Boy are we tired!

We just returned from vacation in North Georgia, and we had a blast! While I won't bore you with the 400 pics we took, I'll hit the highlights of each day. We stayed just south of Cleveland, near Mossy Creek (I'll talk more about this later), and our cabin was beautiful (Cedar Creek Cabins - Bear Creek).







Day 1: We went to Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia. Beautiful views, fascinating visitor center, LOTS OF BUGS. If you don't like bees, flies, and all other flying insects, you might want to skip this one. But, aside from a broken door handle and a set of smokin' brakes, this excursion was a success. We traveled all over the area between Brasstown Bald and Cleveland, and by the late afternoon, we were ready to eat some good German food.



Day 2: Our first stop was Babyland General, in Cleveland, where Megan got to name her second Cabbage Patch Kid as it was being born. (Last year's was Danny, this year's was Megan - I guess she loves the names we've chosen for our kids!). This place is great for the kids, and just cheesy enough to be fun (they say things like "She's dilated to a full ten leaves" and they use doses of "Imagicillin" to keep mother cabbage healthy). Still, I would have given my right arm, or maybe my left pinkie toe as it is less vital, to have been able to visit this place when I was a child. Now I- um, I mean my kids- have gone twice!



Our next stop was the Folk Pottery Museum of North Georgia in Sautee Nacoochee. I had been waiting for a year for this and it was worth the wait. The museum showcases folk pottery made by a few families in North Georgia, the main one being the Meaders family of the Mossy Creek area (where we stayed!). In my opinion, this was the highlight of our trip. We bought a couple of Meaders pieces, though not face jugs, and had a great time in the museum. These people were truly gifted craftsmen and women, and their work is phenomenal.
Just down the road a piece is the Old Sautee Store. Here, we described to Megan what the old washtub was and she was having none of that. A few more stops (Habersham Winery and Nora Mill) and we were done for the day.





Day 3: This was our day in Helen. First swimming at the "beach" at Unicoi State Park, then tubing down the Chattahootchee - this is NOT as fun as it sounds and no pictures were taken, although I would have liked a picture of the enormous bug that camped out on my shoulder for the entire ride. We ate at Troll Tavern, got funnel cakes and ice cream, and headed down to play putt-putt. Here, George again got a hole-in-one on the 8th hole (and some others), as did Zachary, and got a free golf game. Danny's injury on the 13th hole nearly cost us the rest of the game, but he was a trooper, and he actually finished the last two holes. After a very full day, we were exhausted, and we headed back to the cabin, but not before we stopped for a picture of cows that Megan had been begging for since we arrived.







Day 4: We went to Dahlonega and the Georgia wine country. We visited Blackstock Vineyards Frogtown (closed, but still a beautiful location), and Three Sisters Vineyards.



Then, we went on to the Smith House for some fantastic Southern cookin', and the on to Consolidated Mines for a tour of the gold mine (yes, it does run under the Wal-Mart). George got some great shots down here, but I like the one I got best. Danny was the official "second" on the tour and had to account for all the stragglers. It was a tough job, but he did it well.

Day 5: This was our last day, but we made one last stop in Clarksville on the way out - to The Mark of the Potter. This is in an old mill, and has the history of the mill as well as pottery and trout-feeding. The trout hang out just below the shoals, and the view from the back porch is breathtaking.

In all, we had a great time, but it's good to be home. We're exhausted, and Harley was really happy to see us. I can't wait to go back.