I Must Go (cont.)

Beautiful Lake Blue Ridge

Day 4
The next morning, we slept in, breakfasted at the cabin and headed out to Lake Blue Ridge for hikes and views. We started at the Lake Blue Ridge Dayuse Recreation Area, where there are two short hikes. The first one is a fairly flat, easy hike that offers some pretty of views of the lake's aquamarine waters and sheltering mountains. The second hike (whose trailhead is also at the dayuse area) is actually an old paved road in the woods that takes walkers through an old campground area no longer open to overnight use.  

After these two short jaunts, we navigated to the Blue Ridge Marina, where a couple of wooden overlooks provide wide views of the water, folks put in on their boats and jet skis, and the Boat Dock Bar & Grill ("a sunny spot for shady people," the sign exclaims) serves up lunch on an outdoor patio with a view of all the action.

The only bears we saw on this trip were stuffed!

Susan and I settled into two chairs overlooking the water and ordered. I had shrimp tacos and chips, which were serviceable but not much to write home about. Because the restaurant's bathrooms are in the marina office building next door, we got to pop in and see the fun stuffed bears and big boats they had on display. (Note: the two stuffed bears in this marina were the only bears we saw on this trip. Heh.)

After lunch, it was back to the cabin for a long, lazy afternoon. I did yoga on the back deck, overlooking the mountains. Susan and I made margaritas, Ro-Tel and tacos and burned through the Normal People series on Hulu, read a bit, chatted and turned in.

Day 5
This was an early morning, as Amicalola Falls State Park was on the agenda. We chose this day/time to visit for a few key reasons:

• It was cloudy. But at this park, you're largely hiking through woods for sheltered views of waterfalls, not sweeping, open air mountain vistas. So clouds didn't really matter. Plus, we were hoping the cloudy weather would be a deterrent to other visitors to the park. 
• It was a Wednesday. We'd heard that this park had been very crowded. We were trying to time our visit so as to encounter a few crowds as possible. 
• We figured the earlier we were there, the fewer folks we'd see. We were right.

Once we arrived, we grabbed a map at the visitor's center (You'll see a plaque about the southern end of the Appalachian Trail here, and there's a stone arch behind the building that marks the trail's approach.), and then drove/parked our car at the reflection pool area. From there, it's a short, steep hike on a roughly paved trail through the beautiful lower falls. This part of the trail ends at a wooden overlook of the upper falls, which are completely glorious.

Amicalola Falls. Simply breathtaking. This is a pic of the upper falls.

At 729 feet, Amicalola (which means "tumbling waters" in Cherokee) is the tallest waterfall in Georgia, and it is breathtaking. From the wooden overlook at the bottom, it's about 175 steps up (which is plenty, but there are lots of handrails and landings for catching your breath) to the wooden overlook near the top of the upper falls. 

Y'all. I feel sorry for the people who haven't been here to see this. I pity old Nicole, who didn't even know this majestic wonder was within a 6-7 hour drive of her house. (This was the moment on our trip that I scolded myself for sleeping on north Georgia all this time. Shame on me.) 

After basking in the falls a bit, we poked around on the mountain laurel hike for a minute before abandoning it due it the steep, rocky terrain and threatening sky. (I would NOT want to pick my way through that rocky, hilly mud if the sky opened up on me a mile in.) We hopped back in the car and drove the park road to the top of the falls, where we got out and did a bit of exploring. They have an upper observation platform (not nearly as dramatic as those below), an outdoor exhibit on trout, a little ampitheatre, etc.

The lovely reflection pool at Amicalola

By this time, our stomachs were beginning to grumble for lunch. The park also has a lodge and a restaurant on property, so we went to check it out. 

Y'all. I would stay at this lodge. It's atop a mountain, and the views are terrific. Plus, it would put you in a convenient spot to do so much more hiking at this park. (They also offer zip lining!) I may very well return here in the future to stay and spend more time on the trails at Amicalola. As for this trip, we hungrily peeped into the Maple Restaurant. It's a lovely space, with a full wall of windows looking out over the mountains. 

We hadn't dined inside at a restaurant our entire trip (and in fact, I hadn't dined inside at a restaurant at all since our trip to Mexico in late February/early March), but the tables were almost comically far apart, and the staff was masked and gloved. We decided to do it. They sat us at a 4-top near the windows, and we ordered steelhead trout. I also had a glass of wine. The food was delicious, the views were fantastic, and the service was speedy and friendly. In no time at all, we were back in our little sedan and headed to our snug cabin on Cherry Log Mountain.

That night, after a light dinner, we eased into the hot tub on the lower deck with a glass of wine and let the jets unknot our muscles a bit from all the hiking we'd done so far. Pure bliss. Then, more relaxing, books, TV, chatting.

Day 6
On our last full day in Georgia, we slept in. When I awoke, I made coffee and sat on one of the swing chairs on the back deck, listening to the birds. We did a bit of packing and cleaning up, and I made us a big, beautiful quiche for lunch.

Wine at Engleheim

Then, we got gussied up a bit (for the first time on our trip!) and drove to Engleheim Vineyards in Ellijay. We chose this winery for several reasons:

• Excellent reviews (both of the property and the wines)
• Outdoor seating
• Proximity to the cabin
• Beauty of the property
• Ability to bring in food/snacks from off site

We popped some of the treats we'd bought at Out of the Blue into a bag, and we were good. When we arrived, there were no other customers at the winery. We each decided to try a Level 1 tasting, which costs $12 and includes samples of five wines. We had fun trying different varieties and pairing them with the snacks we'd brought. (The wine chocolates really won the day here.) As we were on our final tastes, more customers began to arrive. We took the opportunity to enjoy our last few sips out amongst the vines themselves. (We saw tons of grapes growing, and the vineyard is surrounded by mountains. Lovely.) 

Then, we popped back into the building just to purchase a few bottles on our way out.
Back at the cabin, we made steaks a veggies that night, chased with more wine. We readied the cabin for an early departure in the morning. (Not really too taxing, as there wasn't much our host was asking of us.) One last session of conversation and TV, and we turned in early.

Day 7
Friday was travel day! We packed up the car and closed up the house, then drove down the mountain one last time! On the way back, we took the opportunity to stop and take goofy photos at all the kitschy signs we saw on the way in. (We mugged in front of a giant fiberglass fish at Weiss Lake, at signage for a sexual novelty store called - I kid you not - The Love Library, and a sign in front of a random house near Rome that read simply "We Buy Goats." It's wild out there, y'all.)

We stopped at a little local place called Harp and Clover in Gadsden, Alabama, for lunch, as it had good online reviews and a shaded outdoor patio for dining. I had mussels and fries, both excellent. Then, we walked little downtown Gadsden for a bit, stretching our legs and buying a few more souvenirs in some of their cute shops.

Three big mouths near Weiss Lake in Georgia! HA!

We got back on the road after an hour or two and stopped again in Meridian, Mississippi, ONLY because I was dying for a stretch break. It was raining a bit, but I couldn't hold out much longer. Susan put up with me parking near The Max, pulling out the umbrellas, and making several turns around their paved courtyard just so my legs and feet could move a little. (If The Max had been open, I would have gladly donned my mask and taken Susan inside to explore it, as it's a wonderful facility.)

Then, we were only a hop and a skip from home! I dropped Susan off and still had plenty of time to meet my little family for dinner!

I LOVED our time in North Georgia. It's such a beautiful area, and one that was totally NOT on my radar pre-pandemic. I would go back and book a week at the lodge at Amicalola Falls (or more time at our heavenly cabin) in an instant. Gorgeous country up there, and tons of fun outdoor activities. Highly, highly recommend.

Thanks, Georgia! We'll be back!!