It took tons of research, convincing and finger-crossing to get my parents to take me on the vacation I'd always wanted: a roadtrip to some mountains and waterfalls. Regular visits to the beach and vacationing in the Caribbean and Mexico summer after summer became boring. I wanted to see things from a different prespective, a view that the ocean couldn't offer. Although my mom and dad were hesitant at first, they agreed to give the beach a break and the mountains a shot — and found it well worth it.
During our trip to north Georgia we stayed at a Resort we found online, The Ridges Resort and Marina. It is the most welcoming place I have ever stayed at with a beautiful lake, mountain views, and S'mores making opportunites. It offered a great wilderness theme that was a new experience for my family. For dinnfer we ate at a McDonald's a couple of minutes away where the boy taking our orders seemed very happy to see tourists in the small town and offered us free sodas and recommened place to visit, one of which was the Anna Ruby Falls. We decided we'd take a look the next day.
When we arrived at Anna Ruby Falls National Park we were welcomed by a baby snake right outside of the visitors center and some light rain that was very much appreciated as we were going up the .4 mile trail to see the falls. After we'd completed the steep trail we reached a viewing point from where we coulld take in the beauty of it all – water from the falls was even hitting us! Luckily, we had our waterproof camera handy.
On our way back to the resort, we passed a place with a sign out front that read "Goats on The Roof". I looked up at the roof and there were the goats: some laying, others standing and a few walking around. I told my parents, who understandably didn't believe me at first. We drove back either way, and after laughing for a fair amount of time and taking plenty of pictures, we headed inside the shop where we bought food that you could feed to the goats using a contraption that involved spinning a handle that sent up food to the goats. As soon as the food had arrived at the top, a bell would ring and the goats would come running to have some. After some more laughter, we enjoyed ice cream from the shop and left.
The next day we visited the highest natural point in Georgia: Brasstown Bald. We faced a long hike up, about 1.2 miles, before we reached the summit. We couldn't see much from the viewing area because of all the clouds (you can see 4 states from it on a cloudless day), but I liked it that way. I felt like I was in the sky! That magnificent view was unlike any other I had ever seen. We watched an educational film inside the information center about the area, took a photo with Smokey the bear, and we were on our way.
That trip to north Georgia was even more amazing than I thought I was hoping. I learned that there really is no need to leave the states to explore. After all, I only had to go a couple of hundred miles for my dream vacation.
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