Spring Breakdown

Al-Anon has a saying that "an expectation is a premeditated resentment". That's how I felt about our brief holiday trip to the North Georgia Mountains. We left Sunday morning to go to Blood Mountain Cabins outside of Blairsville, GA. This is our third trip to the area. It is beautiful country with hiking trails, scenic overlooks, and waterfalls. The cabins are situated just down the mountain from Neel's Gap, a spot on the Appalachian Trail.

Everything seemed to be going all right. I had been sick the day before, throwing up, but I felt fine and energetic when we arrived at the cabins. We thought we would hike a few trails, see some waterfalls, and take in some of the attractions the next day. However, the next morning, Pinkie was sick and throwing up and my husband was having problems with congestion. I ran errands, getting medicine and drinks I thought would make them feel better. I tried going on adventures on my own, but hiking by myself wasn't much fun.

Pinkie and my husband were better the next day, so we went to Blairsville together to see the sights. We wanted to go to an alpaca farm but we couldn't get anyone to answer the phone. We went to a fairy village called Sleepy Hollow. It's designed by this artist who worked for Disney. He was one of the "Imagineers" who came up with designs for the rides and attractions. He had made a whole little village of whimsical houses. Some were the size of children's playhouses. Others were doll sized. There was even one with a Hobbit door! He also participates in "Steam Punk" and has done stuff for different Comic-Cons.

His assistant (whom I suspect is his wife) is also a very whimsical person. While in Greece she actually had an octopus crawl up on the rocks to play with her! Turns out octopi can live outside the water and are very curious. She sat on the rocks near the water and played with the creature the whole time. It would go into one of the rocks pools for a while to get wet then come right back for more!

Later, Pinkie and I went hiking up Raven Cliff Falls trail. Unfortunately, Pinkie was still weak from her bout with the tummy bug, so we were unable to complete the climb. We stayed at the cabin the rest of the afternoon watching Gunsmoke, Andy Griffith, MASH, and Everybody Loves Raymond. SIGH.

It was not a total loss. We found some things we would like to see on our next visit and we did get some good pictures. I do recommend that area of North Georgia to anyone in need of some getaway time!