Traveling Far, Traveling Near
A Day in Helen
This past summer, I had the opportunity to spend the weekend in Helen, Georgia. Helen is a quaint little town which is located in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains. When arriving in Helen, the German Bavarian atmosphere with hotels, restaurants, and businesses gave me the feeling and impression that I was in Germany. Helen is a charming town that is a replica of a German town. The Alpine Village is home to approximately 450 residents.
My first stop in Helen was the Cool River Rafting Company. White water tubing is a popular water sports activity. With our water shoes, bathing suits, and bottles of water, my family and I went to the small restaurant which is located in the gift shop. After ordering sandwiches, we sat on the covered porch to eat. The view of the mountain river was cool and calming. My club sandwich was loaded with ham and turkey. The sandwich with fresh fruit and a soda was the perfect light lunch. Changing rooms are located at the back of the shop. The cost for a river tubing trip is $14 for a two and a half hour trip, and $10 for an hour to hour and a half trip. Everyone purchased a long stick for $5 to help us guide our rafting tubes.
Grabbing our tubes, we headed to get in line to enter the river. Our water adventure was about to begin. It was a great day to float the “Hooch.” Being a summer day, the Georgia weather was hot, and the sun was bright. The mountain stream was cool and refreshing. The challenges of tubing a mountain stream are to navigate around the large rocks and down the small waterfalls without getting your raft stuck on or between the rocks. Being a Saturday, the “Hooch” was packed with people and tubes. Oh no! I just got stuck between two large boulders. Exiting my tube, I had to stand up and push my tube off the rocks. I am glad that I wore water shoes because the rocks were like a slip and slide.
We floated past the town of Helen. The scenery on the river was a natural beauty with many overhanging tree branches, the rocks, the rolling water, and the waterfalls. When our water adventure was over, exiting the raft was a little challenging due to the river current. We rode the Cool River Rafting bus back to the parking lot to get our car. The bus ride was a little bumpy, and it reminded me of riding the bus in elementary school. At the gift shop we all purchased Cool River Rafting t-shirts. We had a fun time on our river adventure.
The next stop was to check in at the Riverbend Motel and Cabins. The motel is a great value for a one night stay. It was $99 plus tax. The hotel room was clean with a river view. Since our motel was within walking distance of the center of Helen, we decided to walk and find a restaurant for dinner. The village was packed with tourists. After a brief horse drawn carriage ride, we found a quaint restaurant, the Troll Tavern, which was located on the river. The patio seating area with tables, umbrellas, lights, and the black wrought iron fence created a perfect atmosphere for dinner. My nachos were tasty with plenty of cheese, chips, tomatoes, lettuce, and beef. The buffalo chicken wings had just the right degree of hotness. I recommend eating at the Troll Tavern if you visit Helen. The food is scrumptious, and the service is great! After dinner we played a round of miniature golf. By this time, we were ready to relax and retire for the night after a fun day in Helen, Georgia.