When planning a trip, no matter how long, sometimes you hit it out of the park, but others it’s a hit and a miss. This stop of our Southeast Adventure was more of a miss.

I chose the northern mountains of Georgia mainly due to availability. It was surprising how many camp during winter months in the mountains. I was told this area was beautiful with plentiful charming towns that light up luminously for the holidays. I had hoped it would be a fun way to welcome in the Yule season. 

The campground was off of a busy highway, so was noisy. But there was lots of stuff for the children to do. The campground was primarily empty, save for a few old timers who kept to themselves, so the kids had the run of the place – playing near the creek and fishing pond, the expansive playground, and even an arcade room. The boys (John included) became obsessed with playing Golden Axe – a game that John loved playing as a kid. I kicked John’s butt in a round of foosball, much to Siena’s delight.

It was very rainy with that kind of damp cold that seeps into your bones. The ground was muddy and messy, and as such the boys came in several days slopped and soaked in stinky poop-textured mud. 

Fortunately the campground had a laundry facility, in which I did eight loads of laundry. 

The site had excellent internet connection too, so it proved to be a good spot to work and school while I got chores and maintenance stuff checked off my list. In the evenings we watched movies, including Christmas Vacation. Rhodes now loves to say in perfect Uncle Eddie cadence: “That there is an R-V!”

One evening we went to nearby Dahlonega, the so-called Ultimate Hallmark Town, as several Hallmark Christmas movies have been filmed there due to the picturesque buildings, shops, and trees lined with white twinkle lights. The shops were far too crowded to take in though, so we bought some fudge at one of their famous candy shops and wandered outside for a bit before heading back to Ginger.

Another afternoon we went to Helen, another charming little town, known for its Bavarian architecture, and also well-decorated with holiday lights. Again, it was so busy with tourists, that we peeked in a couple shops and wandered the streets, but didn’t hang around too long.We ended up cutting our trip short by a day and zoomed over to our final leg of our trip, Lake Lure in North Carolina, where the magic of our past came to life.