Fall Break in North Georgia

Our Fall Break didn't go exactly as we planned this year.  Originally, our family was going to go on a cruise that left from New York City and went north to Maine and Canada.  Then as the pandemic hit, all cruises were cancelled.  We had planned to go to Hawaii in May earlier this year, right when school got out, but we postponed it to Fall Break.  Well, Hawaii is currently still closed to mainlanders, so we have cancelled it too.  We decided to go with an easy plan that we knew wouldn't fall through - a cabin up in North Georgia.  We visit here just about every fall, so we knew this would be a wonderful time to go.  We decided to add a little extra in though.  We rented a larger cabin and let the girls bring friends with them.  We started with one friend each, but then we saw one of the rooms was actually a bunk bed room.  We decided since Lily's birthday falls over the break, we'd let her bring three friends, so they could stay there.  The weather was absolutely perfect while we were there, and we all ended up having a great trip. We went up late Wednesday afternoon and came back on Saturday morning.  So, even though it wasn't our original plan, it worked out really well, and I'm so thankful we had the opportunity to get away.

The cabin itself was pretty nice.  Lily and her three friends (Avery, Emma, and Hannah) all stayed in the downstairs bunk room, while Mia and her friend (Frances) took the two rooms on the main floor.  Ryan and I had the master which was built up in the loft.

The downstairs had a full entertainment area too, with a foosball table, big screen tv, and several couches.  Lily and Mia set up the bar area with everyone's favorite drinks and candies.

These are the mugs Lily bought for herself and her friends.  They cracked me up!

These girls are awesome.  From left, Frances, Hannah, Emma, Lily, Avery, and Mia.

We celebrated Decker's birthday while there too.

Tetherball was a big hit from everyone!  Foosball is always fun too.

Lily and her friends enjoyed the hot tub as well.

Ryan, Decker, and I liked the calm that came with just sitting on the deck and enjoying the view.

We decided to drive to nearby Ellijay for lunch one day, and then we walked around this cute little town a bit.  It was a nice place to visit.

We also stopped at Mercier Orchards to pick up some cider donuts, fudge, and fried pies.

We made mountain pies for dinner one evening, just like the Keesee family taught us.  A couple of us had grilled cheese while most made pizza pies.  We used the beautiful big firepit at the cabin.  It was delicious and fun!

We decided do the 20 inch multicolor sparklers that evening too, once it got dark enough.  These are always so cool to play with!

The next day we decided to go for a hike at Falls Branch Falls.  We've gone here several times and knew it would be a good one for us.  Beautiful and challenging but not too crazy of a hike.

I sure do love my family.

We went in to Blue Ridge for dinner that evening.  As we walked to and from our car, I spied this little planter, and I thought it was so cute.  Love it!

Once it got nice and dark, we made s'mores over the firepit too.  I forgot how much I love s'mores until I make them.  They are so good!  Once we were all finished with those, we had fun with the packs that make the fire change color.  We all enjoyed just sitting around the fire talking and watching the colorful flames dance around.  Ryan and I stayed out even after the girls went back in because it was enjoyable.

We drove back on Saturday morning and dropped Frances off at her house.  The rest of us continued on into Midtown to visit The Sugar Factory for lunch.  We let Lily and her friends sit at their own table.  The other three had never been here before, so they were in for quite the surprise and treat!

Ryan, Mia, and I sat together and loved watching Mia's cool drink come out and be poured.  These are so neat.  We ordered our food, and then a manager brought over their weekend brunch special of rainbow pancakes.  He said they were free and asked simply if he could have a picture of Ryan and Mia with them for social media purposes.  We gladly said yes to that, and then we thoroughly enjoyed the pancakes!

Again, not the break we imagined, but tons of fun nonetheless.  Being with family and friends is always a win!