St Augustine, FL

We spent the last four days in St Augustine, a beautiful old city.  We enjoyed shopping and grabbing a bite to eat in Old Town. We got together with my oldest son for two days, it was a wonderful time!

We stayed at the Compass RV Park on Highway 207.  This was our second trip to this park; a nice place, we had a pull through spot. We are here to see the city and family so we spend very little time in the RV park. Tomorrow we move the coach to Cocoa Beach, that is where we will stay for the winter.

Pointes West Army Resort in Appling, GA

I love it here! We've had beautiful weather and the scenery of the woods and the lake are amazing! Tonight is our 5th night here, we went for long bike rides every day and enjoyed relaxing campfires every evening. This is the only place I ever felt like I was 'camping' every day. Yesterday John surprised me with a picnic by the lake - it was wonderful.
Tomorrow we move on to St Augustine

Pointes West Army Resort at Appling, GA

We rolled out of Unicoi Springs RV Resort at about 11am.  The drive was mostly two lane roads through small towns with a couple of stretches of 4 lane highways. Pointes West Army Resort in Appling, GA is a wonderful, beautiful find. I love it here! This campground is sponsored by Ft Gordon (US Army) which is about 30 miles away (John was stationed at Ft Gordon as a training officer in 1966 after OCS and prior to attending Flight School).

We are in camp site #3, parking spot Q.  We face the lake and are surrounded by trees - it is absolutely gorgeous!  When we arrived there were a couple parked pretty close to us and another RV on the other side of us; we walked around and met them - everyone was friendly.  They all were here just for the weekend and left before night fall. So now we have this whole area to ourselves!  After we set up the RV we decided to go to the commissary at Ft Gordon to get food we can cook over an open fire. 

When we got back to the coach, John gathered firewood and I started a fire in the pit. We cooked hot dogs over the campfire and John toasted his first marshmallow. 

47th Annual Oktoberfest in Helen, GA

Today we went on a hike and then later joined many others in the town at the Festhalle for the 47th Annual Oktoberfest event. It is Helen's biggest celebration - beer, brats, a band playing good German music - this place has them all. We danced waltzes, polkas, and even a Congo line and the chicken dance.  The Festhalle is setup with rows of long tables, we quickly got to know the other people at our table - everyone was there for a good time. We partook in the friendly Gemütlichkeit atmosphere, ate, drank and danced - it was a wonderful way for us to spend our last Friday night in the area.

This year, Oktoberfest is on weekends only from Sept. 7 through Sept 21, 2017 and then reopens daily beginning Sept. 28 and continues through Oct. 29, 2017.

Brasstown Bald, GA

Today we went to Brasstown Bald. Brasstown Bald is the highest point in the state of Georgia at 4,784 ft. We were hoping to get a view with some fall colors at a higher elevation. The leaves here in Northern Georgia haven't started changing much, but we did see more color on our drive to Brasstown today than we've seen all week. Hopefully with the cool evenings during our last few days the fall colors will make a fantastic appearance. Entrance to the park is $5 per person, 16 yrs. old and up. If you have a national park pass there is no charge.  For $2 you can ride a shuttle to the top or walk the ¾ mile trail.

At the summit there is a large observation deck and even an observation tower where you can see four states (North Carolina, South Carolina Tennessee and of course Georgia). Also, they have a museum and short narrated slide show of Brasstown Bald. We liked the patriotic feel with the garrison size American flag flying in the breeze, always a beautiful sight, but even more so with the mountains in the background. Back by the parking area there is a small gift shop and restrooms.

Brasstown Bald is well worth the visit if you are in the area.

On our drive back to the RV park we drove by a restaurant that had a line of people out to the parking lot. We decided to check it out. It was the Deer Lodge, 7900 Highway 17, Hiawassee, GA. We talked to people waiting in the line and we learned that this place was considered a local legend. They are only open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and then only for dinner after 4pm. We waited thirty minutes. 

They work pretty much as a well-oiled machine, as far as the wait staff is concerned, they had a lot of people to attend to all at once. Salads arrived incredibly fast and the servings of onion rings was enough for 4 or 5 people; we took a couple of rings and gave the rest to the couple at the next table. I ordered the sirloin with veggies and John ordered the T-bone with a baked potato. The baked potato was huge and the steaks were so big they could have come from a brontosaurus - they literally hung off both sides of the plate. Everyone's portions were beyond generous. This was a great find, we will return the next time we are in the area. 

Tallulah Gorge and the Tallulah Falls

Today we visited the Tallulah Gorge and the Tallulah Falls. The Tallulah Gorge is a gorge formed by the Tallulah River cutting through the Tallulah Dome rock formation. The gorge is approximately 2 miles long, lined with rocky cliffs up to 1,000 feet high. Tallulah Falls is composed of six separate falls and drops 490 ft in one mile. The Tallulah Gorge is located next to the town of Tallulah Falls. Tallulah Gorge State Park protects much of the gorge and its waterfalls. The gorge is one of the 'Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia'.

In the early 19th century, the Tallulah area was a big tourist attraction. In 1882, Tallulah Falls Railway was built, increasing the accessibility from South Georgia. Resort hotels and bars sprang up to serve the tourist trade, which, after the addition of the railway, swelled to as many as 2,000 people on any given Sunday. In 1883, tightrope walker Professor Bachman crossed the gorge as part of a publicity stunt for one hotel. On July 18, 1970, Karl Wallenda became the second man to walk across the gorge on a tightrope.

We departed the Tallulah Falls area in plenty of time to make it back to Hawg Wild BBQ for the Ribs.  I enjoyed a full rack and this time John ordered a slice of pumpkin pie for dinner and a slice of coconut cream pie for desert.

Anna Ruby Falls, Chattahoochee National Forest

Today we hiked up into the Chattahoochee National Forest to see the Anna Ruby Falls, the cascading falls are created by two flowing creeks. The Curtis Creek falls drop 153 feet and the York Creek falls are much shorter but still spectacular at 50 feet. The water at the bottom of the falls is then considered to be part of Smith Creek which flows into the Smith Lake - the centerpiece of Unicoi State Park. After our hike we stopped to eat at Hawg Wild BBQ.

Brotherly Love

Today we drove the Jeep from the RV park to Newnan, GA to a visit my brother Bob. Love Bob. He is a wonderful, fun,outgoing guy who just recently accepted a new job as a regional sales manager in the Atlanta area. He relocated from Florida.  He is in the process of purchasing a new house in Newnan, so that was our first stop with him - a terrific, big house in a great neighborhood.  Then he gave us a full tour of the town. Later we enjoyed steaks at Texas Roadhouse, it was nice to sit back and catch-up with brother Bobby.. 

Ol' Friends and Good Times

For many years John has told me funny and adventurous stories about his good times with his ol' friend Sam, but I had never met Sam - until today. He drove over for a visit, Sam lives in GA about three hours away from Helen. He is a retired municipal and state court judge. John got to know Sam long before Sam started his career in law.  They first met when Sam was John's Tac Officer at Ft Benning’s, Infantry Officer Candidate School in 1966.  John tells me that it all feels like it was only yesterday; he says the school was one of those experiences you would not trade anything for, but one you would never want do a second time. Sam and John became good friends.

It was a real pleasure meeting Sam and spending the day with him.  We strolled along the stores of Helen and when it was time for lunch I learned that Sam enjoyed good southern cooking like I do. Yes, you guessed it, we had to show him our latest find: Hawg Wild BBQ. It was a really good day and we look forward to seeing Sam again in the future. 

Innsbruck Golf Club, Helen GA

Today was our golf outing day.  We have not played in a long time and the local course looked pretty good from a distance.  Wow, was it ever good.  What an amazing and challenging course.  Just the ride to the course was beautiful.  The Innsbruck Golf Course is located in a gated community just north of Helen. The 18-hole Innsbruck Golf Club is a semi-private golf course that opened in 1987. Designed by Bill Watts, the golf course measures 6748 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 130 and a 72.4 USGA rating. We have been to a lot of courses and I must say Innsbruck is now one of my top three favorites.  Greens are in excellent shape.  Nice elevation changes throughout the course. The greens are fairly large and the fairways are good width.  The course was in great condition, it is a gorgeous scenic course with fantastic views of the mountains. The staff and members are a friendly group of people and the green fees are very reasonable.  We will return to this course during future stays in the area.

Hawg Wild BBQ

We went for a walk in nature before going to Hawg Wild BBQ in Clarksville, GA for the rib special, half-priced slabs from 4pm to 6pm. I enjoyed the entire rack of baby back ribs, they were amazing! Hawg Wild is my new favorite BBQ, they have three restaurants in the area - so far, we have been to two of them.. 

Georgia Mountain Fall Festival and a Ricky Skaggs Concert.

Today we went to the Georgia Mountain Fall Festival and a Ricky Skaggs concert.  The

Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds are located along the shores of Lake Chatuge in the north Georgia mountain community of Hiawassee. We wandered through the fairgrounds which is a beautiful area. There was a tiger show, a magician show and lots of local artists and crafters. 

When it was time for the bluegrass show we walked through the historic village lane of more artist and vendor stands to the Anderson Music Hall. Outside of the hall we encountered Travis Perry selling his ChordBuddy.   

Travis designed the ChordBuddy system to make learning how to play a guitar much easier. We had seen him on the TV show Shark Tank making a deal with Robert for the ChordBuddy. Today his lovely daughter was working his sales table with him and when we stopped to talk they gave a a full demo of the product. Travis played some songs while his daughter explained the different tabs on the device and how you remove one tab at a time to learn the chords. It was a friendly and fun encounter. And yes, I had to get one.  I think we have a guitar at my Dad's house that I can pick up next month.

Then it was on to the Ricky Skaggs concert in the Anderson Music Hall.  The Anderson Music Hall was constructed in 1979 and has 2,900-seats.  Ricky Skaggs, a country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer, primarily plays mandolin and some fiddle and banjo.  He and his band put on a great show that lasted over an hour. I worked at a record store when I was in high school and one of the guys I worked with was a big Ricky Skaggs fan and played his records in the store all the time.

After leaving the fairgrounds we stopped at Hawg Wild BBQ, just outside of the gate.  It was very good BBQ! While enjoying that dinner we noticed a sign that advertised a Ribs Special on Wednesdays - that helped set our agenda for tomorrow.

Toccoa Falls, GA

Our intention for the next two weeks is to relax and enjoy the colors of nature starting to change.  Today started with a casual drive in the Jeep to Toccoa Falls, GA.  Toccoa Falls is a beautiful 186-foot-high waterfall, one of the tallest free-falling waterfalls east of the Mississippi River. It is located on the wooded campus of Toccoa Falls College. The short 100-yard path to the falls was easy to stroll along while enjoying the stream rushing over the rocks down.. 

Toccoa Falls is accessed through the gift shop which is open from 8:30 a.m. until sundown. A nominal admission fee to see the falls is collected in the gift shop. The Gate Cottage Gift Shop is worth walking through. it offers souvenirs of Toccoa Falls, furniture made in the area, crafts from local craftsmen, and other gift items. 

Bonus: Toccoa Falls College has an old Sears Catalog home on the campus! Sears Catalog homes were sold in the early 1900's, they were ready-to-assemble kit houses sold through Sears, Roebuck and Company. More than 70,000 of these were sold in North America between 1908 and 1940, shipped via railroad boxcars, these kits included all the materials needed to build the house. A lady in the gift shop said it was used as the college president's home back in the day, but now it is used for storage.

Unicoi Springs Camp Resort, Helen, GA

 We drove the RV from Bristol Tenn to Unicoi Springs Camp Resort in Helen, GA.  Most of the trip was on interstate highways, but when they ended the drive became interesting with some sharp mountain turns.  I joked with John that on a couple of curves I could see the rear of our coach going by us.

Unicoi Springs Camp Resort is nestled in the northeast Georgia mountains. The member-only resort was established in 1983. We won the $5,000 one-time membership-buy-in fee when we entered our name at the 2016 FMCA RV rally at Perry GA. Someone from the park called us a month after the rally to tell us we were the winners! We quickly paid the annual maintenance fee of $410 (which gives each owner up to 14 days of camping per month year 'round) and scheduled a two night stay to check it out. This is our second visit here and this time we are staying for 14 days.

We love this place! Unicoi Springs Camp Resort is rated a Five Star Resort by the Coast to Coast system and is right next to Unicoi Springs State Park. It has 300 sites with full hookups, cable tv, wi-fi, the resort has 2 well maintained pools, a play ground, a big rustic 2-story log clubhouse with two pool tables and lots of rocking chairs on the wrap-around porch, there is even a lovely chapel and full time resort security.   The very best part is it is just a short drive to downtown Helen GA. 

Blowing Rock, NC

On our drive to Blowing Rock, NC we passed “Off the Grid Adventures” in Elizabethtown, TN. It looked like a fun place to check out - they have ATVs, zip-lines and lots more! That will be a must-do the next time we are in this area.

The small charming town of Blowing Rock is home to a little over 1,000 residents, the main street is lined with art galleries, small craft shops and restaurants. We ate at a little BBQ place and then went out exploring.

There is a “Blowing Rock”, it sits 4,000 ft. above sea level, dangling over Johns River Gorge which is at 3,000 ft. We had to give the blowing rock a try - we climbed up on the rock and stood at the edge and released a handful of small dried leaves and watched as most of them rode the stream of air up and a couple of them floated directly back up to us - a cool sight to see. 

There is an old legend about Blowing Rock:

The legend of the Chickasaw Chieftain's daughter is:  The Chief moved his daughter to the remote location high on the mountain for her protection. One day, the daughter saw a brave Cherokee hunting - she shot an arrow at him as a form of flirtation and it worked; the two met and fell in love. One day, the sky grew red and the maiden and her brave love worried trouble was to come. She begged him not to leave - but duty calls, he had to leave to fight along side the other braves and he leaped from the rock into the woods. Heartbroken, she prayed daily to the Great Spirit, until one day, the sky reddened and from the bottoms of the gorge she could see her love float up  - a gust of wind blew him back onto the rock and into her arms. The legends says from that day, a strong wind has blown upwards from the Blowing Rock.

We were told that local scientist studied the rock and said that the up-draft is caused by the rocky walls of the gorge creating a flume when the wind blows.

Leaving Blowing Rock we decided to get in one more visit with John's brother and sister-in-law and they live along a fabulous road that is fun to drive. Sports car, Jeep and motorcycle drivers all love the challenge of "The Snake", it is 33 miles, 489 curves; it runs right by Eddie's and Arleen's home in Shady Valley, TN. "The Snake" consists of 3 mountains and 1 valley and we always enjoy driving it. After a nice drive and a great visit with family we called it a day.

Visiting Family in Tennesee

On Thursday, we drove the coach to Shadrack RV Park in Bristol just outside the huge speedway track. When we pulled in there was a sharp, steep turn on a gravel descent - a bit of a challenge for our 45 ft RV, good thing John is talented at moving her around. The RVs are parked pretty close to each other - almost like rally parking. I'm sure it is because this is one of the closest RV packs to the racetrack and is in high demand by race enthusiast.

On Friday we had the pleasure of meeting up with John's brother, Eddie, and sister-in-law, Arleen, at the Texas Roadhouse in Johnson City, TN.  We love Eddie and Arlene so much, always a treat to get together with them. We had yummy lunch and then they joined us at the RV. We sat back and talked until the sun started to go down. A wonderful relaxing day.

The Biltmore Estate

George Vanderbilt II commissioned architect Richard Morris Hunt to design the Biltmore home, using a French Renaissance chateaus that Vanderbilt and Hunt had visited earlier as inspiration. The Biltmore Home, sometimes referred to as America's Castle, was built starting in late 1889 and it was completed in 1895. It is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 sq ft and 135,280 sq ft of living area. Still owned by George Vanderbilt's descendants, it stands today as one of the most prominent remaining examples of the Gilded Age.

We arrived at the estate early and parked the jeep. We took a bus to the main residence, you can walk up from the parking lot if you prefer. We had plenty of time to explore the front lawn area before our scheduled tour time.

Biltmore has a total of 250 rooms in the house including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces and three kitchens. It also has electric elevators, forced-air heating and centrally controlled clocks (all the wall clocks always show the exact same time), fire alarms, and a call-bell system.  Sorry, no inside photos of this marvelous home - the Estate prohibits guests from sharing photos of the inside of the home. You enter the marbled Entrance Hall and are handed a head-set to wear. No one rushes you through the rooms, you can go at your own pace. If one room is too crowded, don't move on - just relax and stay back to walk around the room and take it all in.

Moving though the Entrance Hall, to the right you will find the amazing sunken (step-down), octagon Winter Garden which is surrounded by stone archways with a ceiling of sculptured wood and multifaceted windows. In the center of this glass enclosed garden is a marble and bronze fountain sculpture titled Boy Stealing Geese created by Karl Bitter. The next room is the Banquet Hall, the largest room in the house, measuring 42 ft wide and 72 ft long, with a 70-ft-high barrel-vaulted ceiling. The massive dinner table can seat 64 guests. A huge triple fireplace fills one wall of the room, while a gorgeous 1916 Skinner pipe organ fills the opposite wall. I could go on and on, but instead I will just tell you that the tour is well worth it. 

We took our time touring the home and especially enjoyed sitting back and relaxing on the terrace-balcony looking over the backyard. After spending a few hours on the tour of the home, we walked through the beautiful gardens and greenhouse. Then we wandered around the estate down to the Bass Lake. We decided to eat dinner at the Biltmore Inn. The view was amazing, we watched the sunset before saying good-bye to the Biltmore Estate.