We left Florida in the rain and drove north through some beautiful country, heading to Athens and Hiawassee to visit with Becky’s cousins, Kevin and Phillip and their families and her Aunt Jean. More family that Jim’s never met! Along the way we saw signs for Ginnie Springs Ginnie Springs and Scuba diving at Ginnie Springs.Definitely another dive destination someday.
Once we crossed into Georgia, we were amazed at the number of billboards along the interstate, one right after another. And what was really strange was that there were billboards on both sides of the interstate, all facing northbound traffic.
We had a wonderful visit with Becky’s family in Athens. It had been many years since she had seen her cousins and had never met their families so a great time was had by all. And the food was amazing, not to mention the flowers. Sunday afternoon we followed Aunt Jean north up into the Georgia mountains to her cabin in the woods east of Hiawassee. What a beautiful drive…the dogwoods and azaleas were in full bloom all over the hills. Pictures of Athens and Aunt Jean's.
We took a couple of days to see the local sites; notably, Hamilton Gardens in Hiawassee and the Tallulah Gorge and lots of stuff in between. Hamilton Gardens (History of Hamilton Gardens) is known for its collection of over 400 varieties of rhododendron in addition to gardens flowering with dogwoods, magnolias, azaleas, lady slippers and trillium. It was a little early for the rhododendrons to be blooming but the rest were gorgeous. Then later in the summer, the Georgia mountain Fair celebrates gospel music, demonstrations of pioneer & traditional crafts & recipes.Georgia mountain fair
Hiawassee itself borders Lake Chatuge, a huge lake…..FYI, there are no natural lakes in Georgia….they were all created by dams, most built during the 30’s by the CCC. It is a beautiful town, surrounded by wooded hills. It also has one of the last remaining 5 & 10 stores left in America (in my opinion)…. Nobletts. Hamilton Gardens and Hiawassee
Tallulah Gorge is the deepest gorge in the eastern US. Most of you have seen parts of it as it was the location for a lot of the film “Deliverence”. It is over 2 miles long and more than a 1000 feet deep! Karl Wallenda crossed the gorge on a tightrope in 1970. You can still see the towers that anchored his gear. There are 6 waterfalls and you can walk down 531 stairs to the suspension bridge that sways 80’ off the bottom. You get the best views from there but then you have to climb all 531 back up! Most of the river flow was cut off in 1913 by a dam for hydroelectric power. On an average day the flow is 35-40 CFs. But the kayakers come out in droves when they open it up for “whitewater” days when the flow is 500-700 CFS. Wow!
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We finished up our visit to this corner of paradise by visiting a local vineyard which was just across the highway from Aunt Jean’s. Hightower Creek Vineyards is just one of at least 10 vineyards in the area. They use a Norton grape in their red wines, which they said was an old American variety of grape. Very interesting flavor. Hightower Creek Vineyards Info on Georgia wines Georgiawine.com
Another bit of movie trivia from this part of the country….”Trouble with the Curve” was filmed in Hiawassee and Young Harris including a scene on the highway right by my Aunt Jean’s house.
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