Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2024 - 44

JOHN GILLESPIE PHOTOGRAPHY
GETTY IMAGES | ROD CLEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY
GEORGIA
CLAYTON: North Georgia Highland
Games (Sept. 28). Immerse in the Scottish
culture at this event benefitting a local
charity helping children of the area who
are in need. Watch Highland games and
dances, listen to bagpipe bands and the
fiddle contest. Participate in (or spectate)
competitions like axe and stone throwing,
sheaf toss and caber toss. See blacksmiths
at work, watch a falconry demonstration
and research your heritage. Travel
six miles along the mountain parkway
to Black Rock Mountain State Park for a
chance to see early leaf changes in Georgia's
highest elevation park.
Local dining: Local dining: Grab American-style
grill food and sweet treats at
The Rusty Bike Café where cakes, cookies
and crumbles are made fresh daily. Order
dessert first; they go quickly! Taste the
award-winning food at Fortify Pi-brick
oven pizzas, pasta, salads, sandwiches and
a to-go box!
Lodging options: Bridge Creek Inn. Book
one of the 45 comfortable rooms at this
new boutique hotel with restaurant, coffee
shop and bar on Main Street.
Spend the night in an 1880s log cabin
with views of the surrounding mountains
at the small, family-owned sheep farm,
Wolffork Valley Farm.
Note: Clayton has the distinction of
being the Farm to Table Capital of the
state. northgeorgiahighlandgames.com
ELLIJAY: Georgia Apple Festival
(Oct. 12 - 13, 19 - 20). For a tasty vacation,
this is the destination for classic
foods and international flavors-and, of
course, dozens of apple creations. Since
1971, visitors have flocked to this small
town for the food, juried crafts and a
host of activities including rock climbing,
rides on ponies, camels and a kiddie
train, parades, live musical performances
and more family fun. Fort Mountain State
Park (30-minute drive) is a top-rated destination
for fall foliage-specifically Hwy
52 for scenic overlooks.
Local dining: Southern breakfast items
and Vietnamese lunch choices make The
Corner Stone Café a deliciously different
eating destination.
The Roof, lovingly created to celebrate
the region, built a lunch and dinner
menu based on local cuisine (and the
outdoor seating is pet-friendly).
Lodging options: Fireplaces, fully-stocked
kitchens, luxury amenities, decks, indoor
games and a " welcome " apple pie await
at the streamside cabins of Elestay. For a
unique stay, vintage-style, The Ellijay Inn
offers clean and affordable " motor hotelstyle "
accommodations downtown.
Note: Nearby Carters Lake is the
deepest (450 feet) in the state and created
by the tallest earthen dam east of the Mississippi
River. georgiaapplefestival.org
CLOCKWISE FROM
TOP LEFT: Greer, South
Carolina's Albino Skunk
Festival.
Ellijay, Georgia, is
bathed in great color
each fall.
The Clayton, Georgia,
area also offers a fall
tree show.
44 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
KEVIN C CROOM
http://www.northgeorgiahighlandgames.com http://www.georgiaapplefestival.org http://www.BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2024

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