Finally, the weather turned, the kids were staying with friends and Phyllis, Beast and I were off for a new adventure and an exploratory trip for our vacation with the kids this summer! We headed out Friday afternoon for Clayton, Georgia. We found an amazing little hotel for a great price, America’s Best Value, which was also pet friendly! After unloading and getting a good night’s sleep, we woke up early and headed for a place I have been working on getting to for about 3 years, Tallulah Gorge State Park and Falls! We are staying in North Carolina this summer and want to come back here, but I’ve wanted to make this trip several times before and gotten side tracked by other events. We made it this time.
We made it to the Park at about 10:30 and there weren’t very many people. We knew we weren’t hiking the 600 or so stairs to the bottom of the canyon because Beast isn’t allowed, but we hit the rim trails for a good 3-mile hike all the way from one end of the canyon to the other! The views of the falls were incredible and it got warmer and warmer through the morning! Beast had a blast, but wanted to run and play so bad he nearly pulled our arms off! He got his chance later in the day!
We went to the end of the trail and then backtracked all the way around the gorge. It is as beautiful as I expected it to be, but those steps are calling! We will be doing those this summer when we come back! We checked out the film in the visitor center and then headed out for some more fun! We did some exploring of the lake and day use area hopefully for a canoe trip in the future, then we went in search of some lunch! There is so much to this park and I know the kids are going to love it. The only drawback was that by the time we left, the parking lot was packed. We don’t generally like crowds, but it is so big you really don’t notice! Can’t wait for vacation time!
After our visits to Tallulah Gorge and Toccoa Falls, Beast needed to run and we needed a little rest. We found a great open field and let Beast run for it! My beautiful wife doesn’t get to spend nearly as much time with Beast as I do, but it was so amazing watching them get to play! Phyllis threw his favorite donut toy and he would run like the wind. He still hasn’t quite gotten the idea of giving it back, but you can trick him to give it up!
In the last year, Phyllis and I haven’t been able to get away alone much like we did before! This weekend was amazing and having Beast along with just the 2 of us allowed Phyllis and Beast to do some bonding too! I love Phyllis so much and I love all of our family time together, but when it is all of us, I can’t concentrate on her as much! Watching Beast run and play with her was pure joy! I am so amazingly lucky to have such an incredible woman as my wife!
After a good play time, we loaded back up for some more exploration. We headed to Otto, NC to check out where we are staying this summer!
After Tallulah Gorge, we found little hidden diner that had amazing fresh food! The ribs and the shrimp were great and we were able to eat on the porch so Beast could join us. He enjoyed his meal and a good walk afterwards, then we were off to Toccoa Falls!
Despite the beauty and grandeur of Tallulah Gorge and its water falls, Toccoa Falls is a more peaceful and in some ways more beautiful! The setup is amazing as you go through the Toccoa Falls College Gift Shop, which iscompletely dog friendly, you go out the back and up a nice short trail to this fall! It is so majestic and peaceful at the fall that you almost get lost in it. Beast, of course, preferred to get in the water! He had a blast while we enjoy the beauty! He was still dying to run free and my arms were just about worn out! We had a plan!
Beast had his boy surgery a couple of weeks ago and has been cooped up. Add the snow and cold on top of that and we all needed this weekend. But Beast needed to run, which he had been unable to do since the surgery. We found a nice field on Toccoa Falls Campus and let Beast be Beast! That story later!
