I apologize now for the length of this post – it’s a long one. We crammed so much into this last week that I’m surprised we managed to survive. The experiences we had were also just so amazing that I didn’t want to leave out any part of it so read on at your own risk. Maybe take a minute to grab snack. Go to the bathroom. Unless you like to read blog posts on the toilet – if so, read on. No judgement.
Our life in our tiny house is surprisingly normal. We cook meals, we sleep in our own bed each night surrounded by our animals, I grocery shop and do laundry and housework (though not as often as I should), John works his regular Monday through Friday job…we just do these things in a different city every few weeks. No big deal. One thing that is definitely different for us, though, is how we spend our holidays. When we lived in Ohio we were near friends and family and would usually have several places that we had to be for each holiday and would spend special occasions rushing from one place to the next. Easter 2023 found us in Cumming, Georgia with no family to visit yet we still spent the day driving (and hiking) all over Creation.
John, Harley and I piled into the car and drove about an hour north of our campground for a day full of adventure. Our first stop for the day was Duke’s Creek Recreation Area located in the Chattahoochee National Forest. We had heard that this was the location of an amazing waterfall (ranked one of the best waterfalls in Georgia) and that the hike was a relatively easy one – about 2 miles to the base of the falls and back on a trail classified as “Moderate”. It was a cheap $5 for a day pass and there was a ton of parking for visitors right at the trailhead about halfway up the mountain. The bathroom facility was primitive but clean and the trail was well maintained and, having multiple switch-backs across the side of the mountain, wasn’t too steep. Even without heading down the trail there were INCREDIBLE views of the surrounding mountains and valleys from an observation area just off the parking lot.
After a quick bathroom break for all three of us, we were off down the beautifully wooded trail. The first part of the trail is very gradual and is actually paved. After .1 miles, the paved path ends at a nice observation deck from which you can glimpse the top of the falls off through the trees. It was so pretty and peaceful- but we were there for the whole experience so we continued on down the remaining mile of dirt trail which grew steeper the further down you went.
Just as we were walking down the steepest part of the trail and I was beginning to have serious doubts about the return trip, we turned a corner and THERE IT WAS. We had heard the steadily increasing volume of the rushing water but still were completely blown away by the sight in front of us. The falls were absolutely stunning. We had seen the top of the falls from the observation deck earlier in the hike but I guess we didn’t grasp how tall this magnificent waterfall actually was. The waterfall was actually made up of several smaller cascades-some coming down from straight above and another coming in from the side. We were also really surprised to find a series of decks that had been built and connected by stairs so that the falls could be viewed from several different vantage points.
We spent quite a while admiring the falls, taking photos and flying the drone and finally, when we had caught our breath, we reluctantly turned back and headed up the trail. My only complaint is that I would much rather start the trek going uphill and then have the downhill portion for the return trip but I guess Mother Nature does what she wants. It was worth it even if we were huffing and puffing by the time we made it back to the car.
We drove on up to the top of the mountain and checked out a few of the lookout points before driving on to our next stop. Up until this point, John and I have joked that we will have to divorce once our travels are done and we are ready to settle down again because he loves the forest and I love the water. I think this experience may have provided us with a solution, though. As it turns out, we both love mountains. Standing on the top and looking off into the distance, all we could say was “holy shit” and “oh my god” over and over again. We seriously didn’t have the mental capacity to express how in awe we were. I won’t try to describe it here, either – I’ll let you see it for yourself.
Once we regained our senses from the gorgeous views, we decided to head for another waterfall that we had read about – Taccoa Falls- which were located on a college campus nearby. Our drive there took us through the cutest little town called Helen which is a small German town located in northern Georgia. Driving through the town brought back memories of visiting some of the Amish towns in Ohio that my great aunt and uncle had taken me to as a kid. We were feeling a bit peckish so we stopped off at a German restaurant for a giant pretzel and a sausage with sauerkraut and had a little picnic in the car before continuing the drive to Taccoa.
The college campus that was built around the waterfall was super cute and very quiet (probably partly because it was Easter Sunday) but we were too late – the falls access had been closed off for the day. We were about to turn back for home when we actually took notice of the name Taccoa. Was this Taccoa the same as the Taccoa mentioned in the first episode of our favorite mini-series, “Band of Brothers”? It was!
We drove a short distance and, for our final stop of the day, found ourselves at the gates of Camp Taccoa at Currahee- the camp used for paratrooper training for WWII. The camp is no longer in use as a military training facility but does operate as a museum and has a limited schedule for tours. By this time it was around 6pm on Easter Sunday so, of course, the camp was closed. Luckily, we were able to get a few photos through the fence (special thanks to John for laying in the dirt to snap some photos under the gate for me) and we had just enough battery on the drone for a few aerial shots. We were able to visit the memorial across the street, however, and it was so cool to be standing in this spot. If you haven’t watched “Band of Brothers” yet, we highly recommend it. Or read the book. Or go online and watch some interviews with Dick Winters. LEARN ABOUT THIS PART OF HISTORY!!!!
As we mentioned in earlier posts, we love visiting zoos. We were visiting Atlanta during Spring Break week and everything was super busy so John took a day off and we visited Zoo Atlanta on a Tuesday thinking it wouldn’t be as busy. We were wrong. It was pretty packed but we still had a nice time. While the zoo didn’t have as big of a variety as other zoos we have visited, all of the exhibits were very generously sized and well laid out. The animals all seemed incredibly well cared for and there were tons of enrichment items in several of the habitats. We got to see elephants, rhinos, gorillas, a TON of birds and more. The reptile exhibit was incredibly well done and seemed like a combination botanical garden and animal habitat all in one. AND THEY HAD PANDAS!!!!
One of my favorite things, however, was the beautiful white peacock. I don’t know if any of you have ever heard a peacock vocalize but it is not a sound that you would expect to come from such an elegant animal- it sounds like the gates of hell are opening and releasing the shrieks of a thousand angry demons into the world. And this peacock was just sitting in the exhibit, in all its regal glory, screaming its head off. While it was completely unbothered by the cries of the children that were becoming permanently scarred by its terrifying serenade, I am ashamed to admit that I found it a little funny. Just a little.
All week we had been planning to squeeze in a visit to one more waterfall but the weather turned rainy and we were afraid we weren’t going to make it. I was really bummed because I was really looking forward to this one so John decided to take a half day on Friday so we could drive out there (about 45 minutes away). We loaded Harley in the car and headed over to Amicalola Falls in Dawsonville, hoping that the weather would cooperate.
We did hit a little rain during the drive and, as we entered the park and pulled in near the trailhead, it had turned to a light sprinkle. We decided to risk it as the trail was short and we had a waterproof cover for the bag with the camera equipment. It was a good gamble! About half way down the trail the rain stopped and the sun peeked out and it stayed nice for the rest of our visit.
The first trail was only .3 miles and is actually ADA accessible. It is a little steep in places but was paved with material made from recycled tires so it was very easy to walk on and led right to a bridge across the middle of the falls. The view was incredible! You could look up and see the falls come tumbling off the cliff face above. If you looked down from the bridge, you could see the water rush by and end in the smaller cascades below.
We stood on the bridge for a long time, just enjoying the views. We took some photos and video but things were getting crowded since the rain had stopped and we decided to move on to another viewing spot. We had the option of walking down 175 stairs to an observation deck on the lower falls or walking up over 400 stairs to the bridge over the water at the top of the cliff. Or we could hike back to the car and drive instead. Because my knees can barely handle the stairs in our tiny house, I opted for the car. John did make the climb down the 175 stairs to the lower falls and then back up again. He decided he was not interested in taking the 400+ up to the very top so, with the mist on our faces and the sound of the falls roaring in our ears, we started the short hike back to the car.
We drove to the top of the falls to the observation bridge there and got some beautiful photos of the water tumbling off the side of the cliff with the mountains and valleys in the background then drove down to the foot of the hill and hiked a trail there up towards the lower falls. Unfortunately, the trail was very steep and we were very tired so we turned back before we made it all the way to the falls but it was still a beautiful walk along the creek through the woods. The lower trail also had a man-made reflecting pond stocked with fish and we took some time to sit and admire it as well before heading home for the evening.
For our last day in Atlanta, we were finally doing the thing that brought us here in the first place- the Georgia Aquarium! When we set out from Ohio back in October, we had two things that we were dead set on doing. The first thing was spending time in New Orleans and we had done that already. The second thing was to swim with the whale sharks at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. I had logged on to the website in January to book the swim and was devastated to find that it was entirely booked for our visit. I kept checking back but nothing was available. Finally, about a month before our trip, John randomly decided to log on and found two openings for the very last day of our trip! We had started our trip to Atlanta a little stressed because we had changed our move days to Sunday but that change allowed us to be able to have this experience. It’s funny how these things work out.
We arrived at the aquarium around 1:20 (thanks to being stuck in Atlanta traffic for 45 minutes) and our swim was scheduled for 4:30 with a check-in time of 4:00. We had just over 2 and a half hours to see the exhibits. I was a little stressed but we were determined to do as much as we could. We had missed our reserved time for the dolphin show due to the late arrival but we did make it to the sea lion show and really enjoyed the performance. We managed to visit all of the exhibits, even if we were a little bit rushed.
The building is broken up into small loops off of the main hall/lobby area. One section had sharks, one was focused on rivers and had fish you would expect to see in the local waterways, while another had animals from cold-water climates (otters, penguins, puffins, etc).
Of course, we were excited to see the whale shark exhibit because that’s where we would be swimming in just a few hours! We expected to see the whale sharks (obviouslly) but were completely unprepared for the giant manta rays, enormous sea turtle, and other smaller shark species all swimming around in the giant tank as well. By the time we headed to check-in for our swim, we were both so excited we could hardly sit still.
Our experience began with a walk behind the scenes and the opportunity to take photos of the tank we would be swimming in from above. We knew how big the tank was (obviously it was big enough to house TWO whale sharks plus tons of other creatures) but seeing it from the top like that really impressed us.
After a brief safety video and talk from our guide, we were ushered to the locker rooms to change into our wetsuits and get ready for the swim. We were on the swim with 6 other guests and they had prepared lockers for each of us. We were provided with wetsuits, swim boots, gloves, masks and life vests and staff helped us to get everything on and adjusted. We were already super impressed with the program but then something truly unexpected happened. They had prescription goggles for the members of our group that wore glasses. John had expected to jump in the water and swim around not being able to see anything too clearly. His face absolutely lit up when he tried on the goggles and I think we were both about to cry when he whispered, “I can see perfectly”.
We had a little bit of drama caused by me, of course, when we got into the water. As we slid off the dock, the strap on my flotation vest that went between my legs got caught and broke meaning that it wasn’t fulling supporting me when I hit the water. I plummeted under the water and started choking as water rushed into my snorkel. Thanks to the straps under my arms, I was quickly pulled back to the surface but instead of fitting against my chest, the life vest was up around my neck choking me. The staff members quickly noticed something was wrong and held me up as we took off my broken vest and replaced it with a new one, all while I was hanging from the dock in this enormous tank. I also didn’t expect there to be a current in the tank but, with the flow from all the filtration equipment, I felt my legs being pulled under the dock while I struggled to hold on to the side. I was definitely struggling and starting to panic but John was right there holding on to me the whole time and I was surrounded by staff. Soon, they had the new vest on me and we were ready to kick off and start our swim.
It was an absolutely magical experience. The life vests and snorkels allowed us to float facedown in the water with our feet kicked out behind us. As we floated there, all kinds of animals would just swim leisurely underneath us. They are so used to divers and swimmers in the water that our presence didn’t even faze them and they just went about their business. We had been told when we got in the water not to try to touch any of the animals but that wasn’t really a problem – the animals often touched us! One of the whale sharks swam up under us so closely at one point that it’s fin hit me in the hip and hit John in a not-so-pleasant place, too. I guess that’s one experience that not a lot of people get to have.
Staff members led us on a “figure 8” of the tank, across the underwater viewing tunnel and past the large viewing window we had first seen the whale sharks through just a few hours before hand and we made sure to wave to everyone looking through the window. The swim somehow seemed to take forever but also went too quickly at the same time. Thanks to a diver with an underwater camera, we were able to purchase a video of our swim at the end and honestly the $55 for the footage was well worth it. We were also given a photo of us in our wetsuits (so sexy, I will sell you a copy if you’re interested wink wink) and a t-shirt to commemorate the experience. Honestly, I think this experience will stick with me for a LONG time to come.
We were so exhausted (and a little bit seasick from all the bobbing around in the giant tank) by the time that we left that we picked up fast food on the way home, almost fell asleep while eating dinner, and finally climbed into bed to sleep like the dead for out last night in Georgia.
Our animals are also a HUGE part of our lives and this week we celebrated Harley’s 6th Gotcha Day – the 6th anniversary of the day we brought her home from the Franklin County Dog Shelter to join our family. She got a new stuffed toy and had McDonald’s for lunch and, of course, we did a ton of snuggling, which is her favorite activity. Happy Gotcha Day, Harley Quinn!
