Have you ever been to Helen, Georgia? If not, you should. It's a neat little town Northeast of Atlanta, where they've redone all the buildings in town to look like an Alpine village. It's got a whole bunch of neat shops, cafes, and other touristy places to see. There's a river that runs right through town, where multitudes go tubing during the warm months. We've been there a couple of times, and went again in late October 2004. We went to visit Helen, but also to check out some "RV Ports" in the area, thinking we might want to buy one to have a place to "visit" during the summer months of the Florida Hurricane season.
The trip down was one that I planned to accommodate Joyce's preferred traveling mode. That is, we only made about 150 or 200 miles a day and we stopped at several outlet centers on the way. We saw our first one about 100 miles or so up I-95 and Joyce shopped for a couple of hours, while I sat around in the RV, watching TV and playing on the computer. I think we made just under 200 miles the first day, spending the night at a park in White Springs, Florida, near the intersection of I-75 and I-10. They were supposed to have WiFi, but I couldn't get my system to work -- not sure if my problem or theirs.
The second day, we made another couple hundred miles, stopping at two (2!) outlet centers in Georgia. While Joyce shopped, I watched TV, napped, and generally relaxed in the RV. Who said I couldn't enjoy shopping at outlet centers? We spent the next night at a really nice campground .1 miles East of I-75 at exit 127 in Elko, Georgia, called Twin Oaks (http://www.twinoaksrvpark.com). They're a Passport America park and they have free WiFi service! Only thing missing was cable TV. The WiFi was great, however, being able to check email, etc., while in the comfort of the RV, with TV and other conveniences in easy reach.
Finally, the third day, we made it to our destination -- Mountain Lakes Resort (http://www.mountainlakesresort.com/) just North of Helen. We stayed there because they have a large number of the RV Ports that we were looking for -- kind of a half of a house with a "carport" large enough to pull the RV into. The idea is to use the house part for daytime activities, crafts, or whatever, and use the RV for kitchen, bath, and bedroom. Some just have the RV parked conveniently close, while others actually "attach" to the RV to provide what appears to be a complete home. We were shown around by Sherrie Ivie, a realtor (http://www.rvlots.net/) who handles RV lots all around the Helen area. Our campsite at Mountain Lakes was right next to a beautiful lake and the leaves were about to hit their peak color -- quite a nice camping experience -- see photos below.
Beautiful trees reflected in the lake
More reflections with mountains in the background
One more lake view
Joyce and Tinker enjoying the view
On the LEFT, some cute shops across from my bench; CENTER, one type of conveyance common to Helen; RIGHT, yet another type of conveyance common to Helen
One of many cute paintjobs on the Helen buildings
They even have windmills in Helen!
Another standard in tourist towns -- photos in funny costumes
Enjoying Oktoberfest in a Helen hot spot
Besides checking out the property and enjoying the Mountain Lakes views, we also spent a little time in Helen. Joyce did the shopping while I sat on the benches and took photos. I actually shopped with her now and then, ate some ice cream, and wandered through some of the shops, but spent most of my time on benches taking photos -- see below. You'll need to check the enlarged view to really appreciate most of them.
Another Photo-Op with Joyce
Our week at Mountain Lakes and around the Helen area was great, but we have our doubts if we'd really enjoy this "country life" for very long. I'm not sure where the nearest shopping mall is, but we didn't notice any in our travels around the area, In fact, we didn't even see a Walmart -- sort of a required fixture anywhere that we've lived recently. We're thinking about going up for a month or so in the Spring, just to check the area out some more, but I have my doubts if we decide to buy anything there. Just a little more rural than we're comfortable with. If you're looking for seclusion and peace and quiet, it may be just the thing for you -- I think it has more peace and quiet than we can really handle.
After Helen, we traveled on over to Alabama. I worked a couple of weeks in a real office in Huntsville, Joyce visited her family in Arab, painted her mother's room in the nursing home in Guntersville, and we ate at our favorite Huntsville restaurants -- Mojo's (that's me only), Old Heidelberg, and Romano's Macaroni Grille. If you're ever in Huntsville, you really need to visit these. Mojo's has the best double Cheeseburgers in town, Heidelberg has a dish called the Schlact Platte with Knackwurst, Bratwurst, Polish Sausage, Sauerkraut, and German Fried Potatos, and the Macaroni Grille has the Shrimp Portofino, with Angel Hair Pasta, Spinach, Mushrooms, Pine Nuts, and a delicious Lemon Butter sauce. Of course, I suppose these restaurants have other dishes, but these are the only ones I ever order.
As usual, we stayed at the Space and Rocket Center campground and I went to the Marriott Business Center when I wanted to get online in the evenings. And guess what! ... they now have a FREE WiFi HotSpot at the Marriott. Between this WiFi and those I found at campgrounds along the way, I don't think I used a phone line hardly at all on this entire trip!
Saw a couple of curiousities along the way to add to our Cool and Unusual RVs & Stuff page, including a new Florida license plate with the state's URL on it and an RV with a rear slide -- not a slide on the side near the rear, one with a slide that actually comes out the back!
On the return trip, we once again found ourselves rushing along. One day back to Twin Oaks, then next day all the way to our home in Rockledge. Joyce was happy to get back to the house, so didn't mind the rush trip. Seems like we saw enough outlets on the way up, so were able to forego them on the way back. Altogether, a really nice trip with something for each of us.
Funnel cakes!
One of the great snacks in tourist towns!
Joyce, taking a break from shopping for photo-op
Oktoberfest signs were all over Helen
My Travel Log
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62. A Visit to Helen
