For this vacation we decided to rent a vehicle rather than putting even more miles on our little red car. When we went to pick up the rental, Enterprise did not have the type of car we had reserved so we were given an upgrade to a 2016 Jeep Cherokee SUV for no additional charge. I loved it! Plenty of room, loved the hatch-back, and very comfortable seating.
Rather than leaving in the evening when Tom got of work on Saturday, we opted instead to load the vehicle, go to bed early and get a few hours sleep, then we got up at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning and headed out. This turned out to be a great idea! Less traffic on the interstate. Then we were blessed with watching an awesome sunrise as we traveled eastward!
It is about a 14-hour drive from our place to Tim & Kathy's (Tom's brother/wife) place in the mountains of northern Georgia. We arrived there in the late afternoon and as usual Tim and Kathy bestowed awesome hospitality upon us. We always enjoy our visits with them and their wonderful downstairs "guest suite" that includes bedroom, bath, living room, and a deck with a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains! Can't wait for them to come and visit us so we can show them some good ole Texas hospitality.
One day while we were there, Tim took Tom and I on a walk through the woods in their neighborhood on the wonderful trail system in Big Canoe.
We saw these beautiful mountain laurel blossoms!
I think Tom is showing us his relaxation and meditation techniques at the waterfalls?
The highlight of our week in Georgia was getting to go on a hike to the popular Len Foote Hike Inn! Kathy saw us off and took this beginning photo before our adventure into the woods.
These flowers were at the entrance to Amicalola Falls State Park.
This sign welcomed us to the Len Foote Hike Inn Trail. If you like being in the wilderness but do not enjoy "roughing it" along the way the Len Foote Hike Inn is the place for you!
We met this great group of girls and their sponsors! They had spent the previous night at the Hike Inn and were hiking back to the State Park. They were very exuberant, laughing, and had lots of questions about hiking.
The "brothers" are having their own kind of fun on the trail!
Next we met the group of boys (that the little girls had warned us about) and their sponsors. We asked these sponsors why the girls and the boys were hiking in separate groups and said it keeps trouble at a minimum. Imagine that!
These lady slippers were at the end of their bloom cycle but they were still pretty.
These boards are there to protect the vegetation during the wet season. (It was dry when we went through.)
What an awesome treat after walking five miles we came to the Len Foote Hike Inn!
Our bunks for the night! (Tim is in the adjoining room.)
To top it off we were served a delicious dinner served family style.
We were also served breakfast here in this dining hall the following morning. (All this is included in the cost of our room!)
Our return hike the next day on a different trail will be covered in my next post.
