess told us the buffet would be $18.00, even though, she claimed it was not the full deal because of a lack of kitchen staff, a common theme on this trip. Before we eat though, the atrium looks pretty cool.

So anyway, we gave in and returned to the restaurant because we did not want to go back to town. By this time she had lowered the price to $14 a person. There was a pan of watery spaghetti noodles,  tomato sauce with giant chunks of tomatoes, another overflowing pan of undercooked broccoli, and yet another ugly pasta dish to choose from. All bad choices. While we were doing our best to eat it, the hostess came returned to tell us that she'd talked to her manager and they were lowering the price to $5 a person! Although we were grateful, all we really wanted was a good dinner! 

I'll be back to continue the narrative in a few days time. For this trip the posts will be shorter and more frequent because there is a lot to see. Now it is time to wash my hair before the party tonight. Although we don't much like dressing up, we do look forward to those who do!!

your friend,

Gail

The Back Roads to North Carolina

 Some folks are all about making good time and then there are others who are all about having a good time on a road trip. Count us in the later group. Besides, if we stayed on the busy roads, how would I get to take photographs???

I took a bunch of them on this trip, so expect any number of posts to exhaust my output. I want to do it justice because, frankly, it was one of the best trips ever for all kinds of reasons. 

Let me count the ways:

1. Being out in the country is just the place to be this time of year when the leaves are changing, and crops have either been harvested or are in full bloom. Plus, sometimes you see large animals. Score!

(taken near Lake City, FL)

2. Wildflowers are prolific right now; we saw any number of types, mostly yellow which always brings joy.

(I would have to get out the atlas to tell you the name of this road which turned out to be more winding than I'd hoped!) Georgia, USA

3. Solar panels and lots of them! We tried to figure out what had been harvested to no avail.

Georgia, USA

4. How about cotton fields? Goldenrod anyone? It's a twofer! I am totally in love with this photo but hey, I'm allowed to be, right?

Georgia, USA

5. You may have to wait for a train and in our case,  we waited at least 10 minutes! More than 100 cars for sure. Little did we know when it began. :)

Georgia, USA

6. Small towns both in good shape while others not so much. Shall I begin with a not so much? This is actually a most puzzling sign. 

Georgia, USA

6a. Social Circle, GA  What a name!

Social Circle part two: Good Food for Good People

Social Circle, GA

6b. And then along came Lakeland which had the most interesting murals of which I am going to show you a few.  Alas, you can read more about the project here. 

Note the list on the wall, that's how many there are! Just something to whet your appetite.

Isn't it neat? So lifelike in person.

They are all depictions of local citizens from the 1925 era.

Behind the fence bar is the label of who everyone is on that front porch. A big family is who!

I wonder if these folks had children?

And lastly some citizens of high repute.

Seriously there were loads more with each one being so compelling.

6b. And then along came Nashville, where I met the woman responsible for revitalizing downtown. 

Serendipitous actually because as we pulled into a parking lot for Bruce to have a little nap, I mentioned to him that the town looked as if it was in the midst of doing just that. Sure enough, if Winnie has anything to say about it, along with folks who are willing to take a chance on a small Georgia town. It is already pretty tidy which is why this scene caught my attention.

Actually I met one couple who is very busy putting in a few stores, as well as an air-b-b in the building on the right.  She gave me her card which directed me to this facebook page which looks pretty cute. I admire their enthusiasm and if Ben and Erin can do it in Laurel, MS, why can't they in Nashville, GA? Well maybe HGTV has to get involved but still if it happens you can say you read about it first in Camera Crazy.

Another absolutely adorable town was Monroe. Oh my, oh my.

Here's a crazy fun coincidence. While we were at Unicoi Lodge, sitting around an awesome campfire that Bruce built, other folks joined us and began telling us their stories. Well, of all things, this couple was from Monroe and I showed him the above photo. He quickly pointed out that his grandfather once owned a jewelry store that sat behind the door to the right, admittedly is a little hard to see, but still, how cool is that?? 

We were still in Georgia which is darn long to get through. I should check that but hundreds of miles for sure. At any rate, this route afforded us a tiny glimpse into other folk's lives and surroundings. 

Almost all of the towns that were in decent shape were county seats including Monroe. The imposing courthouses are generally at the center of most of the towns.  Porches, Southerners love their porches even at the courthouse.

Monroe is having a moment with new folks starting cute new businesses. Looks like they are bringing a little South Beach to South Georgia! Then again, according to this, they deal in lots of old stuff too. 

And here's something else. Yeah, published weekly.

7. History baby! We were traveling on well-worn routes which is another reason to love it.

8. The roads are empty and I do mean empty.

Our first destination was Helen, North Carolina, but it was just too darn far so we spent the night in Macon, a somewhat poor choice on my part, but you live and learn. In the morning, we walked to the car and found this.

This sort of thing just happens to me. I walk outside in the overcast early morning and a photo-op presents itself. But what really gets me excited is the first glimpse of the mountains. Oh yes indeed.

9. Is it possible to go wrong with both mountains and sunflowers? I should think not!

More in a few days! Lots to catch up on here, and of course there is pickleball to play.

your friend,

Gail