Wednesday, April 27, 2011
I woke up early this morning and didn’t feel well. I was very dizzy, nauseous, and head achy. I stayed in bed and slept. To make things worse, the weather channel on television talked about severe tornadoes heading in this direction toward northern Georgia! Jeff went down to the desk and reserved the room for another day. I slept until noon.
Spring Flowers
When I woke up, I felt a lot better. I took a nice hot shower and we went out. Jeff drove us to the nearby town of Helen for lunch. Helen is a very unusual place. In the early 1800s gold had been discovered in the region causing the “Great Georgia Gold Rush.” The prospectors left Helen after gold was discovered in California.
Helen, Georgia
During the early 1900s lumber was the commodity and several sawmills successfully operated for a period of time. Eventually the city of Helen fell into rapid decline and light manufacturing businesses moved to other locations. In 1968 two local businessmen talked the townspeople into transforming their town into a Bavarian village. Business owners and local carpenters added gingerbread trim and shutters, and painted German murals on the faces of the buildings. They added Alpine towers to the roofs and made cobblestone alleyways.
Tourist Information Office
Today Helen is a tourist destination in the mountains of northern Georgia! It was a short 30 minute drive from Cornelia to Helen. We arrived with low expectations, but were pleasantly surprised by most of the buildings. Many were charming and, though a bit over the top, the decorations reminded us houses in the Switzerland. Most of the names of the streets in Helen have German names, for example: Edelweisstrasse. We stopped at Hofer’s Bakery – Konditorei – Cafe on North Main Street. The double pitched roof and brown porch railings could have been anywhere in the Alps.
Hofer’s Bakery – Konditorei – Cafe
The entrance led to the bakery which had luscious looking pastries in the display case. We smiled at the Sacher torts, Apfelkuechle, strudels, and bread puddings. We sat down in the pleasant dining room and perused the menu. Among the Bauern Fruhstuck was Pregel & Lox, Bavarian Cold Cuts, and Eggs & Grits. Jeff ordered bratwurst & sauerkraut with gravy laden mashed potatoes. Since my stomach wasn’t a hundred percent yet, I had a cup of chicken noodle soup and half a ham & Swiss cheese on rye sandwich. For added atmosphere, there was a group of people sitting near our table who were speaking German!
More Shops in Helen
After lunch we drove around the town for a little while, but the shops didn’t interest us so we didn’t stop. Jeff had read about Fred’s Famous Peanuts on Tripadvisor so we drove up the road to find it. Fred’s was a small shack along the roadside, just off Route 356, on the way to Unicoi State Park.
Fred’s Famous Peanuts
We took photos and sampled boiled and fried peanuts and tasted peach cider. Jeff also decided that he had to have a tee shirt from Fred’s Famous Peanuts. By the time we left, it was starting to rain. Huge gray clouds had been moving by all afternoon. This was part of the string of storms and tornadoes which were menacing other parts of the south and mid-west today.
Fred’s Roadside Stand
We returned to the car and drove south again. At the junction of Highways 17 and 75 was the Nacoochee Indian Mound. This was a large grass covered mound of earth with a round wooden cupola on top. It is a sacred ancient Indian ceremonial site. The mound was located in the center of a Cherokee village and an eternal flame burned on top. There was a legend attached to the mound, but in actuality it marks former Cherokee land.
Ancient Nacoochee Indian Mound
Down the road a little bit is the tiny village of Sautee. There were several old brown wooden buildings in a cluster. We parked near the general store and wished that the two cars parked directly outside would move so we could photograph the building. Two men were playing checkers on the porch.
The Old Sautee Store
Inside the entrance door there were two wooden Indians and a small wood-burning stove. On one side there was an automatic roller “piano” which operated by a little vacuum cleaner on the floor. On the left side was a long counter with a smiling troll statue and other curiosities. The shelves along the walls were filled with old antiques of all kinds. There was so much to look at!
The Front Room of the General Store
We had fun looking at all the old stuff and took lots of photographs, but we were tired and were ready to return to our hotel in Cornelia. This part of Georgia is unlike any other part of the state. It is very different from “Coastal Georgia” which we saw a few weeks ago in the beginning of this Road Trip. This region is referred to as The Northeast Mountains of Georgia and is actually the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
This western part of Georgia is really very beautiful! The terrain is hilly and the narrow roads twist and turn. The dramatic clouds and threatening skies added to rough-hewn spirit of the place. The houses are modest cabins and the lifestyle of the people is self-sufficiency with a strong pioneering spirit.
Northwest Georgia
After a little bit of a rest at the hotel, we went to a small local place in Cornelia for dinner. When we were almost finished, two Southern “gentleman” walked into the restaurant. One was an older ordinary looking fellow. The other, a man perhaps in his mid forties, wore full camouflage pants and shirt, high leather construction boots, and sported a round Mohawk-like hair-do on the top of his head. As he sauntered through the door, I noticed that around his waist there was a black belt with holster and a rather large hand-gun sticking out of the holster. The first thought that rattled through my brain was, “Is that legal?!” Then I quietly whispered to Jeff to check out the gun! The man’s cell phone rang and he walked back outside. We quickly finished our suppers and left. I was reminded of the bumper sticker I saw earlier: “I’ll Keep My Gun and My Money and My Freedom – You Can Keep the Change.” Thank goodness we have gun control in New York!