Mountain Weekend in North Georgia

Miguel and I spent Memorial Day weekend with his family in the North Eastern Georgia Mountains.
We were so excited to spend the long weekend with the Amadors and Brian and Lauretta Kloer! We really miss living right around the corner from our families and really enjoy soaking up any time we can with them at any opportunity we get!

Miguel and I headed up on Friday morning. It took us about 6+ hours to drive to Clayton, GA. It was a beautiful drive on back roads throughout Georgia and South Carolina before eventually returning to Georgia. We hardly had cell service and got stuck behind a tractor once or twice. The drive was a nice change from I-16!

The "cabin" we stayed at (really a stretch to call it a cabin, it was more of a house) was on the tip top of a mountain. The roads leading up to the house really unnerved me with how steep they were!! We were literally at the top! We were also the only property on the road and the privacy and seclusion really added to the atmosphere. The views from this house were A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! They truly were breath-taking and over 180°!

The beautiful house we stayed at

a PORTION of the views from the deck

DAY 1, Friday

Miguel and I arrived around lunch time, so after refueling, we all headed out for a hike along the Chattooga River. Okay, so I was like the only one who hadn't ever really done any proper hiking. I was really nervous we were going to run into a bear. Haha, poor everyone else! I probably annoyed everyone with my inexperience and fright. For example, besides my bear fright, I packed the wrong kind of shoes. I thought Merrells were outdoorsy shoes and would be great for hiking. Oh well, next time I'll pack proper sneakers. 

Turns out the trail was a lot shorted than we expected. Less than a five minute walk. However, the trail ended at a really pretty view. We spent some time enjoying the view and snapping some photos. 

iPhone photo fail

Teresa, my mother-in-law

Handsome Mountain Man

After the river we decided to try another trail just around the corner. Ummm, this was night and day different from the previous trail. Miguel had to take a stick and break away branches to clear the path. We had to duck and step over fallen trees and dodge poison ivy (I learned to wear long pants next time). Needless to say we didn't hike on this trail for very long as it was very challenging.

On the drive back to the house we passed a Boy Scout camp that Miguel, his brothers, and the Kloers went to when they were younger.  I had a blast being shown around their old stomping grounds and learning about Boy Scout stuff. 

Camp Rainey Mountain... looks like a movie set for a summer camp, so ideal

During the down time around the house Miguel, Teresa, and Brian played guitar. So much fun to have  your own personal live music entertainment! I'm especially amazed since I don't possess an ounce of musical talent.

DAY 2, Saturday

Saturday we decided to head out to Tallulah Falls. Though I was a bit more prepared this time around (long pants and socks), I was a bit anxious about the excursion when we were greeted with these signs below...!

Before we started the treacherous climb down we took in the gorgeous view!

ahh so steep! 

Kinda interesting to compare how the falls look today from what they looked like back in this old photo taken in 1894!

 

So the path started out like this:

wide, slow slope down...

but quickly turned into this...

Loads and loads of steep stairs! Hundreds of them. Literally. 

I honestly thought that going down was much harder than going back up. The stairs were made of metal grids that after a while all started to blend together making it difficult to be sure of your footing. 

Resting at a break in the stairs on the hike up

But the scariest part - for me - was the suspended bridge over the gorge! Heights are not my friend, especially when walking over a high fall on a bridge that is rocking back and forth! 

"hurry up and take the photo! I want off"

View from the bridge (I didn't take this photo, Pedro did!)

Ahh, look at the bridge from the opposite side of the gorge!

We were all pretty exhausted after our hike and spent the rest of the afternoon showering and resting up for dinner. One of my favorite parts of visiting with my in-laws is the family dinners we have! Leading up to dinner we played some poker and smoked cigars out on the deck. I loved sitting outside with family watching the sun set behind the beautiful mountain view. 

Waking up to the beautiful scenery wasn't too bad either!! Drinking a cup of coffee out on the deck was one of the best ways to start the day!

View on the last morning after it had stormed the night before

DAY 3, Sunday

I had posted a photo of Miguel and me at the falls the previous day and one of my childhood family friends and 6th grade teacher commented on it that we were near her favorite farmers market, Osage Farms. So, while the boys played golf, Teresa, Lauretta, and I decided to check it out!

The market was really busy - a good sign - and had beautiful, fresh fruits and veggies. We ended up buying some green tomatoes and some green onions for dinner that night.

After the farmers market the three of us headed up to Highlands, NC. I was really excited to go because I used to visit Highlands with my dear childhood friend Erin whose family owns a cabin there. Though I've been invited up there multiple times recently, it hasn't worked out with schedules. The last time I remember being there was when Princess Diana passed away. I think that was in 1997, so it's been a while! 

First thing we did in Highlands was visit a visual arts center, The Bascom. This was such a neat little find! 

One part of the center was an open pottery studio. There were artists working away and loads of pottery strewn about in various stages of completion. 

One of the potters explaining things to us

 

The second building we visited housed multiple pottery and art exhibitions. 

Gotta pose with the puppy statue

Some of my favorite pieces are below. We weren't really allowed to take photographs, so we secretly sent Lauretta in to distract the docent so I could snap a few! 

Elephant made from bullets

These guys were carved from the pages of books

Neat little building on the Bascom property. Not sure what its purpose is or was...

Next the three of us headed to lunch at the Old Edwards Inn. I loved the ambiance of the Madison restaurant! Any restaurant with plush pillows on the seats in already a win in my book ;)

source

Our view over looking the wine garden. Would have loved to eat out there but it was starting to rain.

Our food was really, really delicious! Unfortunately the service was really poor.  However, it was interesting that all the wait staff we interacted with were in the states on an exchange program. Our two main waiters were from Great Britain and Croatia.

I ate a chicken salad sandwich (yumm!) and some potato bacon soup

But the very best part of the meal was the desert! Oh emmmm gee! So yummy! I had a chocolate croissant bread pudding with mint ice cream. I want more of it. now. yummmmm!

Teresa's chocolate cake

After lunch we walked around Highlands and did a little window shopping. I really like Highlands. I want to go back and spend more time there! 

On the way back to the house it started to rain. The mountains came alive after the rain! So pretty!

Later that evening we sat outside on the deck and watched the fog roll in and the sun set. 

I loved how the clouds swiftly took over the mountain landscape. Crazy how quickly a view can change!

DAY 4, Monday (last day, pout)

Monday morning the boys rose early to go play one last round of golf. Lauretta and I got up with them and decided to go on a quick walk to a near by waterfall.

Creepily sneaking photos of Miguel on the putting green. 

I'm so glad Lauretta and I took a walk behind the golf course. My kind of "nature walk"... wide path, short walk, pretty views!

At the end of the trail is this pretty waterfall. Lauretta and I enjoyed kicking off our shoes in getting in the water.

Once we got back to the house, we collected Teresa and headed off to lunch at the Dillard House. The Dillard House serves good, old southern comfort food in family style dinning. 

source

Teresa and Lauretta with our spoils 

Love that they served sweet tea in mason jars! 

Before we headed back to the cabin we spontaneously followed some homemade signs to a vineyard. What a happy little surprise! We ended up at 12 Spies Vineyard (named after the 12 spies that Moses sent into Canaan).  We had a great time chatting with the owner, tasting wine, loving on their dog, Samson, and learning about the wines.

source

Chickens roaming around the vineyard =)

This is Samson. I love him. He greeted us when we got out of the car and then went into the tasting room with us. He also showed us the wine barrels. 

We all left with a couple bottles. I purchased two bottles of the Temptation Traminette and one bottle of merlot. Looking forward to enjoying them and remembering our fun weekend in the mountains!

Sadly, a storm rolled in cutting the guys' golf game short and effectively ending our time in the mountains. Miguel and I packed up and headed back to Savannah in the rain.  But look at the pretty rainbow that we saw on our way home! Another happy surprise! 

We had a blast and are so grateful to the Amadors for treating us to such a wonderful weekend! We really miss spending time with family and it was such a pleasure to get to experience the mountains together! 

Boston! Day 2

Saturday we woke up to a glorious Spring day! To fuel up for our day we headed out to brunch. We had reservations at a place called Masa. I enjoyed walking to brunch because we had to go through a part of town we previously hadn't explored yet. It felt a bit away from touristy things. 

Photo Credit

We really enjoyed brunch! Everything had a mexican twist to it. Most of all, though, I enjoyed my coffee. I soaked that up so quickly. I didn't realize how dependent I have become on having coffee in the morning. Aside from the coffee, I enjoyed some breakfast tacos and a glorious bloody mary. 

After a yummy brunch Miguel and I had some time to kill before our next activity. This unplanned portion of our day turned out to be my favorite time we spent in Boston! I loved seeing the city when everything was just starting to bloom! So pretty!

We happened upon a Public Garden that I had actually read about but didn't think we would end up having time to visit. Miguel and I sat down on a bench for a while and just people watched. While we were sitting a really talented street performer set up near by and started playing/singing. The music kinda made it feel like we stumbled into a romantic comedy movie. 

Fun fact: This was the first botanical garden in the US!

trying to get a selfie with the park in the background... oops. (nice duck face, Miguel) ;)

This garden is also home to some unique Swan Boats that have been operating in the garden pond for over 130 years!

Right outside the park were some bikes that you could rent to ride around and explore the city. They have "stations" all over the city you can return the bikes to. Instead of taking the subway to our next stop we decided to ride the bikes! SO much fun! This was definitely my favorite part of our visit! (though, it was a bit tricky riding a bike in a maxi skirt!). 

We biked down this beautiful street, Commonwealth Ave, which is lined with pretty townhouses and spring trees just starting to bloom. 

photo credit

It was about a 15-20 minute bike to our next activity - going to see the Red Sox play at Fenway Park! Before the game started, we pre gamed with the locals at Cask'n Flagon, which as you can see in the photo below, was rated the Top Baseball Bar in the nation by ESPN. It was insanely busy!! We had to wait a very long time for some drinks. Standing room only at the bar and it was packed! Good thing we were drinking some brewskis else I would have felt pretty claustrophobic!

After enjoying a few pre-game drinks we headed into the ballpark. So cool to be able to go to a game in one of the oldest, most historic stadiums! But goodness! After going to baseball games at Turner Field, Fenway seemed really different!!! It just felt old and was missing the comforts of a newer stadium. For example, a lot of the seats have blocked views because of support beams. 

Enjoying my first hotdog in over 3 years! Yummy! 

How stereotypical does this cop look?! hahaha

So fun to sing Sweet Caroline with the rest of the crowd! Fun tradition. It was also really fun during the game when this guy below came out to change the score of the Bruins game on the old score board.  The Bruins were playing in a playoff game at the same time of the baseball game. They were losing in the 3rd period, but ended up scoring twice more to win the game. When the guy game out to change the score the crowd went crazy! It was a really fun energy to be a part of!

Sporting a Bruins jersey!

The game was a lot of fun! The Red Sox won! Woo Hoo! After the game we headed to Eastern Standard to eat. This restaurant came up in almost all of my research for what to do in Boston. It is supposed to be known for it's drinks. We ate outside on the patio.

Mig ordered some beer and I got a mixed drink with guava, lime, cilantro, and a hint of coffee. It was pretty refreshing! 

Dinner was yummy, but honestly we were so exhausted! After dinner we headed back to the hotel to crash and get some rest before our very early flight the next morning. 

Boston was so fun and I'm so grateful that Miguel surprised me with a trip! I had always wanted to visit Boston and now I have! Feeling very spoiled =)