My Final Day

So we arrived back from our tour around Georgia on the Wednesday afternoon and we were all flying back to the UK on Thursday evening.  In my mind this meant that I had plenty of time to pack everything up.  I was going to post all my books, along with other bulky items I could fit in the boxes, back home to free up space in my luggage.  I had already collected the boxes and necessary customs forms prior to the Georgia Tour so was sure that all I had to do was tape up the boxes and send them and then pack my clothes - if only life was that simple!

On Wednesday evening I discovered that I needed an extra box to fit all my books in (you wouldn't believe I only went out with 3 books and a Kindle!) but thought I'd be able to do that early on Thursday morning.  However, after getting my third box and getting home, I then discovered I needed extra customs forms from the post office as there was insufficient space to detail everything I was bringing back - so I decided to get these after collecting Mum and Dad from their hotel.  We also had to check-in for our flight and print off our boarding passes which we did at the university library before returning to the post office.  All of this ran smoothly - but that was about to change.

Driving back home from the post office we hit a bit of traffic which was not unusual for Atlanta.  However, as we approached our apartment complex along the main road we could see blue flashing lights in the distance - before our turning.  They had blocked the road and were turning all traffic around.  This was no problem I thought as I knew the route around our complex to approach it on the same road but from the other direction.  Unfortunately, when I did this I found that they had blocked the road from that direction as well.  This was when I started getting a bit panicky!  We only had about two and a half hours until we had to leave for the airport.  Finding a workman I discovered that there was a gas leak - or at least a suspected gas leak somewhere along the road.  We approached a policeman who thankfully had a computer open with a local map upon it and there was a route through the neighbouring housing estate which would come out near our complex and was accessible for residents.  We followed this route and turned onto the main road once more, this time in the middle of the closed of section.  Mercifully the road was empty as, despite driving over 1,700 miles around Georgia, I suddenly found myself driving on the left hand side of the road!!  It took me a moment to realise - despite my parents questioning why I was driving on the left!  Finally, we arrived back home.

We then had a very short time in which to pack all my things up and clean my part of the apartment before leaving for the airport via the post office where we had to post by boxes.  Thankfully, by then, the road was reopened and there was no-one in the post office (at least not before we arrived - there was quite a queue after).  We managed to get to the airport, drop off Mum with our bags, return the hire car and get through security in plenty of time.  However, it did make for a stressed final day in Atlanta, Georgia and the United States - not as I had imagined.  Maybe in the future I'll take the advice from my Dad and get my packing done a bit further in advance!

Before I knew it we were on the plane and it was departing from Atlanta to take us back to England.  My American adventure was at an end and I was no longer a British Methodist Abroad - I would return to being just a British Methodist!  However, do look out for one final post coming soon....

The Fletcher Grand Tour of Georgia - Stage 8: Hayesville, NC

View of the lodge

View from the lodge

I now come to the part of our Grand Tour which takes us outside of Georgia (so maybe I shouldn't have called this a 'Grand Tour of Georgia).  Anyone who has been reading my blog for a while will know that I have friends who live up in Hayesville, North Carolina which is in the mountains just over the border from north Georgia (if you haven't read it, feel free to follow this link).  We wanted to have one last visit before I headed back over the pond and so thought this would be a nice end to our tour.  Down the bottom of their road is an inn with a beautiful view over Lake Chatuge and so we had booked to stay

View of half the pond

View of the river

there.  However, a few weeks before my mum and dad flew out to Atlanta a couple from Decatur First UMC offered me the use of their lodge which, coincidentally, was located in Hayesville.  We imagined a small log cabin and, although we got the building material correct, it was far grander and more beautiful than we could ever imagine.  There is a pond with a lovely decking area across the middle and then a field which stretches down to the river which also has a covered decking area excellent for sitting and marvelling at creation.

Lake Chatuge from Hinton

 On Tuesday morning we travelled the short distance to the Hinton Rural Life Center where Amy, one of the friends we had gone to visit, works.  On a previous visit I had had the opportunity to drive around the site, but never to get out and walk.  However, on this occasion Amy was able to take us on a walk around some of the grounds and buildings.  It really is a marvellous facility and I know from friends from Candler who have gone on retreat there that it is a beautiful place to stay.  It too looks over Lake Chatuge (which is a huge lake) providing a restful backdrop for retreats and conferences.  They also provide courses to support young clergy and those working in rural situations and have users from all over the United States - even one coming from Hawaii!

 

Looking up to the summit

After visiting Hinton Mum, Dad, Amy, Laura-Clare and I set off back

Looking over the north Georgia mountains

into Georgia (really not that far) and to Brasstown Bald.  This is the tallest peak in Georgia and stands at an impressive 4,784 feet above sea level (by contrast, Ben Nevis is only 4,409 feet and Beacon Hill is 856 feet - according to Wikipedia!!).  Thankfully, one can drive most of the way up and then walk the last little bit.  From the top of Brasstown Bald it is possible to look into 4 different states - Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.  It was a slightly cloudy day so the views weren't as good as they could have been - but even so they were still pretty spectacular.

Dinner

Brasstown Resort chimney

In the evening we went out to dinner with our friends at the Brasstown Resort, a local sports resort and spa with a very impressive chimney breast and chandelier.  Then, after watching the sun go down, it was time to say our final farewells.  After getting back to the lodge where we were staying, we took a moonlit walk down to the river to see the covered platform all lit up by fairy lights.

Down by the Riverside

Sunset over north Georgia

  In the morning, after packing up, we headed back to Atlanta.  However, we went via Helen, a town in north Georgia.  A resident of Helen had returned from World War 2 to discover that the town was decaying and so suggested transforming it into a Bavarian town, similar to the ones he had seen in Germany.  This they did and it has become somewhat of a tourist spot (as we had discovered on the Monday driving up to Hayesville through Helen, as there was a long traffic jam through the middle of town due to it being a public holiday).  All the buildings had been converted to look like Bavarian houses and there was many a German restaurant and gift shop.  We stopped just long enough to enjoy a cup of coffee and a piece of strudel, and to watch people tubing down the Chattahoochee River, before continuing on our journey.  We stopped just once more before reaching Atlanta - at a Waffle House so we could sample that delight before returning to England.

In Helen

The Fletcher Grand Tour of Georgia - Stage 7: Athens

Mum and Dad at the covered bridge

Our journey to Athens was to go via one of Georgia's few remaining covered bridges.  According to Wikipedia the purpose of covering bridges was to protect wooden bridges from the elements.  Our only problem with visiting this bridge was trying to find it.  For once, this wasn't because I tried to find it without our GPS.  Rather, our GPS couldn't find the road on which the bridge is situated.  We were on the verge of giving up when the GPS suddenly discovered where the road was.  However, after spending so long looking for it, I couldn't help being slightly disappointed when I eventually found the bridge as it wasn't quite as impressive as I thought it might be.

Welcome to Athens

The Athens Arch

Administration building

After visiting the bridge we made our way into Athens where we were going to be staying.  Athens is east of Atlanta so our journey northwards had arrived back level from where we had set off.  For once we were staying in the city centre as most of the other places we had visited we had been staying on the outskirts.  Athens grew as a university town as it is the home of the University of Georgia (UGA) and so had a vibrant feel to the city.  The symbol of the university is the twin arch way.  The legend goes that any first year student who walks through the arches will not graduate from the university.  The campus is large but beautifully kept with gardens and interesting designs to their buildings.  Although the arches is the official symbol of UGA the bulldog is the unofficial symbol.  Their sports teams are called the Georgia Bulldogs so the city is bulldog mad. Having a slight interest in sports we headed down to the Sanford Stadium where the Georgia Bulldogs football team play.  They even spell 'Dogs' the way they say it with a Southern drawl.  Our hotel was called the Georgia Gameday Center and was set up to cater for people going to UGA sports matches - so our apartment was also full of bulldogs!

Sanford Stadium

Georgia Dawgs!!

Lampstand in my room

 
 

With the Cannon

During the Civil War someone in Athens developed a double barrelled cannon.  The theory was that it would fire two cannonballs, joined together by a chain, at the same time and so cause twice the damage.  Sadly, on the first trial firing, the two fuses used to fire the two balls burned at different speeds and so one was fired before the other, broke the chain that led them together and they went off in different directions.  The only damage inflicted was on one field of corn and one cow killed.  It was never fired again, although it does still point North - just in case!

Plaque marking the tree

The tree that owns itself

  The final point of interest is The tree that owns itself.  The story goes that William Jackson was so fond of this particular oak tree that, in his will, he left the tree and surrounding land to the tree - thus preserving it's future.  Although it was protected from humans removing it, the will could not prevent the tree from natural degradation.  In 1942 the original tree came down.  However, another tree was grown in the same spot - supposedly from an acorn of that first tree.

The Fletcher Grand Tour of Georgia - Stage 6: Macon

St Joseph's Cathedral

  After all our travelling over the last week or so we were all ready for a bit of a quieter time.  Macon was another place chosen as a good stop off point to break up the journey a bit.  We arrived on Thursday and, after settling in for a bit decided to go for a short drive around the downtown area.  Not learning from my previous experience in Savannah, I once again believed I had no need for the GPS.  However, this time I did go to the effort of writing down the route to take.  In reading about Macon I discovered that they had an historic district and so planned my route around that.  Unfortunately, what looked like a main road on Google Maps actually turned out to be a little lane with some very run down houses on either side - not exactly the picturesque trip I had planned.  Thankfully (with a bit of help from the GPS) we managed to find the nicer part of downtown and did have a nice drive around.

 

View from monument

Monument to mothers

We had a quiet morning in our apartment on Friday morning before heading in to Macon once more - this time to walk around the downtown area (not including those run down places we had driven through the day before).  On a mission to find the post office we went up one of the main streets which took us past a monument to all mothers in Macon, the city hall and St Joseph's Cathedral.  The post office was then opposite the Washington Park which had a lovely stream winding it's way around.

City Hall

Washington Park

Cannonball House

The Hay House

On our way back down to the town centre we went via the Hay House which was built in the mid 19th Century but was occupied by the Hay family during the early 20th Century.  The house supposedly contains many artefacts and works of art from this period, but was unfortunately closed when we were there.  We then continued past Cannonball House - a house named due to the damage conceded during the Civil War.  Apparently the cannonball bounced around the rooms in the house.  The walking tour around Macon ended with the Methodist Church and Confederate war memorial.  After this relaxing time in Macon we were ready to move on towards Athens.

Methodist Church

Confederate Memorial