fall in north georgia

saturday was glorious, so we packed up the dog and headed north for the day. Lula's been acting out a little, so we figured an adventure would do her spirit some good.

we started the day driving around lake rabun, specifically tame turkey road. we hit a spot and were taken aback by how breathtaking it was. you could see the neighboring mountains & there wasn't a cloud in the sky. sorry, too stunned for photos.

when our bellies started growling, we headed north to dillard, ga to find a bite to eat. just north of dillard on hwy 441 is an amazing farm stand: osage farms. they always have fresh veggies, amazing prices, and, of course, a crowd on the weekends. right next to the farm stand is tomlin bbq. we tried their brisket sandwiches--yum--and baked beans--okay. it was messy & delicious. we sat on the back of tailgate, letting bbq sauce drip down our fingers and hit the dirt parking lot, with Lula curled up in the back of the truck. oh, and we matched. both in black pullovers with red shirts underneath. it would have been a perfect Christmas card...if our hands hadn't been too sloppy to operate a camera.

it was a popular day at the farm stand for several reasons: it's the end of the season, so only a few weeks remain. locals were stocking up on ears of corn by the bushel, crates of potatoes, and pumpkins! they had some awesome varieties of pumpkins. cinderella pumpkins, fairytale pumpkins, swan gourds, and more i'd never heard of.  i wish i'd bought some, but still not sure why i didn't. actually, cricket convinced me they'd rock around in the back of the truck too much. really? i'm a sucker.

after nourishment, we scoped out a few hikes for our adventure. we opted to either check out the chattooga river or try something new. we'd talked about trying the panther creek falls trail, but it's like 15 miles. no thank you. cricket found a waterfall hike near clayton, ga, so we headed to the trailhead on warwoman road. the trail was a total of 10 minutes, including our 4 minute "break" to take in the falls. and by falls, i mean gentle trickle down a cliff into a slightly-wetter-than-dry creek. Lula had fun with the new smells, though.

all in all, it was a great day in the mountains. the leaves were starting to change, the weather was a high of 71, and it's just good to get out of town every once in a while. and Lula, i'd say she had a pretty good day. poor little dog.