BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS
MARCH 2012
Our Allante’ adventure for March was a bit of a departure from our caravan cruises. We met for a hearty breakfast Saturday morning and headed north to Blue Ridge, Ga. In Blue Ridge we boarded the Southern Railway train for a scenic ride to McCaysville, GA/ Copper Hill, TN. Although, we started out with rain, the sunshine appeared about mid morning and we had a wonderful weather day for the remainder of the trip. The railway route follows along the Toccoa River. The scenery is very interesting and the shore is lined with some very “ritzy” homes.
The Southern Railway and this route have an amazing history. Each train car has a plaque telling its history. You can also purchase a book that tells the story and the Conductor in his full uniform will autograph it. Each car also has its own host/hostess who kept us entertained with tidbits of history and funny stories.
The ride to McCaysville/Copper Hill takes about an hour. We had about 2 hours for lunch, site seeing and browsing in a few shops. We chose Georgia Boy BBQ for lunch and it was fabulous!! There is an amazing store that offers many items of jewelry, art, Christmas ornaments, etc. from around the world. It definitely merits a visit in a larger vehicle. At 2:00 the train whistle sounds and we had 10 minutes to board for the ride back to Blue Ridge.
Some of us spent some of the ride back in the open air car and it was delightful with a nice breeze and lots of opportunities for picture taking. The train slows so passengers can get photos of the big fish trap in the river and a very narrow iron bridge.
The town of Blue Ridge has a lot of shops, galleries, and restaurants. We enjoyed an ice cream cone while rocking on the front porch in big old fashioned rocking chairs before heading home. It was an interesting day and I think many of us will take this ride again to check out the views in different seasons. Another unique fun experience for our Allante’ memories treasure chest.
Remember to mark your calendars for the April trip to Helen,GA. It is a beautiful mountain town in North Georgia that will make you think you are in the Swiss Alps.
All Aboard! See you next time.
Paula Vopelak - Vice President