Weekend Getaway, Part 2

We went for a walk before dinner to gather woods for the fire. We trudged through the woods around the cabin down to the ravine looking for anything we could use for the fire while looking our nervously for poison oak and poison ivy... and, of course, snakes hiding under logs and leaves. But in the end, we collected a nice armload of wood and headed back to the cabin, and no one was bitten or poisoned. We saw no ferocious wild life in the process.

Night came. Dinner was done. Sydney asked incessantly all through dinner whether it was time for the firepit and was worried that we were too full to eat smores. After reassuring her that our evening plan was intact, I headed outside to start up the fire. Despite having the porch lights on, it was pitch black outside such that I had to shine the SUV's headlights from the driveway to see where we were going. Everyone pitched in to add kindling, dry leaves and anything else that we thought would burn on top of the existing log in the raised fire pit. We were truly city slickers, huffing and puffing trying to get the fire started. A few kindling and leaves caught on fire but the flame was short-lived. Sydney was getting very anxious. I was getting irritated. Tracie rushed inside and came back with and handful of paper towels. We shoved the paper towels under some twigs and stared them down, quietly cursing the wood to bend to our will. Apparently, it worked. I shoved the lighter into the paper towels and flicked my Bic. The paper towels caught on fire and the magic began. The leaves caught on fire and a flame roared to life. We had a serious fire going before long.

The marshmallows came out. We stuck one on the end of three little sticks that we broke off some poor tree. We roasted the marshmallows and made some smores. They were delicious!! But we soon got tired of the smores. We were never sweet eaters in the first place. But at least we tried them and could check them off our bucket lists.

Sydney marveled at the fire and asked why the sparks flew up high into the night sky like little fireflies. We had impromptu science lessons right then and there. We scoured the grounds to find more twigs and branches to add to the fire. It was fun while it lasted. About an hour later, just as quickly as it started. it was over. The fascination over the fire was gone. Sydney asked to go back inside the cabin. Tracie followed and I was left all alone tending to the dying flame. Geeze. After a few minutes of sitting there listening to the night sounds, it got rather creepy. Periodic rustling sounds in the woods nearby and sitting all alone in near perfect darkness was a bit much for a city slicker to take. I admit it. I was quickly becoming a scaredy cat. I got up and headed inside to get water to squelch the fire. Sydney even offered to help. After three cups of water on the fire, it was out. I placed the cover back on the fire pit and called it a night.

Sunday morning brought us a brand new day. It was time to pack up and check out of the cabin. Luckily, we got an extra hour due to daylight savings time coming to an end. It was time to head to Ana Ruby Falls to check it out anyway. We found our way to the fall and looked around. I can't say I was not a bit disappointed. We mistakenly thought that Ana Ruby Falls was the same fall as Ruby Falls in Tennessee. Ruby Falls was an underground falls, and I was excited to show Sydney how cool it was. Unfortunately, we were several hundred miles off. Duh! But we walked up to see the falls anyway. If nothing else, it was a photo opportunity.

Similar to other tourists to make the visit a bit more interesting, we invented a game to try to catch the falling leaves before they hit the ground. It was much harder than it looked, having little room to dash around to catch the leaves. We made our way back down and called it a day.

We'll go to the right falls next time. What mattered was that our Sydney-boo had a fantastic weekend and had already declared that she would love to come back to Helen for another weekend getaway.  She asked if we could go back in two weeks, while she was out of school for Thanksgiving. Well, perhaps next autumn.

Weekend Getaway, Part 1

What do all these things have in common: a log cabin, horseback riding, a fire pit, Ana Ruby Falls, smores and Cabbage Patch Kids? These were all the things that Sydney experienced for the first time this weekend.

What a glorious weekend it was. Tracie wanted us to go to the mountains and relax so she booked a couple of nights at a log cabin in Helen, which was in the North Georgia mountains. We'd never been there before and had no idea what to expect. But Tracie had a few things in mind for things to do. We drove up Friday night, right after I got off work. It was a rough, rough week. The getaway was a welcomed relief, and I couldn't wait to get there. Helen was about 2 hours away from Atlanta, heading north on I-985. We arrived at the gated community and found our way deep to the cul-de-sac where the cabin was. It was already pitch black and there were only two other cabins near us. It was a nice, secluded area, just the way I liked it.

The first time we laid eyes on the cabin, we KNEW we were in for a good time. It was a beautiful log cabin with 2 bedrooms. There was a wraparound porch, a balcony with rocking chairs and gliders, an outdoor hot tub situated in a raised deck high over the hillside.

The interior was also gorgeous. We felt comfortable right away. Sydney explored each room. We even got up the courage to go down into the dark, unfinished basement to check it out. If only we had money to buy such a cabin for a vacation home.

A firepit next to the cabin was just begging for a roaring fire and some marshmallows to be roasted. It was too dark and too late for us to tackle the firepit by the time we arrived so it had to wait until Saturday night. We settled in for the night. Sydney couldn't wait until morning. I noticed a small plaque on a wall that read: "Welcome to Camp Run-A-Muk." Oh yeah!

Saturday morning arrived with birds chirping and beautiful blue sky. The forecast calls for 73 degree weather. Let the FUN BEGIN!

We had breakfast and went for a short walk to explore the area. Then, it was time for the first destination on the agenda. Just outside of Helen, there was a place called Babyland, the Cabbage Patch General Hospital. We were about to visit where Cabbage Patch Kids were adopted by the thousands every year. Were we about to adopt one? I was about to find out.

Much to my surprise, the place was rather cool to visit. The staff were dressed in hospital scrubs and we were greeted by a receptionist dressed as a nurse. Hundreds of dolls were laid out in cribs, in nurseries, on shelves, under trees, and even in isolettes throughout the "hospital." All were were available for "adoption" with fees from $49.99 to $15,000.00 (yes, $15,000 for collector dolls). We even witnessed a Cabbage Patch baby being born by a mother cabbage. We spent a couple of hours checking everything out.

And just as I was dreading, Sydney went ga-ga over the dolls. Who knew! She found one to adopt names Cecilia. We paid the adoption fee, we signed the adoption certificate, and Sydney took the oath to be a good mother.

And so, Sydney became a mother, officially. She grinned from ear to ear for a very long time. She happily posed in front of the hospital's entrance to commemorate the occasion.

We bought some new clothes for Cecilia and took her with us to partake in the remainder of the weekend getaway. Sydney was so excited to have found a cute black-haired baby of her very own.

We headed to town to look around. Tracie wanted to explore downtown Helen, famous for its Octoberfest celebration. Helen was very picturesque with many of the buildings designed in the Bavarian style. We grabbed some Garlic Wurst for a taste of German food at a local restaurant. Cecilia sat in a chair next to Sydney as she enjoyed some delicious chicken fingers. Sydney was a proud new mother and ate all the chicken fingers quite contently as tourists admired and complimented her new baby.

Two o'clock came and it was time for more Sydney fun. We headed to a nearby stable to sign up for horseback riding. Sydney was nervous but excited. We got reservation for a 3:15 slot. We saw that the previous group had a girl about Sydney's size riding together with an adult. It looked rather safe.

When our turn came, we were in for a surprise. A beautiful white horse named Pocahontas was brought out first. Sydney was called over and was instructed to mount her... alone. Another horse named Stonewall was brought out. I was to ride him behind Pocahontas. Sydney was on her own.

She looked around nervously but replied that she was OK and ready when I called out to her. After a long wait for the rest of the 3:15 group, we were off. Pocanhontas pretty much was self-managing. She simply followed the ranchhand on the lead horse. Now and then, the group stopped for the horses to "do their thing." Sydney also let loose the reign to allow Pocahontas to graze on some grass.

Sydney was beside herself with excitement. She kept reaching down to pat the horse's neck. We rode slowly next to the Chattahoochee River and stopped a few times for some history lessons. Sydney listened intently to learn that this river was used to float moonshine for delivery downstream and for the filming of the movie Deliverance some 15 minutes away from where we were a couple of decades ago. By the time we got back to the farm, Sydney was a pro. She even kicked the horse a couple of times to go faster. We trotted a few seconds at a time. Giddy yup, horsey!!

After dismounting and meeting Tracie at the stable, she said gleefully: "I want to go riding again next year." SOMEONE is hooked! But the day was only half over. There was more. She couldn't wait to get back to the cabin to go hot tubbing and start up the fire pit. We hopped into the hot tub as soon as we got back. What a great way to relax after getting my rear end "massaged" by the saddle.

I needed that! Everyone got in some relaxation and agreed we had a GREAT time so far. Stay tuned!