Some fellow Canadians we met in Myrtle Beach recommended a nice mom & pop campground / golf course in Cochran, Georgia (The Woods), between Savannah and Atlanta, so we decided to check it out. It turned out to be great advice. The overnight rate was $16 and it was $15 a player for all-day golf with a cart. I played 36 holes one day (Rhonda stopped after playing all of their 27 holes) but I could have easily set a new personal record by playing more golf since there wasn't much traffic (even though it was 20C) and my 10:30 am start ended at 4 pm including a half hour stop at the campground for lunch. The course doesn't have a liqour license so they allow personal coolers and provide the ice, along with free coffee (if you are so inclined). Charlie, the very hospitable owner, even told us to keep the golf cart as long as we were there and that we were free to use his truck parked in the campground (keys left in it) to go into town if we wanted. I suggested he might want to expand his concept into Alberta but I'm not sure he is making a lot of money doing this on the old family farm. In any event he is a very happy man and everyone we met, workers and guests, were very friendly so it is a must-do for anyone travelling through that area.
We then moved on to Atlanta and had another wonderful couple of days. Our base was at Stone Mountain, a 30 minute drive from downtown. Stone Mountain is named because of a large exposed granite rock, 1000 feet high with a 5 mile perimeter, which we hiked both up (1 mile) and around while doing a few geocaches along the way. They also had a theme park at the base, oriented towards young families, but with a recent shift to a Christmas program we paid the tourist fee and spent a full day enjoying the thought of being grandparents some day.
Another day was spent in downtown Atlanta where we toured the CNN headquarters (watching live programming in several studios) and the World of Coca-Cola (including 64 sample drink opportunities from around the world) which were both located around Centennial Olympic Park, site of the 1996 medal presentations (and crazed bomber). There was also a Pancreatic Cancer fundraiser and awareness walk / run happening, starting and finishing there, so it was a fortunate day to be there (although Rhonda somehow knew to wear purple that day.....guess I will have to expand my wardrobe).
From Atlanta we headed to the NE corner of the state, to Lookout Mountain which expands into both Tennessee and Alabama. We stayed overnight at a state park (Cloudland Canyon) which is at a gorge with a 1000 foot drop near the campground. We hiked down to two waterfalls and along the ridge with great views along the canyon. The next day as we drove north to nearby Chattanooga, Tennessee we spotted many beautiful homes perched on the edge of the steep canyon wall........incredible views but their decks were suspended over the gorge so it wasn't a life-style for the faint hearted. Lots of hang-gliding opportunities along the way but I suspect the locals do it from their own backyard.
Ruby Falls was our first stop in Tennessee. Hundreds of miles of advertising, and friends back home who saw the signs but always wondered what it was all about, intrigued us enough to spend some more tourist $. It was another good decision. The falls consist of a 145 foot waterfall inside a cave which is a half mile walk underground, 1120 feet below the mountain-top. The guide warned us to 'duck' many times along the way but the slightly expanded tourist walkway was an improvement over the 2 foot (high) by 4 foot (wide) crawl when the original explorer discovered it in the late 1920's. He named the falls after his wife who crawled in with him on a second visit........my wonderful spouse deserves a similar prop for surviving the 30 second, 260' drop elevator ride and the ensuing 1 mile walk in enclosed quarters in an environment that she dreads.......a big step up from the mine in Bolivia!
Off to Nashville tomorrow for a visit to the Grand Old Opry and apparently the shopping opportunity of a lifetime.........Black Friday.
No comments:
Post a Comment