Local Natives - if you haven't heard of them then you probably should because they are my favorite band, ever. When I caught word of their Sunlit Youth Tour being nearby (not really considering it was a 5 and a half hour drive), I had to go. I decided to surprise my brother with a ticket as an early present for his birthday next month & we decided to invite one of our friends along for the ride who is practically our little brother.
We stopped in Savannah on our way up to Athens. However, there wasn't much for us to see or do since we arrived around 9:00 a.m. We ate breakfast, walked around the streets, goofed off and took photos. It served as a nice break from the drive. Also, it was pretty cool finding out that scenes from "Forrest Gump" had been filmed there. We may have even scouted a few spots.
When we finally arrived to Athens, we got settled into our Airbnb. It was a small apartment but, it did the trick. We stretched our legs by walking around downtown and visiting a few shops. We went to Chick Music, some other music store around the corner from the Georgia Theater, Wuxtry Records and we also talked our friend into getting a haircut from a local barbershop. I left the guys and went to see the Creature Comforts Brewery. It was a sweet space and I only liked one of their beers since their beer list was stacked with IPAs, which I can't stand the taste for. We ate at Fuzzy's Taco Shop for dinner and went home for the night only to drink a few beers together while laughing at Dave Chappelle's comedy.
We woke up early the next morning to hit the road again. We were headed for Toccoa Falls and Tallulah Falls. In between the falls, we visited the Blue Ridge Honey Company. It was actually a really interesting spot. Not only does this place offer fresh honey (24 different flavors at that) but, they also have all the supplies someone would need to foster their own hive. I never knew how much gear was available to pursue a hobby in honey-making. I ended up purchasing four little jars of Blueberry, Mountain Wildflower, Sourwood and Orange Blossom flavored honey. We also bought soda that is naturally sweetened with sugar and honey in flavors of Root Beer, Cream Soda and Orange Dream.
After all of the honey mayhem, we grabbed a bite to eat. We waited 45 minutes for this BBQ place to open until we realized that it was closed due to plumbing issues. On the way to the next restaurant location, I happened to see a cowhide rug trader set-up in a parking lot off of the highway. I couldn't resist. The rugs were of all different shades and markings. I ended up chatting with the owner for 20 minutes about his life and this hobby of his. His name was Tom and his presence was so genuine and endearing. He let me capture a shot of him and his cowhides, which can be seen below. Funny enough, he recommended eating at The Rusty Bike Cafe which is where we were already headed! That lunch hit the spot and the boys and I were off to Tallulah Falls.
Now, this is where things got interesting. We got lost and didn't know which way was best to go to see the falls. Once we finally figured it out, we had wasted a huge chunk of time and weren't able to see much of Tallulah Falls. However, we did come upon a super neat overlook and we even got to go on a suspension bridge (621 steps later).
After our day of wandering around, we all took naps and got ready for the concert later that evening. The concert was one of the best experiences I've had. The lead singer sang within the crowd and he crowd surfed. I met a a great group of individuals and we honestly just had a good time grooving and singing aloud together. It was surreal. It was awesome. I'm happy with the way that night went & I only wish that I could go back to it now...
Overall, it was nice to get to spend some quality time with my brother and our friend. The whole trip had more ups than downs. I wish I had brought one of my camera lenses with me because it limited some of the shots I could have taken but, I am so in love with my new camera. The shot quality is such an improvement compared to what I was using before. The trip was also just a good break from reality. The drive served as a meditation period for me. My mind feels more refreshed and I had the time to think things over for how I want to spend the rest of this year and where I need to be in the future.
