Mountain Trip - Day 3

Day 3 of our mountain trip began with a gorgeous view and apple cider donuts that we had brought from the orchard the previous day.  We were up and out early again to head to Anna Ruby Falls (the biggest waterfall in Georgia) which is about an hour away from the mountain house.  We had made the hike to the waterfall on last year’s trip and we loved it so much that we wanted to do it again. 

The morning started out chilly, in the low 60’s, which were the lowest temps we had felt since April.  It was invigorating and it made for such a pleasant hike!  The hike up is probably around 30 minutes or so, and when you get to the top there are two different observation decks to view the waterfall.  The sound of the waterfall whooshing down the mountain and the sounds of the creek below made for a very peaceful morning.  We stayed at the waterfall for a little bit and once we’d had our fill, we made the hike back down to check out the gift shop before heading out. 

Anna Ruby Falls is very close in proximity to Helen, GA, so we headed straight to Helen after our hike to tour around a bit.  Helen is a very touristy city and it’s known for its Bavarian style buildings… basically it’s meant to feel like Germany.  And Germany is known for Oktoberfest so Helen always has a huge Oktoberfest celebration each year.  Since we were there in October, it was pretty busy considering it was Friday.

The first thing on the agenda was to look for souvenirs for the kiddos.  They now know when we travel that they get to pick out one special thing to bring home from the trip, and every time we go to the mountains they like to get their souvenirs in Helen because they have so many gift shops.  We stopped in several little shops and Jacob opted for a wooden toy gun that shoots rubber bands from the toy shop while Olivia opted for a red mask that we found in one of the gift shops. 

We were all starving by the time our souvenirs had been purchased, so we headed to The Heidelberg, the same German restaurant that we ate at on last year’s trip.  B and I ordered a round of beers to start and then we all enjoyed a traditional German meal.  Well, B and I did, at least.  ;o)  The kids both wanted hot dogs.  Haha.  They are about as picky as it comes with regard to food, so we knew we weren’t going to get them to eat any schnitzel.  B did enjoy his schnitzel, though, and I enjoyed my knockwurst.  Mmmm MMMM!

After our bellies were full, we toured around the city a little longer.  We walked to the cute little gazebo area all decorated for fall, and to our surprise, there was a big playground just behind it.  We had been up there before and had never noticed it before, so it was a nice little treat for the kids.  We let them play for a bit and then we headed back down the hill into the city so I could find my souvenir… a frame to add to our travel gallery wall!

For some reason, souvenir frames are extremely hard to come by in North Georgia, so I’m always struggling to find something new to add to our collection, but on this trip, we happened to find an underground market with loads of handmade items, and there were several cute choices for frames in there.  Everything was decorated to the nines for fall (my favorite!) and we had a great time browsing the shop.  We will definitely be going back there next year!

After we left the shop, the kids saw all of the people tubing down the Chattahoochee River (which runs right through Helen) and they decided they wanted to go stick their toes in the water.  It’s really shallow right through there and the day was so warm that we decided to let them take their shoes off and take a little dip.

On the way back to the car, we ducked into the cutest little ice cream shop to grab one last treat before heading to our next destination.  There were so many delicious choices that it was really, really hard to make a decision.  I finally decided on the hazelnut, B had the banana pudding (my second choice), and the kids both picked bubblegum (an easy decision for both of them because they have both been obsessed with gum for the last few months). 

Once we had finished our ice cream, we hit the road and headed to our next destination, gem grubbing.  Brian introduced the kids to this two trips ago and now they are both obsessed.  It was pretty much the only thing that Jacob talked about leading up to the trip, so he was ready! 

We bought a five-gallon bucket to share, and the kids spent the next hour soaking and sorting their rocks.  Both of them ended up with lots of good stuff, and my personal favorite was a large amethyst that Olivia found… which also happens to be her birthstone!

Everyone was pretty exhausted by the time we finished so we decided to call it a day and head back in the direction of the mountain house.  On the way there, we stopped by Zaxby’s (for the kids) and Blimpie (for B and me) to grab dinner and we took it back to the house to eat there. 

The rest of the evening was spent shooting Jacob’s rubber band gun outside, sorting rocks into the kids’ gem boxes, and watching the sun set. 

It was an absolute perfect day and we couldn’t have asked for anything more.  Well, maybe some cooler weather in the afternoon.  ;o)  But we sure do love these trips each year.  They are such a treat.

By the Numbers
Days 1 & 2

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