2023 July 18-21, Trip to The Alpine Village of Helen, Georgia (4 days)

 Day 1: Tuesday, July 18:

We left home at about 6 A.M., stopping at Jack's in Athens for biscuits and gravy. 

We continued through Huntsville, taking Hwy 72 toward Scottsboro, then turning onto Hwy 35, passing through Mentone, crossing the Tennessee River (Hwy 40), and heading to Hangar, Valley Head, and Mentone, before crossing into Georgia.

In Georgia, we traveled through Summerville and Rome, then onto the I-75 bypass of Atlanta. We went through Cartersville and Marietta, taking 400 north, bypassing Atlanta, and then heading to Dahlonega, Cleveland, and 75 to Helen.

We checked into the Castle Inn around 2:25 P.M. and carried all our luggage up two flights of stairs (there was no elevator).

We walked down the front of the hotel to the nearby Troll Tavern. The Tavern was along the Chattahoochee River, and a gate covered in locks weighed it down. A sign stated that no more locks were allowed and that all locks had to be removed, which made the gate unstable and unsafe. 

Troll Tavern with Gates full of locks 

While waiting for a table, we watched hundreds of people tubing down the Chattahoochee River on green, pink, and blue tubes.

We ordered a Reuben on toast with mashed potatoes and a Diet Coke. They were short-staffed because there were many empty tables, and people were waiting to be served.

Reuben on toast with mashed potatoes

We walked around the town, and some of the places we saw were The Wooden Toys, Assay Station, Welcome to Wildwood, Hansel & Gretel Candy Kitchen, Wilkommen, Helen Hat, Grimm's Weg, Sock Store, Christmas & More, Christoff's Seventy-six, Helendof Inn, Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf, Pepper Place, Dizzy Bear,  Cowboys and Angels, The Christmas Shop, just to name a few. 

Gone Squatchin in Helen 

It was a beautiful but very hot day, so we returned to the Castle Inn and rested until around 7 P.M. 

We left the Castle Inn and walked across the bridge, stopping for a picture at the Cafe International (head in the hole), the Mural of Helendof Inn. I continued walking past the Alpine Wedding Chapel in Fashall, where they were playing bingo. I saw the Pirates Cove Miniature Golf and Alpine Village Inn. 

I walked to Wendy's, where I had left Hubby, and he bought us a strawberry frosted drink and a Diet Coke. 

We returned to our car and rode to Cleveland, stopping at the White County Courthouse to take pictures. 

Day 2: Wednesday, July 19:

Early in the morning, I took my journal onto the balcony and began writing. I watched as the town slowly came alive. I could hear the birds chirping in the distance, feel the cool breeze, and the sky was full of clouds. The only people I saw were early-morning workers. 

We were at the Waffle House when it opened at 8 A.M. I ordered three pecan pancakes with whipped cream and Diet Pepsi. Hubby ordered two eggs, sausage, three pancakes with gravy, biscuits, and hash browns.

We rode to the visitor's center, where they gave us a map of Helen and suggested places to visit. 

She said Anna Ruby Falls, Sautee General Store, Hardman's Farm & Indian Mound, and the Covered Bridge. 

We walked through Veterans Park, taking pictures of the park behind the Visitors Center. 

We rode to Unite State Park to see Anna Ruby Falls, but before we began climbing uphill to the falls, it began to sprinkle, so Hubby returned to the car for the umbrella. 

During our climb uphill, we had to stop several times to rest. Stone benches were along the path. 

It was getting slippery with all the light rain, but we finally made it. Hubby stopped just short of the falls. Hubby talked to a couple while I walked to the top. 

Anna Ruby Falls 

I ask a red-headed girl to take a picture of me standing before the waterfalls.

We also met a family of teenagers walking up the hill, and they passed us when we came down. Several people were visiting Anna Ruby Falls. 

Our next stop was Babyland, the Cabbage Patch Doll Hospital. Baby cabbage patches were planted all around the hospital. When you walked inside, there were pictures of famous people on the walls. 

There were several different rooms with dolls and scenery, which were overwhelming.

Cabbage Patch Kids

Choosing which baby to adopt was hard, but I settled on Sandy Sue. 

Everyone crowded around to watch the birth & the storytelling of a baby boy Cabbage Patch Doll. 

Our next stop was the White County Courthouse Museum.

It had already closed the day before, so we rode back today. 

Several ladies were sitting around a table discussing their membership in the Historical Society of White County. 

One of them told us the history of the museum. 

We could hear music coming from upstairs. There was a man in the Old Courtroom playing a fiddle.

I saw a replica of the Covered Bridge and asked questions about it and its location.

Our next stop was the Hardman Farm State Park. We had to park on the hill and walk down several flights of stairs to the Visitor Center, so Hubby did not want to walk around the farm. 

Hardman Farm Historic Site, Sautee Nacoochee, Ga 

He bought me a ticket, and I took pictures of the building and historic markers.

I also met a couple of women taking pictures of markers for later reference. 

Hubby was in the car waiting for me at the bottom of the hill.

Next, we rode to Stovall Covered Bridge and Old Sautee General Store.

The Stovall Covered Bridge has been washed away three times. 

We stopped at Walgreens in Cleveland for shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and health bars. 

We stopped at Nora Granary Mill, where we purchased some stone-ground cornmeal. 

We ate dinner at Wendy's and then went back to the Castle Inn. (Hamburger and fries)

We watched the new Ghostbusters movie.

I walked outside to talk to my daughter and to write in my journal. 

It had been a full day. 

Day 3: Thursday, July 20:  

We rode to McDonald's in Cleveland, bought a muffin with sausage, and Hubby ordered a big breakfast. 

Today, we rode to North Georgia Wildlife and Safari Park in Cleveland, GA. We walked through the petting zoo and then drove through the Safari, where we saw buffalo, Elk, Deer, Emu, Ostrich, camels, Zebra, and several small animals. 

I was not too impressed.

Next, we rode to Brasstown Bald, Hiawassee, GA (the highest point in Georgia), and paid $8 to ride the shuttle van to the overlook and visitor center. 

It was too foggy to see very far, but we did enjoy the Visitor Center museum. 

Brasstown Bald Overlook and Visitor Center

In the museum, we saw several handmade quilts hanging on the walls.

We saw several different forest animals, a log with a saw, a train engine, and displays, among other things. 

Saw several barn Swallows and Gray Catbirds. 

We rode the shuttle bus back down the mountain. 

We stopped at Chick-fil-A in Cleveland for dinner. I ordered a kid's chicken-finger meal with waffle fries and ice cream. 

It was raining when we returned to the Castle Inn. 

I sat outside on the balcony, listening to the band in the restaurant across the street. 

It was a stormy night, and very few people were outside. 

Day 4: Friday, July 21:

Check out Castle Inn 

2016 Saturday, June 25, Helen Keller Festival Actives

The Helen Keller Festival honors a woman, Helen Keller, who not only overcame being blind and deaf but also became a great ambassador for America. 

Helen Keller was born to Arthur Keller and Catherine Adams Keller on June 27,1880, and died on June 1, 1968.

Helen learned to read and write with the help of Anne Sullivan, and she graduated from Radcliffe College with honors in 1904. Helen also wrote several books and was an advocate for several causes. Helen Adams Keller is buried in the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC. 

My first stop was the Car and Truck Show, held on Main Street in Tuscumbia and sponsored by the Shoals Car and Truck Club.

The streets were crowded with people walking around, looking at the vehicles on display. There were vehicles like the Scoobie Doo Volkswagen, to the newest Corvette.

I tried to find a place to park my van, which would be about midway through everything I wanted to do.

I walked down the street to Cold Water Book Store, where the Tuscumbia Walking Tour people were to meet.

I was a little early, so I walked inside to cool off, and there were several more people there. There were several vendors set up inside, so I went by each one and stopped to talk to them.

I talked to a man selling books on how to start a business. I said I was retired, had no interest in starting a business, and liked history. He said that some of my family would like to start a business. I said I have a family member who already owns a company. He laughed and said I guess you are not going to buy a book from me and I said Not unless it is about history. We both laughed. 

Next, I met a woman selling jewelry. She said that she lived in Atlanta but was originally from Tuscumbia, and she came every year for the Helen Keller Festival. 

I stopped at the following table where a man, his wife, and his son were sitting. He was selling a series of books about UFOs. He told me he made the bust statue of Werner von Braun at NASA and that he had worked for Disney.

There was a display of beautiful pictures depicting the early '50s & '60s, and whoever painted these pictures sure did a great job. The woman standing next to me said they were hers. 

She said growing up in the 50s was just like the Happy Days show.

It was getting close to the start of the walking tour, so I walked outside to wait for it to begin.

Three people shared information about how Tuscumbia got started and how it came to be called Tuscumbia. The Old Stage Coach Building was pointed out to us, and we were told that we could tour it on our own later. We walked up Main Street, stopping to listen to the women talk about the train depot where Anne Sullivan was picked up by one of the Kellers' carriages and taken to Ivy Green. A carriage owned by the Kellers is on display at the Tuscumbia Depot. 

We also listened to the women talk about the newspaper building where Mr. Keller worked. 

The streets were still very crowded as we made our way up. 

We stopped just outside the Abernathy House, and one of the women asked if the group could tour the house. 

We were invited inside, and some of the group walked upstairs while others toured the tunnel underneath the house. The tunnel was once used to bring food from the kitchen to the dining room, which was located downstairs.

Everyone walked outside and across the parking lot. Our next stop was in the blazing sun, so I looked for a shady spot while the women talked about the two nearby churches.

Finally, we arrived at the First Presbyterian Church, where we were invited to the Helen Keller Mini Concert. 

Dinie Stone played one song, Jesus Loves Me on the harpsichord.

Brian Beck played a couple of songs on the Organ.

Dinie Stone played a selection of  hymns and classics on the piano 

Dinie played songs about water, about communion, and when Dinie began to play America, everyone stood and joined in the singing. 

In the end, everyone was invited to stay for light refreshments. 

Once I knew only darkness and stillness...
My life was without past or future, but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped to the rapture of living. 

Helen Keller Mini-Concert

The letter was written by Helen Keller.

Everyone was given a copy of the letter Helen Keller wrote to Reverend WF Trump. 

I enjoyed two glasses of fresh lemonade and two cookies while I sat and talked with several women. 

It was around 12:30 P.M., and I still had to walk back to my car. 

I was going to the Keller Library to hear Keller Thompson talk about the life of her great-great-aunt, Helen Keller.

I arrived at the Keller Library, but the door was still locked. It was bout fifteen until one. Many other people were waiting. I walked back to my van and cranked it because it was too hot to stand outside. Right after I cranked the van, the door opened. So I got out of my van and walked inside.

I enjoyed listening to Mrs. Thompson's talk and slide show about Helen Keller. 

There were also light refreshments after the talk. I got a bottle of water and a cookie.

It had been a great morning, even though the heat index was over 100 degrees.

2015 ~ Saturday, April 25, Tuscumbia Oakwood Cemetery Confederate Soldiers Tuscumbia, Al

Today I went to the Civil War Walking Tour of Oakwood Cemetery, where I missed the speech about Colonial Deshler.
I was just in time for the reading about Colonial William Johnson, who served in Rodney's 4th Alabama Cavalry during the Civil War.
William's brother, Major Dick Johnson, was mortally wounded at a battle in Moulton, Alabama.
His brother, JE Johnson, died a POW at Rock Island Prison in Illinois.
William and Dick are buried in Tuscumbia's Oakwood Cemetery, but their brother JE is buried in Illinois.

There are Civil War markers for all three men in this cemetery.

Major Dick Johnson KIA  July 9, 1864, & his brother, JE Johnson, who died  in the Rock Island Prison in Illinois

Three brothers fought in the Civil War, but only one came home. The Civil War caused much grief for the Johnson Family.

Colonial William Johnson Tombstone

Our next visit was to Arthur Henry Keller, Helen Keller's father. He enlisted in 1861 as a private in the Confederate Army.

 He was detailed as a quartermaster-sergeant under Dr. D. R. Lindsay, of Twenty-seventh Alabama, stationed at Fort Henry. 
He had charge of the stores, and after they were destroyed at Florence, he was assigned temporarily to the staff of Gen. Sterling Wood. 

Arthur Keller Family Cemetery, but Helen Keller is buried in Washington's National Cathedral.

In July 1862, he joined General Roddy's cavalry as a private, and in September of that year rejoined his old regiment as quartermaster at Vicksburg, with which he remained until July 1864, when he was made paymaster of General Roddy's division of cavalry, a position he held to the close of the war. 

Captain Arthur H. Kelley, F & S Alabama Infantry in the CSA, born February 5, 1836, died August 29, 1896

It was said that at the Battle of Franklin, November 30, 1864, Keller was severely wounded in the neck and was almost thrown into a grave, with all the Confederate soldiers that died that day, but someone heard the faint sounds coming from Mr Keller. 
Mr. Keller returned to Tuscumbia and worked at the newspaper in downtown Tuscumbia until August 29, 1896, when he passed away.

This beautiful young woman portrayed Helen Keller.

Arthur Keller and his daughter Helen 

From a distance, it was pointed out that Bob Wheeler, a color bearer, was killed at the Battle of Franklin.

Bob Wheeler CO B 35 Alabama Infantry CSA

Our last stop was the graves of the Unknown Soldiers who were KIA during the Civil War.
So many men lost their lives during the Civil War, and many parents and siblings never knew where the body of their son or brother was buried. So hard to close the book on one's life when we do not know where they were laid to rest or how they died.

Grave of Unknown Soldiers

All the markers have been replaced with new markers and were ordered at the same place as the original markers.

I would like to thank Colbert County Tourism and everyone who took part in all the Civil War Walking Tours. I enjoyed them very much; they bring our past to life. It makes us stop to thank God and our countrymen for the freedom we have today.