Since we live in Central Alabama, the distance wasn't much different. Blue Ridge is about an hour closer but with less interstate driving. I studied the different routes and decided to go through Cleveland, and therefore Ocoee, Tennessee. It was a good choice because we stopped at the whitewater launching area and watched the rafters take off on the rough water. I think I'll add whitewater rafting to my bucket list. It looked like a lot of fun. We were pressed for time so decided to push ahead to McCaysville and south to Blue Ridge.
Our base camp was a cabin, on a hilltop, just a a few minutes north of the city. The VRBO listing is 188378 so you can check it out. It was one of the nicest decorated cabins that we've stayed at. It has a neat outside fireplace on the deck and sleeps ten. The view was badly obscured by leaves since it was August. We unpacked the cars and settled in for an evenings rest before our first day downtown.
Sunday morning, we decided to take the short hike to Long Creek Falls. It is a popular thirty minute hike to see two falls which total about fifty feet. It was a bit of a disappointment, but nevertheless a good outing. I found my first annoyance with the Blue Ridge area though. Signs and good directions are sadly lacking. We took two of the driving tours and almost everything on the map was unmarked, difficult to find, and no pull-off parking if you did manage to stumble upon it. The historical society along with the county and state need to get busy.
That trip also led me to my second disappointment, closed businesses. At lunch, it was somewhat of a challenge to find restaurants open, along with several of the attractive stores. We found a local Bar-B-Q that was open and enjoyed the outside seating. Odd business hours seemed to be the norm here. Monday, we came back to town only to find the same problem. So, if you plan on shopping, Friday and Saturday are your best bets, other days may be iffy.
Sunday afternoon, we drove over to McCaysville and tubed the Toccoa River with Rolling Thunder River Company. My wife and I had pink inner tubes with a back rest, which was pretty nice. It was a nice hour and a half trip down the lazy river with just a few rapids. We enjoyed that so much we went back again Monday afternoon and tried their competitors Toccoa River Adventures. No back rest with their big yellow tubes but it was fun.
Tuesday morning, anxious for another hiking adventure, we took off for Amicalola Falls State Park. This is Georgia's most visited park and the 729' water falls is the tallest in the Southeast. It was pretty but due to the trees and the continuous climb, it's difficult to see the entire water cascade. The park was crowded, mostly with Atlanta folks.
Disappointed with downtown Blue Ridge, on Tuesday afternoon, we drove over to Ellijay, Georgia, and did a little antiquing. The prices were average with several nice stores. We didn't find any closed or with odd hours. We ate at a nice little sidewalk cafe.
Now, the quick summary of my city vs. city.
Blue Ridge views - Severely lacking. Very few mountain vistas. The ones you do see are not as high as around Gatlinburg.
Blue Ridge Historical Sites - Very few and hard to find. Gatlinburg excels in this area.
Blue Ridge Shopping - Okay, but I wasn't impressed. The odd store hours was a big turnoff, along with public restrooms. They were almost nonexistent. Again, Gatlinburg wins this one hands down.
Pet Friendliness - Finally, Blue Ridge wins one. Almost every store we went in has water bowls and treats for your pet. I don't think I've ever seen that in Gatlinburg.
Trying not to let my own opinion influence the others, I took an informal survey after we arrived back home. It was 100% for another Gatlinburg trip. Blue Ridge was a nice change of pace, it just hasn't quite arrived yet.
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