59 Square Miles and 690 Miles of Shoreline Huge!
“The most beautiful gift of nature is that it gives one pleasure to look around and try to comprehend what we see.“
-Albert Einstein, German-born theoretical physicist
Our first full day in the northeastern portion of Georgia was a nice sunny day even though the morning was a little on the cool side, about 40 degrees! With this area of Georgia being a little hilly, we wanted to take the trike out on an all day ride while we explored the local region. One of the largest lakes in Georgia, Lake Lanier, was only about 30 miles from where we were camping so we decided to head out in the direction of the lake and hoped we would have sunshine and milder temps throughout the day to enjoy our ride. We were not disappointed! Rolling hills of green pasture land interspersed with forested groves unfurled before us through twists and turns of the winding roads, culminating in a scenic and exhilarating outing! It didn’t take us long to get close to the area surrounding the lake, however we learned that since it was March, the public beaches, picnic areas and campgrounds were still closed, so, instead, we found ourselves venturing through the local residential neighborhoods, playing peek-a-boo with glimpses of the lake. The lake is absolutely huge, so, needless to say, we really only saw a very small portion of the northern end of Lake Lanier as we wound our way in a northwest trajectory.
Lunchtime was upon us right as we drove up into the parking lot of a local “watering hole”, 52 West Brewing, just outside the little community of Dahlonega. This small microbrewery, with its inviting atmosphere, made it easy to strike up a conversation with all the other patrons who’d also stopped to quench their thirst. OK, it probably didn’t hurt that two members of the local “belly dancers” were in full regalia chatting with their instructor…the beautiful bartender! Everyone was so convivial, checking out the women’s finery, snapping pictures and chatting while we took our time sampling the beers. With our libations in hand, we felt the temperature had warmed up enough for us to head outside to the patio in order to soak up the sunshine peeking through.
Earlier in the day, we had found a small shop selling “boiled peanuts” and finally broke down and bought a large cup of both “spicy” and “regular” flavors to try. It’s a good thing that they traveled well with us, because they made the perfect complement to our delicious selection of beers; the spicy ones making the beer go down a little quick, however! Now most microbreweries we’ve visited have included some pretty good ambiance, interesting architecture and decor, entertainment and the like. Yet this was the first one that also included…cows. And they just had to get in on the photo bombing! Who could’ve predicted it?! Belly dancers, cows, boiled peanuts and beer!
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It’s Pure Gold…or Ice Cream. Same Thing, Right?!
After enjoying one of our more unique lunch experiences, we headed into the historic downtown area of Dahlonega. As we cranked our trike’s handlebars to the left in order to drive around the entire town square in race car driving fashion (minus the speed), we could immediately see and feel the “vibe” of this cool little community. Finally, we found the perfect parking spot! Right outside of an ice cream shop! Yep, you all guessed that was where we’d end up, didn’t you?! But I bet you didn’t guess this?! Curtis counted four small ice cream shops in this one square block ring (alas, we actually counted five once we got on foot)!! It was all Laura could do to keep Curtis from bolting from his seat while still driving. Once stopped, he proclaimed the afternoon as “Ice Cream Tasting Day”…. go figure!
The vibrant and eclectic look and feel spurred our walk around the entire square; popping into the various small shops, checking out the restaurant menus and of course, stopping in Connie’s Ice Cream Parlor, for a cool and tasty refreshment!
With the afternoon winding down and the skies darkening, threatening rain, sadly we realized wouldn’t be able to make it to the Dahlonega Gold Museum. It was time to call it a day and head back to our campground to settle in for the evening to make plans for our next jaunt, hopefully sans rain.
Formerly a Logging Town in Decline, Georgia’s Little Bavaria
While in the central portion of Georgia some of the locals in the area mentioned that one of the “must see” areas in the northern portion of the state is the little town of Helen, known for its vineyards. “What? Did someone say vineyards!” exclaimed Laura! It’s no surprise then, that we headed further up north the following morning to explore more of the scenic rolling hills that gradually give way to the first hints of mountains in Georgia.
The temperature had dropped and the skies promised, and delivered, rain. The trike stayed in camp and the truck tackled the winding roads that gain in elevation along the way. Even with the intermittent rain, it was scenic with plenty to see. We were able to stop at a couple of pull-outs to take in the vista, enjoy the small valleys that they overlooked, and gaze upon the distant mountains that, indeed, had a very distinct “blue” hue. The range is aptly named Blue Ridge Mountains!
After a nice slow drive into the Blue Ridge Mountains, we arrived at the small town of Helen. We were tickled by the uniqueness of its Bavarian-style architecture, culture and atmosphere. Apparently, it’s German-inspired transfiguration only came about in 1968 as a way to attempt to revitalize a town that had been witness to several booms and busts, from native peoples, to pioneers, to gold miners and lumber barons. The reinvention worked! Alpine Helen is now the third most visited town in Georgia.
I believe we were spared swimming through huge throngs of humanity by visiting in mid-March during a cold snap. We were able to simply meander our way through the entire town, visiting most of the shops along Main Street (some were seasonal and not yet open), stopping to also enjoy Unicoi Hill City Park, the flowers in their varied colorful planters (our neck of the woods is typically still under snow at this time), and sitting at the benches in the small squares, taking a break while delighting in the sights. And we’d be remiss if we didn’t stop for a brew. We chose to sit on the riverside terrace of the Alpine Brew Deck, but we were surprised to find out that they didn’t offer German-style beer. Somehow, we survived!
We only scratched the surface of this tiny community, yet we knew there was more to see further north along the northern border, so we ended up staying the night!
“If you are lucky to live in the mountains, you are lucky enough.”
-Unknown
The next morning, we grabbed a coffee at Yonah Coffee, and boy did we need it because we were planning on covering some serious ground! First, we set off towards Blairsville. The day was very cloudy with periods of light rain, so we basically just found the historic district to drive through and then set off for the Lake Nottely area. We admired the area and how calm the lake was that day. When the sun shone through, it was the icing on the cake!
To the northeast, Hiawassee was our next destination. It was around noon when we arrived, and time to grab lunch, deciding on Hiawassee Brew. Fortuitously, our waitress was from the area, so we had fun gabbing with her. And while she pointed out that the Chatuge Lake area is the major draw, we knew that we wanted to gain a little more elevation and experience more of the countryside.
The northeastern corner of the state is where the Blue Ridge Mountains are at their highest so we pointed our truck towards Clayton. Along the way we came across a small golf course community surrounding beautiful Lake Burton. The sun had finally decided to come out, illuminating the surrounding mountain areas, so we decided that we had to drive around this quaint community. All we can say is, OMG! The lake itself is fantastic, surrounding homes are super nice and HUGE and the actual country club community, The Waterfall Club, is gorgeous! (Psst….don’t tell anyone that we actually snuck in while the gate had opened!)
One thing we did not expect however, was the VERY narrow roadway winding through the community, nor the extremely steep roads with multimillion dollar homes actually “clinging” to the mountainsides! When we got to the mansion, situated at the end of the road, on the top of the narrow mountain ridge, our “small” 1-Ton, full size pickup truck made it really “fun” turning around in the middle of the roadway without falling over the edge; we accomplished it in, roughly, a 12-point turn. After we safely made our way back down, we looked at each other, laughing nervously about that death defying experience!
And because it was unthinkable to backtrack, we decided to continue following the road northward, finding the town of Dillard nestled in a large verdant green valley.
The views were captivating, drawing us along, so we barreled right on into North Carolina, turning west outside the town of Franklin, and then following the road all the way to Hayesville. This finally brought us to the Chatuge Lake and we followed the western shore back down to Hiawassee.
It was a long day of adventure, so we stayed another night in Helen. The next day the clouds, once again, accompanied us back to our camper.
Our final day was full of chores for getting ready for our next move to the northwestern region of Georgia!
English 
Well, now you can honestly say you’ve been to Helen back!
That’s a good one!!