Brasstown Vacation - Day 2, Part 2

After visiting Brasstown Bald Mountain, we took a drive to the little Alpine/German-inspired town of Helen, GA. The road heading there was very winding, so it was a bit of a rough ride getting there. And when we got there, it was very warm. A bit of a jolt after being in cool temps all morning.

There were a lot of tubers going down the river that afternoon. It's something I have never done.

We decided to grab our late lunch as soon as we got there and opted to sit inside the restaurant...

Of course, I had to have German food - a delicious knockwurst...

We hit a few shops on the strip...

Our favorite shop is the glassblowing shop...

A bit of Alpine in Georgia...

The horses looked so hot...

Our second favorite shop - the chocolate/fudge shop...

I enjoyed checking out this hot sauce shop...

We walked around for a little while, but it was so warm - it just wasn't all that pleasant (I enjoy Helen much more in the cooler months).

We drove back to the hotel and stopped to have some cool drinks before heading back to the room...

We relaxed the rest of the evening, and we were looking forward to a very low key day the next day. We planned to just stick around the resort.

Brasstown Vacation - Day 2, Part 1

Day 2 of our trip to Brasstown Valley was jam-packed! We left the hotel in the morning and didn't return until the evening.

We got up in the morning and headed to a quiet breakfast at the hotel. Look at this beautiful view...

I couldn't believe we could actually sit outside in the middle of July. The weather was beautiful...

Breakfast was quite delicious...

After breakfast, it was time to head toward Brasstown Bald Mountain - the highest point in the state of Georgia.

There were lots of cloud that day and we knew we would not get the amazing views we had hoped for (you can see 4 states from the top of the mountain).

Bri was excited to be there anyway. And we were very surprised at how much the temperature dropped as we drove up the mountain. It was down right chilly...

Bri and I went into the gift shop and promptly bought items to keep us warmer. Me - a long sleeve shirt and Bri - a new jacket...

Doug said he was fine - so he opted to just wear what he came with.

We had to take a van/shuttle to the very top of the mountain...

Here is B at the visitor center/museum at Brasstown Bald...

We climbed several sets of stairs to make it to the top of the mountain. It was actually pretty cool to literally be in the clouds...

Bri surrounded by clouds...

We walked all through the museum - it was really interesting learning about the mountain...

Bri found her initials in the quilt...

We learned a lot about the U.S. Forest Service...

Bri posing with the train...

Mannequins...

Smokey the Bear...

Bri participated in a scavenger hunt...

We watched a short film about the mountain...

We learned the temperature on the mountain has never risen above 84 degrees. It was 62 degrees (in July!) that day we went...

We decided to stroll around the mountain again after walking through the museum, and the clouds were clearing just a bit more...

So pretty...

 Our family...

 Instead of taking the shuttle down, we decided to walk down the trail...

We walked around Brasstown Bald for a few hours (including another stop in the gift shop) and then we decided to head toward Helen, GA for a late lunch. That will be my next post...