A Story About Life and Living It

Our first stop in Georgia was Brasstown Bald, the state's highest point. I was a bit disappointed because it was the only state highpoint that we had to pay to visit. Oh well.

There are a museum and observation tower on top of the mountain, complete with exhibits about the history and preservation of the area.


The exhibits include an old train used for transporting lumber on the mountain.



There were some good views from the top of the building,



including views of the surrounding hills.


The USGS marker, for some reason, was hidden behind a locked door in a stairwell.


Good thing we stopped to ask the ranger where it was or we would have never found it.


Here's the view of the tower from the parking lot.


We drove through a few interesting town on our way down to Atlanta. The first was Helen, a town of 420 people that was formerly a dying logging town. In 1969 the city issued a zoning ordinance stating that all buildings needed to be refaced to resemble buildings in the Bavarian Alps. Thus, in theory at least, the whole town looks like it was transplanted out of Germany. The town now makes its living as a tourist destination.


We stopped for a rather tasty, possibly German pastry.


Our next stop was Dahlonega, a town made famous by the first major gold rush in US history in 1828. Subsequently, a mint was established in the city. After the closure of the mint, Dahlonega, like Helen, became a tourist town with chic shops, though it also doubles as a small college town.

We thought this bench was pretty funny. It's right next to some pretty womanly shops and has "Husband Bench" written on it. Clearly I wasn't the only one to take advantage of its prime position. Actually, Lani didn't go into those stores, so this is a totally posed picture.


This is the old mint that is now an administration building for North Georgia College and State University. The gold leaf on the spire was mined in the town.


We spent Friday night with my friends Stephen and Conner in Atlanta. Due to some gigantic oversight we didn't take a single picture with them or at their apartment. I'm not quite sure how that happened. It was great to see them again as it had been quite a while. We went out for tacos and spent some time on the rooftop patio of their apartment building, which features a beautiful view of downtown, reminiscing and catching up.

On Saturday morning we went with Stephen to Stone Mountain, where there is a huge relief sculpture of three famous Confederate leaders carved into the side of the mountain: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E Lee, and Jefferson Davis. The picture doesn't really do it justice because you have to pay to go stand right in front of it and get a good shot. It's hard to tell how big it is, but the whole relief is actually larger than 2 whole football fields in area.


Afterwards we went to the Martin Luther King, Jr historic sites. Don't let the lack of pictures make you think that this wasn't a highlight. The museum is exceptionally well done. It has separate displays featuring pictures and quotes etched in glass for each period of his life, all centered around a tribute display to those who fought for civil rights. The Ebenezer Baptist Church across the street is preserved just like it was when Dr. King used to preach there. Dr. and Mrs. King are buried right next to the church, in beautiful above-ground marble tombs in a reflecting pool. We weren't able to go into the house he grew up in because all of the tours for the day were full, but I did get a photo of Lani in front of it. Walking through both the museum and the  buildings gave both of us feelings of gratitude for his life, mission and service to all people. The museum talked not only about his civil rights work, but also how near the end of his life he championed the plight of the poor.




After our stop there we had lunch with my friends and headed off. We enjoyed our visit to Georgia, especially Atlanta. We highly recommend the Martin Luther King, Jr National Historic Site in Atlanta as a must-see when your in the area. Even better was a chance to visit with friends. It was really great to see Stephen and Conner again. It's amazing how easy it is to connect with old friends even after years have passed.