Stop In Gainsville, GA
I was hoping that the rain would stop and that I would be able to hike Amicalola Falls State Park. Around 5:00 AM it began to rain harder. I decided to cut bait and not hike, but instead, I would drive to the park and take a quick tour.
Breaking down the camp site in the rain was a mess. The site didn’t have grass or gravel, and hence there were large puddles and mud everywhere. You get the picture. I did well keeping the water off of everything but the tent and table canopy. I placed the tent and canopy on a plastic mat, hoping without hope that they would somehow dry out in the car.
I drove to Amicalola Falls State Park which is one of the two southern entries to the Appalachian Trail. I wanted to at least see what I was missing. At the front gate, the woman told me there was a $5 charge to go into the park. I explained my trip and that I had been waiting for a few days to hike the trails and the rain put a damper on my plans. We chatted a while and she said, “ just go through”.
There was a fog in the air and I was hoping for some interesting photo opportunities which never panned out. I also took a road to the top of the mountain. There was a warning sign indicating the road had a 23% grade. I guess this isn’t the steepest road in the world, but it was steep. There was a restaurant at the top, but a day pass was needed to park (I didn’t pay to get in). I headed back out of the park towards Gainesville, GA.
Gainesville, GA
Gainesville, GA is located about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta. I was primarily coming through on my way to Atlanta. I updated some of my blogs at a Starbucks outside of Gainesville. The Starbucks closed at 7:00 pm and I searched for a restaurant.
Gainesville is the county seat of Hall County which is evident by all the local government buildings. It’s also known for its historic downtown, outdoor recreational opportunities, and proximity to Lake Lanier.
On my way into town I passed some old mansions that were decorated for the holiday season. Many of these homes were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and feature architectural styles such as Victorian, Craftsman, and Colonial Revival. Some of these homes have been converted into bed and breakfast inns or event venues, while others are privately owned.
I found Re-cess Southern Gastro Pub downtown located in a hip downtown area. I ordered a small pizza, which was very small. The dough had a very strange taste as if it where a gluten crust and wasn’t. The beer selection was very limited and was mostly made up of Budweiser, Miller, Guinness, PBR, etc. They had a sports channel on and no one at the bar was watching. They were happy to switch to the UCONN / Florida Men’s basketball game that started at 9:00 pm. I watched for about 30 minutes and left to photograph the mansions.
I wanted to photograph the houses I saw on my way into town. Julie, the waitress had told me some things about the houses. The Pruitt Wheeler McBrayer House at 539 Green Street was well known. Some of the other houses were Sears homes that could be ordered prefab. Julie explained that many of these houses would be renovated and expanded over the years. I saw the Sears homes, but didn’t take photos because they weren’t lit.
I left Green Street around 10:30 PM and drove further south to the next Cracker Barrel. It was warmer here and the rain had stopped. I was so happy to not being dealing with rain.