We received an emergency notification call in the morning that there were flash flood warnings in effect down at the bottom of our mountain so Mike risked life and limb first thing to go and get more wood (and bacon, beer and s'mores) from Betty's country store so we would have everything we needed for a couple of days:)
Later that evening the warning expired, so we went down to the local town of Helen to see what was going on. The river level was really high but it looked like everything was OK thankfully...
Per Wikipedia...formerly a logging town that was in decline, the city of Helen resurrected itself by becoming a replica of a Bavarian alpine town, in the Appalachians instead of the Alps. This design is mandated through zoning first adopted in 1969, so that the classic south-German style is present on every building, even on the small number of national franchisees present...we loved it!
The next morning we drove to Amicalola Falls, a 729-foot (the highest) waterfall in Georgia. It is considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia:)
This was a particularly special visit for me since we had visited this exact spot on Jan 1st 2004 and I had not really enjoyed it:(. I was still very much a 'city mouse' at the time and didn't yet appreciate the outdoors at all. And I remember complaining incessantly about all those steps to the top of the waterfall. As a firmly converted 'country mouse' I couldn't wait to get back and see what I had missed!
12 years ago... and today in the same exact spot! Look - same rocks on the right!!
Fortunately Maddy has always been able to 'get it' :). Here she is now...
And back then...
Those steps were still tricky though;)...
But so worth it!
How lovely:). Afterwards, we discovered that close by was Dahlonega, the site of the second of the six major Gold Rushes in America. Turns out they have an actual mine you can tour...:)
It completely fascinating! Our trusty tour guide showed us how gold was extracted using actual machinery from the late 1800s...
He even showed us a live, hibernating tricolor bat:)
And we got to do some gold panning later too!
Afterwards we drove around for a while checking out some cool, abandoned stuff...
Later on we pulled up our favorite Roadside America app and couldn't resist a trip to the General Babyland Hospital where Cabbage Patch Kids are born.
It is set up exactly like a hospital with nurses and everything. We actually got to see "Mother Cabbage" give birth...it was hilarious, creepy and a bit disturbing all at once....
The new delivery...
But the weirdest part for me was the massive wall of celebrity photos who have sent their best wishes and/or presumably visited the hospital...like Kevin Kosner and Bob Geldof...
...and The Fonz
and Caitlyn Jenner...
and The Donald??...
It was very strange indeed. We found some more offbeat attractions close by....like this ancient burial mound...
And this Wampus box outside the old Sautee Store...
We cooked some steaks and watched the ball (and the peach) drop from the cabin at midnight. On our last day, we went for a morning hike at Unicoi State Park.
Maddy found quartz which she was sure was full of gold...
And we ended the day at pretty Anna Ruby Falls:)
We all had a lovely, relaxing, fun trip and it was a great way to start out the new year. 2015 has been filled with some amazing adventures and I hope for some more crazy, random fun in 2016. Happy New Year to you all:)
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