[at-l] Trip report--north GA mountains

[lpatton at mailer.fsu.edu (Linda Patton)]

Now that the List is fixed (Hooray!), here it is.
	~~eArThworm
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Trip report:  North Georgia mountains

        Mon. 11/10/03:  Drove from Tallahassee to Dahlonega, GA.  Had 
dinner at a very good restaurant called "Rick's."  Ate like a thruhiker. 
        Tue. 11/11/03:  Went to Mountain Crossings at Neels Gap.  Bought 
two tee shirts (unneeded, but my resistance was low).  One says,
        "So many trails   So little time" 
and the other has, on the back,
        "Over the mountains & through the woods,
         Down the river & up the valley,
         Over the boulders & through the stream
         To nobody's house I go."   
That one has "Appalachian Trail" on a top corner of the front.  Bought 
some fudge at the Fudge Factory (mostly for gifts, but kept one package
for myself) and some Forest Service maps at the Dahlonega information
center.  That night, went to the "Oar House" near Dahlonega for dinner 
with Pittsburgh and his new family.  Had a wonderful time.  Caught up on
their love story.  The food was good, too.  Pittsburgh's on the Atkins
Diet (and lookin' good!) so he had to be choosy about what he ate. The
weather was absolutely perfect for sightseeing, sunny with shirtsleeve 
temperature.
        Wed. 11/12/03:  Pittsburgh picked me up and we went to Amicalola 
Falls State Park.  Since I began my section hiking by accessing Springer 
Mountain from the F.S. road to the north, I had never seen the park
or the falls.  We drove up to the top of the falls and I hiked down the 
steps and trails to the parking lot at the bottom, where P.B. met me with 
the van, in slackpacker-assist mode.  The falls are impressive!!  We had 
lunch in the dining room at the lodge and the buffet was very good.  
Pigged out again.  Walked to the hiker shelter and checked that out.  
That evening I went to P.B.'s house for dinner.  Note to potential Mann 
mansion visitors:  Barbara is a really good cook!  Also note:  if you call
and ask for Pittsburgh, you need to specify which one.  Ryan's school 
friends are calling him P.B. 'cause he came to Georgia from there, not 
realizing/caring that his new Dad is already called that.  Confusion 
abounds.  
        Thur. 11/13/03:  Woke up to lower temperatures and blustery WIND!  
Went back to Neels Gap.  Winton had not been there when I went on Tue., 
and I wanted to meet him and have him fit me for another set of SuperFeet.
I had to wait hile he fitted boots for 2 other customers, and that gave me 
time to browse some more, which was unfortunate for my pocketbook.  Bought 
some new hiking sox and other gew-gaws.  I'm glad I don't live any closer 
to them than I do!  I always spend too much there.  Drove on up to 
Blairsville and checked into the motel.  There's a really good restaurant 
in B'ville called "Monet's" and I picked up three dinners (and desserts, 
of course) and went over to Benschop's new digs.  Dutch Treat was in a 
lot of pain from his spine operation the week before, but I think the good 
food and the conversation kept his mind off it for a long time.  Eventually
he tired and had to go back to bed but Hummingbird and I talked for a while 
longer before I left.  They have a small, but very nice and new, place and
they've decorated it beautifully with their pictures and other mementos.  
We may have another potential writer in the fold--Jan has an idea for a 
sci-fi novel.  
        Fri. 11/14/03:  Left Blairsville and drove to Blue Ridge and beyond, 
to a friend's new log cabin off of Cashes Valley Rd.  It's a lovely, cozy, 
place with a view of the mountains.  Took some food (and dessert!) up there 
from Blue Ridge, and I ate and checked out the satellite TV channels, and 
went out and hiked the dirt roads, and ate some more, and went to sleep in 
my sleeping bag on top of one of the beds--pretending I was camping out, 
but also trying to stay warm, as I couldn't get the furnace to work and 
it was about 55 degrees inside that night.
        Sat. 11/15/03:  Left Blue Ridge after lunch and a stop at 
Mercier's Apple Orchards store for apple pie, apple cinnamon bread, 
fried apple pies, jams, jellies, and other high-caloric goodies.  Good 
place to shop for Christmas gifts.  Got back to Florida late at night 
to high temperature and humidity.  :-P

Linda L. Patton, Reference Librarian, Strozier Library, Florida State Univ.
      Tallahassee, FL 32306-2047 (850)644-5019 lpatton@mailer.fsu.edu
          "A world without wilderness is a cage." -- David Brower