North Georgia Weekend

This past weekend, the old man and I went up to Helen, GA and, unbeknownst to us, the Southern Wörthersee VW-Audi Car Show was going on.  I thought it would be a little exciting but it was a bit of a bust.  The weather was iffy and the atmosphere was...weird.  The one thing I wanted to go to - a crystal shop - was closed that day for a graduation ceremony.  Bummer.  We tried to make the most of it but we ended up walking around the whole town 3 or 4 times secretly hoping something fun would materialize but there was nothing.  I think because it was a dreary day and the town was full of loud cars, it made for a weird and not-so-fun trip, unfortunately.
I wanted to go gem mining at one of the few roadside gem mining places up there but we kept forgetting to get cash while in Helen because the ATMs are cleverly disguised with little Alpine accents and we kept missing them.  I used up most of my cash getting coffee beans, paying for parking and on a single Bratwurst that was way too overpriced for what it was.
The old man took me by this pretty tiny church on the way in to Helen, which was a great sight because it was opposite the Nacoochee Burial Mound - that I didn't photograph.  Oops!  Here are some photos.
I managed to divert us towards the Cabbage Patch Kids Babyland attraction on the way back since I hadn't been since I was a kid and we never go that far north for anything so I made it a YOLO moment and we took a slight detour.  We didn't go in, we just did a little drive by...
All in all, it was an alright trip up to North Georgia, I guess.  Maybe next time will be better?
Because of this, I've decided that I need to order the Weird Georgia book to see what kinds of neat things are nearby!  Until then, I'll just keep checking this map for fun stuff to do...

1 - 2: Tiny church across from the Nacoochee Burial Mound
3: Wedding Chapel in Helen
4 - 5: Metal sculptures outside of a restaurant in Helen
6: A mini waterfall in the park
7 - 9: Cabbage Patch Kids Babyland

Instant Adventures #6

1-2: Church day and night (Dahlonega, GA)
3: Tree of Progression (?) (Dahlonega, GA)
4: Tiny Church (Helen, GA)
5: Tree of Progression (?) Hipstamatic (Dahlonega, GA)
6-7: Diving Bell - Hipstamatic (Dahlonega, GA)

Last Monday was my old man's nephew's high school graduation in...you guessed it, Dahlonega, GA.  We tried to make the most of the road trip up and took photos of interesting things around town, such as the church across from where the ceremony was (the night Instax Mini of the church is more dramatic in person, I promise!), the Diving Bell and the Tree of Progress (?) sculpture.  Surprisingly, I can't find anything about the tree sculpture!  I read the plaque about it for a brief moment and then spent most of my time positioning myself to get the best shot with my Hipstamatic Sergio Lens+Maximus LXIX Film combo.  I had forgotten that the lens adds that vignette blur and I didn't realize it had done that until we were well on our way home.  Oh well.  It definitely adds a touch of moodiness to the tree sculpture, that's for sure.  The diving bell...not so much.  How random is that thing?!  Read up on it - it's actually pretty neat.

This past weekend, the old man and I hit up Helen, GA before the rains came but more on that later!  For now, I'll just leave the Tiny Church Instax Mini as a preview of sorts.

Hope you all have a great week!
Happy Monday!

Nate Day 2013

I know, I know - I missed last week's Wednesday Gif Party.  Actually, I have one saved in my drafts but I'm 3 gifs shy of my usual "party".  There was A LOT of stuff going on last week - including preparations for Nate Day.  Nate Day was yesterday.  Can you believe it has been 4 years already?!
Nate's sister, Alysia, arranged for us to go camping near Brasstown Bald and because I usually can't make it to Nate Day celebrations, I wanted to commit to this year.
We met up with Alysia at the Enota Mountain Retreat.  She texted me and told me "Don't let the name fool you".  I didn't know why she messaged that...until we drove up to our campsite.

Welcome to Fort Katrick!



Yep, we went for real camping.  I say "for real" because, according to the old man, backyard camping doesn't count.  But you know what?  It was great!  We went to Helen to get Alysia's dog (a bullmastiff) a collar and stayed for a funnel cake and beer.



And then we started our campfire - with the help of our awesome campsite neighbors.  I keep forgetting their names (sorry!!) but they were GREAT!  They helped chop the wood and get the fire going so I tried to repay them with all the S'mores they could handle.
I didn't stay up too late with them but I did enjoy some lively campfire conversations!  It was great!  Even greater - I had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.  Why was that great?  Because on the way out of the tent, I looked at my surroundings - including up towards the sky - and it was BEAUTIFUL.  I don't think I can remember the last time I saw that many stars!  If it hadn't been so chilly, I would've dragged my sleeping bag out of the tent and slept under the starry sky.  It almost felt unreal!  Isn't that a shame?  So much light pollution...
Anyways - the old man and I got up at around sunrise and walked around the grounds a bit (and found bathrooms!) and when we came back to the campsite, we packed up the tent and were ready to go.



We tried to stop at Brasstown Bald but it's closed because of the government shutdown - which pissed me off because that's where they spread Nate's ashes and I wanted to have a moment of silence in his honor where his ashes were.  Oh well.  Maybe next year?  We were talking about camping again next year - which would be great because I'm hoping to be a camping pro!
The old man and I were talking about camping near the coast in Florida somewhere or going back to Asheville and camping there.  Who knew I'd enjoy it so much?!

Since I didn't get to pay proper respects to Nate, I'll light a candle for him and Tim and Justin and everyone else I miss on El Dia de Los Muertos this year.

Hope you all had a great weekend!