Travels and Thoughts
Late November, 2017, Riley and I decided we would take a trip to Helen, Georgia. I had been to this Alpine German villiage before. Cousin Gary and Suzie took Carol and I here years ago when we visited them in Georgia. The entire village is devoted to things German. It's as if one was transported to a small Bavarian village in southern Germany.
The population of Helen is only 478 people, but it is Georgia's third most visited place.
The town of Helen is quite small - only a few streets. But, on every street, there are German shops, German eateries, and German beer gardens.
Since it was relatively close to the Christmas season, there were plenty of shops offering ornaments and yule time gifts.
I was especially surprised to see this hote. It is named "Fussen Plats Suites." Fussen, a small town in sothern German, was where I spent several months during my college years as a worker in a hotel, Hotel Alte Post. I spent time washing dishes, peeling potatoes, cleaning, and in the evenings enjoying the beer gardens.
There was a group of young people who would go out nearly eveny night to our Stamtisch where we enjoyed drinking beer and talking. Several of the guys in the group played in a band in a little cafe called Cafe Mozart, so we would all meet there and while they played, we'd enjoy our beer as we listened to the music.
There was another worker from Manchester, England, of whom I was very fond (This was before Carol).
Herr Dumler, our boss in the hotel, let me use his old Mercedes, and Pat and I would drive into Austria as tourists. Pat was a German major at the university in Manchester, and her German was so much better than mine. Those months in Fussen were very pleasant and now are full of memories. Pat and I left together, I for Frankfurt and she for Holland. We parted one rainy day in Ulm to go our separate ways.
Although Helen was a great place to visit, it was pricey and, after strolling up and down the streets, visiting the pubs and restaurants, and shopping, I was ready to leave.
Before Riley and I left, I decided to hike up the moutain to Anna Ruby falls, a beautiful spot. The hike up the mountain is strenuous, but there are stone benches along the hiking trail to rest. There are also many signs along the way that give information about the area and the history of Anne Riley falls.
The twin falls are impressive. The taller of the two comes from Curtis creek and drops 153 feet, and the other comes from York creek and drops 50 feet. Legend suggests that its name derives from a confederate soldier, Col. John Nichols, who found the falls while riding horseback. He decided to name it Anne Ruby after his only daughter.
After spending another afternoon in Helen, I decided to head out. I went back to my campsite, packed up my RV, and took off. Riley was pleased to be on the road again.
On the way to Cape Hatteras, I stopped at Sycamore Lodge, one of the RV parks included in my Travel Resorts of America membership.
Left: Sycamore Lodge, Jackson Springs, NC. Above: Riley was ready to leave Georgia.