This year's locale was Ellijay, which was terrific because it was closer to home, but felt as removed as previous years and offered surroundings just as lovely. We found another house right on the river, this time the Coosawattee River. The access to the water and fishing wasn't as ideal as last year, but I think that really amounted to our only complaint. While we missed the outdoor fire pit from the previous house, we really enjoyed the outdoor fireplace on the deck (perfect for Euchre, though that is sort of a sore point for Tim and me). The deck also offered a porch swing, which was the MVP of entertainment for the kids, who all spent a LOT of time swinging on it (particularly Laura).
Tim did another fine job of locating a hiking trail for us, and this year Laura joined us rather than riding along. The Tumbling Waters trail also featured a lake which was perfect for skipping rocks and just communing with the beautiful autumn atmosphere.
On Sunday we all braved rain and ventured to Burt's Pumpkin Farm (see separate post), which is significantly closer to Ellijay than it is to Atlanta. The rained cleared up, leaving us with great weather and much smaller crowds than usual. Better still, Burt's is minutes from Amicalola Falls, which turned into another hiking experience (and 1200 steps for the dads and big kids, who made it almost all the way to the top!). Stunning.
