October 20, 2008 - The drive from Smokemont to Hiawassee was beautiful, though there were many ups and downs through the mountains. Everyone got parked in time for a carpool trip to Misty Mountain Railroad near Blairsville. Mr. Charles Griffin was ready for us. His layout exhibits model trains, but the most impressive thing is the scenery he has built into the display. Occupying a room roughly 55' x 70', (larger than most houses) the layout includes almost all notable features of north Georgia. There's all the important buildings in Atlanta. There's Kennesaw Mountain, Stone Mountain, Tallulah Gorge, Brasstown Bald, the Biltmore House, Georgia Mountain Fair, Helen, Blairsville, Dahlonega, and Blue Ridge. There's literally thousands of small buildings, cars, airplanes, trucks, and people, plus mountains, roads, bridges, tunnels, and tressles. There were twelve trains running around too - an incredible display.
After a short visit to Alexanders Store, we ate dinner at Crossroads Restaurant and arrived back at the campground about 8:00pm.
October 21, 2008 - On this day we carpooled up to Brasstown Bald. As the highest point in Georgia, this mountain top is almost 4800 feet in elevation. The weather was cool but clear, and the views from the mountain top were outstanding. We watched a 10 minute movie about the year around climate at Brasstown, then were greeted with a welcome by Ranger George Raven. Then, after a few minutes in the museum everyone gathered at a group of picnic tables in the far corner of the parking lot for sandwiches and snacks.
Then we carpooled to Helton Creek Falls. That's always an adventure - at least the mile and a half in that's unpaved. We hiked down to the base of these beautiful falls which display nature at its best. About half of the caravaners ventured out on the rocks below the falls, posing for pictures and playing with those amazing falls as a backdrop.
The Bergs, the Strongs, and the Palmers went out to dinner at the Chinese Sushi Bar restaurant. The helpings were huge and good.
October 22, 2008 - On this the last day of our caravan, we did two things together. The first was a visit to Goldhagen’s Glassblowing Studio near Hayesville, North Carolina. The second was our final banquet at Young Harris College in Young Harris, Georgia.
David Goldhagen is a world class glass blower. Operating out of his studio on Lake Chatuge near Hayesville, he put on a demonstration of glass blowing that impressed everyone. One large oven operating at 2100 degrees contains molten glass. Another oven at the same temperature is used to keep the glass being worked hot. His skill at creating pleasing shapes and colors is unique. Each piece is a work of art, offered for sale in high-end shops all over the world. Sitting in a small balcony overlooking his studio-workplace and in chairs on the floor with him, we watched him twirl and mold the hot glass into something beautiful, and we marveled at how something this special could happen in the rural mountains of Southern Appalachia.
That evening we gathered for our final banquet on the campus of Young Harris College. This Methodist sponsored school has been here for over a hundred years. Begun as an effort to give the children of the mountain people an opportunity to learn, it has grown into a two-year college with plans to soon expand to a four-year college.
Our banquet was catered buffet style by the school’s cafeteria in the President’s Room at the college. It was both an enjoyable, but somewhat sad time as it meant the end of the caravan and saying good-bye to our new Airstream friends. The thought heard most often though was the encouraging words, “See You Down The Road,” expressing the hope of sharing time together again on another caravan.
