Monday, April 22, 2013: Today I drove to Helen, about an hour away from Clayton.   Helen is a Bavarian town, tucked into the hills of Georgia!  I ate at a Bavarian restaurant and strolled around Alpine stores - really cool. It was a beautiful sunny day, a bit chilly (62 F.) but perfect for looking around town. There was a very cool quilt store - hope Judy sees this posting - you would have loved it!

Beautiful scene beside one of the restaurants - I'm thinking magnolia tree!!

Inn beside the river

From the bridge over the Chattahoochee River

Chattahoochee River

Street scene

Horse and carriage on the main street

Cool architecture

Gazebo in town

Road out of town

Another street scene

Quilt store - for Judy!

Sunday, April 21st, 2013:  Lovely day!  I checked out of the Toccoa hotel this morning and went to the Toccoa United Methodist Church for 11:00 a.m. Small congregation, but decent-sized choir (11 women, 6 men) and a good sound - very friendly people - so many of them made a point of welcoming me, as I was obviously new.
After church,  drove off to Tallulah Gorge State Park to see the gorge and the falls.  On the way, I stopped at a little craft shop to look around.  The older Indian man (probably Cherokee - that seems to be the predominant tribe around here) who owned the shop gave me a fridge magnet with ``Tallulah Falls`` on it - just because I had come from such a distance and had had bad luck with my RV engine.  He said that he was trying to change my bad luck - very sweet.
The Gorge itself was truly awe-inspiring - the floor of the gorge was closed today because of recent rainy weather - but the view from the stations above is amazing!
I`m now installed in a motel in Clayton for two nights - will check out the area around here tomorrow.

Inside Toccoa United Methodist Church

From the opposite corner

1970 crossing of the gorge by by the great Wallenda

Porch overlooking the gorge

View from the porch

From one of the lookouts in the state park

Persimmon tree!

Another  of the five waterfalls in the gorge

Saturday, April 20, 2013: Looking for a place to eat breakfast that wasn't a burger place, I stumbled across Applebee's, which had cars in its parking lot.  Turns out, they don't serve breakfast, but there was a fundraising pancake breakfast being served by Alph Delta Kappa, an international women teachers' organization.  They were raising money to provide scholarships for students graduating from the Toccoa High School.  Pretty cool - and serendipidous!  Once they discovered that I was a Canadian teacher, they came over, one by one, to chat with me.  I spent two hours having breakfast with about fifteen different people - it was awesome! Got lots of advice on what to see around this area, too.  After I left the restaurant, I went to the Toccoa Historical Museum and spent an interesting hour checking it out - a very, very well laid out museum, with very clear information creatively posted!
Back to my hotel, where I got skype calls from both Careth and Cheryl - awesome to see and talk to both of them!  Time just flew - must have been at least two hours!
Next, I drove to Toccoa Falls, a beautiful falls located right on the campus of the Toccoa Christian College.  Imagine being a student there, on that gorgeous campus!
Tomorrow, it's off to Clayton, and the Tallulah Falls!

Not sure what kind of bush - but gorgeous!

Toccoa Falls - 186 feet high (Niagara Falls is 165 feet high)

River  bed down from the falls

Top of the falls

 A closer view

Again - the river 

Part of the campus

Another view of the campus

And another view of the campus

Friday, April 19th, 2013: So . . . this morning I packed up a suitcase and laptop and iPad and ereader (holy electronics, Batwoman) and got picked up by Enterprise Car Rentals; rented a Ford Fiesta and moved into a room at the Country Hearth Inn in Toccoa.  This is actually a lovely little town - I drove around it a bit, just checking it out.  Population 9.000, lots of small businesses.  I've gotten recommendations from Jan and Clay at Enterprise, as well as the hotel desk man - so tomorrow I'll visit Toccoa Falls, which is apparently very impressive.  Sunday, I'll go to the Toccoa First United Methodist Church, then check out of the hotel, go visit Talullah Falls and then check into the Days Inn in Clayton, which is supposed to be a really nice nearby town.  On Monday, I plan to go visit Helen, a particularly noteworthy town, I'm told.
This is a great room - no tilt, no need to save water - actually going to have a shower soon! - no broken glass outside the door - and even a tv.  Nothing like the withdrawal of simple amenities to make one appreciate them when they're brought back!
Feels good to be free and travelling again!

Thursday, April 18, 2013:  I spent today planning the next five days - will rent a car tomorrow, stay in a motel in Toccoa for two nights, then go see Talullah Falls, which sounds interesting.  It's really not great staying in my RV right now - for one thing, the front is jacked up,  so I'm living on a tilt - and last night I had to persuade the guys to cover up the gaping hole in the front where the motor used to be.  I didn't want animals or insects to have free access to my home while I was sleeping.  Hmm - just heard what seems to be gunshot in the woods - wonder what that's all about?  . . . and more shots. . .

Jacked up and gutless!

More of the same

Scenery outside my door

The  back of my RV

The other side

RV  blood . . .; 

An empty motor

Suspended in midair

Engine parts!

Another angle - so sad-looking!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013:  OMG Crazy day!  Yesterday, I left Montgomery, Alabama, headed for Charlotte, North Carolina.  Crossed Alabama, into Georgia, and at around 2:00 p.m., about 5 miles short of the North Carolina border, my engine started rattling - like really awful, something-metal-is-loose-in-there banging.  I drove to the Welcome Centre just over the border and called Good Sam's Roadside Assistance.  They sent a tow truck which arrived in about two hours and towed me to Anderson, Georgia.  With the time change, we arrived at the garage at 5:30, after its 5:00 p.m. closing time.  The owner, when called, came over and said that he could look at it the next day. The tow truck driver said that his garage owner could look at it that evening - so I got him to tow me there. Should really have stuck with the CMS Garage guy - his garage is on the main street of the town.  However, I went with what looked like - and maybe still is - the  better deal.  He towed me to a little street in a little town called Toccoa -and I mean tiny!  Very rural area - residential street with stationary old motorhomes for houses.  Boyd's Garage is accessed by a tiny dirt drive. I spent the night parked on the street, since Billy - the ower who was going to look at it that evening - didn't show up.  Ran my generator to make dinner, but then it stopped - hmm, guess there's something wrong there, too - first time I've actually used it . . .I went to bed early - no wifi, etc. and was awakened around 6:00a.m. by the roosters crowing  At 8:00 a.m. this morning, I phoned Billy and he said that he would be there to check it out - he lives two houses away;  took him 20 minutes to arrive.  He listened and looked and said that I had thrown a rod and that the motor needed to be replaced.  He phoned all around and located a secondhand one with relatively low mileage (although more mileage than my current motor has on it!) and ordered it.  It won't arrive until next Wednesday, which means that I`ll miss the family get-together I had planned for Sunday to send off Gregory and Anna, who are moving to Calgary, and to celebrate Bobby`s and my birthdays and Julia`s emancipation anniversary. Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do here for a week - at least I now have wifi and can blog and email and facebook - and I'll spend time walking around the neighbourhood.  I guess I'm just really, really frustrated to be sitting here when I should be on my way to West Virginia and Toronto to see my kids.

At the Welcome Center in South Carolina

Getting ready to hook up!

Hooking up the tow bar

Beside my rv

In front of my rv

This is me - can't move anywhere, since the drive shaft was disconnected in order to tow me

The yard beside me

And my home with the guts hanging out

The chicken hutch at the top of the hill next to my rv

Inside the garage