Helen GA

Helen Georgia: a girls trip long weekend!

Oh my goodness, let me just say that if you have never been, this is a MUST do!  We were there the beginning of March, so they weren't in the busy season yet!  We were told the busy season is March 31-Dec 31.  If you are taking the whole family, it might be worth it to wait until the summer and do some of the activities in the river like tubing and such!  

We stayed at the Riverbend Cabins and hotel in cabin 3, and it was perfect for the 2 of us!  It had a small kitchen, living room, a bathroom downstairs, and a kingsized bed in a loft upstairs with another bathroom up there.  Our back porch over looked the river and it was so peaceful to sit out there in the mornings sipping our coffee.  

Day 1: we arrived and unpacked, then we walked to the local grocery store which was only a few blocks away.  Betty's Country Store is open every day of the week and is just the cutest little store.  They literally have everything you need!  They also have a little bar outside where some of the locals hang out and we had a peach wine slushy which was very refreshing!  Then we decided to relax and cook dinner in the cabin.  Brandy brought us a Hungry Root meal and so we had some homemade tacos and then watched a movie on Netflix and decided to turn in early to get ready for hiking the next day!

Day 2: we woke up, had some coffee and quiet time on the back porch watching the river flowing in our back yard.  It was so nice!  So peaceful! We cooked breakfast in the cabin and then packed up some snacks for the trails and hit the road.  We decided on Raven Cliff Trail and it was only about a 6 mile drive from our cabin. The hike itself was round trip 5 miles.  It as a beautiful day so we took our time on the hike up. Skipped some rocks, paused to enjoy the view, had a picnic lunch, and took a few cute pics!  

After we got back to the cabin, we decided to explore the town of Helen.  We went in Hansel & Gretel candy kitchen and had some free samples.  We also popped into a wine tasting shop to taste some local wine made in Helen.  There was an open market, called Wildewood that had some really neat things in there!  My favorite was the wind chimes.  So many of them and there was a big gust of wind right as we walked in that had them all going and it sounded wonderful!  We stopped by Cowboys & Angels and checked out the menu while we had a handmade margarita.  The menu looked good but we weren't too hungry yet, so we finished our drink and went out to explore some more.  We ended up at the Troll Tavern which sits right along the river tucked under the bridge.  It was a great place to people watch!  Brandy had the hot wings and fries and I had brats and mashed potatoes with sauerkraut.  It was ALOT of food!  

Day 3: We had thought about hiking Yonah Mountain.  But after reading reviews and looking at pictures we realized there were no waterfalls on that one and we really like waterfalls! LOL

So again, started off with breakfast in the cabin and coffee on the back porch.  Then we ventured out and went to Anna Ruby Falls to see the "twin" waterfalls.  This hike was more commercialized and had a paved path the whole way with 2 observations decks at the top.  Don't be fooled though... the hike was still very steep right before you got to the point you could see the falls.  It was beautiful and definitely worth it if you go!  The hike itself is probably only a mile in and a mile out.  They also have nice bathrooms there and a small gift shop! I should also add there is a fee to get in to the recreation area, I believe it was $5 per person.  

These are the Twin falls

That afternoon we got back and went exploring in town again.  Our cabin was so close we walked everywhere we went except we did drive to the hikes and the spa.  The town kind of reminds me a little of Gatlinburg, TN with all the little stores and alleys of shops.  Lots of souvenirs that the kids would love to buy! We walked across the bridge that we ate under the night before and people have put all these locks along the rails of the bridge.  I need to research what it means.  They had a few spots on the main drag that had live music and this town is VERY dog friendly.  The weather was so nice and lots of people were out!  So many dogs and lots of shops even had water bowls out for the doggies!  

That night for dinner we went to The Old Bavaria Inn.  Their dinner plates are a LARGE portion, so I recommend splitting a plate!  We got the pork chops, mashed potatoes and 2 kinds of kraut. It was plenty of food for us to share, it came with 3 pork chops!

Day 4: I am so glad that Brandy and I both like to go to bed early and wake up early, but have a slow morning!  I especially like to do that on vacation!  Another peaceful morning with coffee on the back porch listening to the river.  Today however, we decided to eat a later breakfast at Hofer's Bakery. We had heard wonderful things about it from one of the locals.  We also scheduled us a massage at Valhalla Resort & Spa.  The line to eat at the bakery was about a 30 min wait to be seated to eat in the restaurant.  There was also a separate line for those waiting in line for just the bakery.  Keep in mind this was a Sunday and it was after 10am, so I'm sure that's why the line was so long.  But, I do have to say, the line was worth the wait!  The food was very good!  Brandy got the corn beef dish and I got the bacon & onion hash brown dish.  After this filling meal, we headed to the resort to get relaxed and ready for our massages.  It was a small resort but very nice!  The staff that we interacted with was all very friendly and accommodating to help us have a very relaxing day there.  We first check in to the spa and went to the locker room to slip into out robes.  Then we went to the steam room and sat in there for about 10 min.  It was such a beautiful day, that after the steam room, we sat out by the pool and had a few mimosas.  It was a perfect end to our long weekend to finish off with a day at the spa with massages!   

                                  

After we returned from the spa we were worthless, LOL!  However we were hungry and in the mood for pizza.  So we walked to town and looked for a pizza place with gluten free pizza.  We finally found one but it was closed at the time, so we decided to sit and people watch while waiting for it to open.  Thankfully it opened earlier than the sign said and we were the first customers in, so our pizza was nice and fresh and HOT!  Brick House (which was not actually in a brick house) pizza, burgers and pasta did not disappoint.  Very good for a gluten free crust!  We took our leftovers and walked back to the cabin, and decided to enjoy our last night with a glass of wine on the swing out back by the river.  It was the perfect end to our relaxing vacation!  

We both agreed that we will come back!  Next time with our family and in the summer to do some tubing down the river!  There was also another waterfall hike we were told about that we did not do, so if you are going, check out Duke Creek Falls.  It's a moderate hike and about 2 mile round trip.  Until next time... 

These pictures are taken in the same spot just one at night and one during the day!

  

 

Hot Springs, AR

Girls Trip 

Hot Springs, AR

 Starting back in 2015, one of my bestie girlfriend's and I decided we are taking a girls trip!  We took off to the beach and had the best time ever!  There should NEVER, I repeat NEVER be any guilt for taking a long weekend with a girlfriend and getting away to relax and recoup!  You will come back refreshed and a better wife and mom!  We have been a few times to San Destin, FL and we always stay in the same Beach House, but 3 times we have taken off to a different place.  This post is all about the time we went to Hot Springs, AR!  You see COVID-19 hit hard in the US in March 2020 and made traveling all but come to a halt until May.  We usually take our girls weekend in the fall, so after checking the rules, regulations and making sure places were open for business, we decided to stay closer to home and venture to Hot Springs for a spa weekend!

Where we stayed:

The Arlington Hotel is a very old and historic hotel right downtown and centrally located to everything.  You can literally walk everywhere!  Now it is an older hotel, so do not have high expectations when it comes to 5 star.  It was clean and the staff was very friendly, and that in my book was enough to make the stay enjoyable.  The only complaint I had was the room we had was on the street side and the windows are single-pane so the street noise was a little loud at times.  Also they has not switched the hotel over to heat yet at the time of our stay and it was getting colder in the evenings already.  However,  the staff was very kind and brought us extra blankets that made up for us being a little chilled at night!  

The restaurant in the Arlington was open, but no buffet was being served.  Their lobby bar was open, and the bar tender was very nice! We did enjoy the Spa in the hotel and did the mineral bath, with the hot towel rest after and the massage!  It is an experience if you've never been before.  It is very nice, relaxing and a total step back in time!  We did book this one over the phone in advance before arriving.  

On the day we arrived we dropped off our bags and went for a stroll down the street to another bathhouse to make our appointment for manicures and pedicures because they were not taking online appointments and no one answered the phone prior to our arrival, so we walked down to make the appointments in person to assure we in fact got one while we were in town.  This was at Buckstaff Bathouse.  They too offer baths here but I wasn't sure so booked ours at Arlington instead.  The baths are a whirlpool mineral bath using the hot springs water and you can get a Swedish massage.  Buckstaff was very neat as well, not updated much and it had an old working elevator that you had a staff member who had to drive the actual elevator for us!  It was so neat!

Day1: arrival

cocktails and appetizers at Hotel Hale Bathhouse (no longer a working bath house but restaurant now)

We had Salty Dogs and chickpea flour flat bread pizza with roasted veggies and it was delicious!

Walked along the streets of downtown and then to the room to freshen up and head out to dinner.  We started the evening with a lemon drop martini at the hotel bar and then ended up at Fat Jack's oyster bar.  We had oysters rockafella and another salty dog.  Both were delicious and did not disappoint.  It was a weeknight when we were at Fat Jack's and it was calm and family friendly, however our server said it can get pretty rowdy on the weekends with the night life!  

Day 2: 

We started our day off with a coffee at The Argentinian Wine Bar, which was not the best coffee really.  But none the less we drank it and then headed to Buckstaff for our Mani/Pedi experience.  They only had one girl doing them that day, so it took quite a long time.  We ended up opting for pedicures only to cut the time in half.  She was a very sweet girl and told us lots about the area as she was born and raised there.  Afterwards we went back to the wine bar and had mimosa's and a charcuterie board for brunch. We shopped up and down the street and landed at a Rolando's Mexican restaurant and had jalapeño margaritas and guacamole casero for lunch.  We then went back to the hotel for our mineral bath and massage!  That took several hours and was so relaxing!  After that,  a little down time in the room and to get ready for dinner.  That night we went to dinner at The Ohio Club (famous place Al Capone used to visit back in the day) and had burgers and fries.  Then we went to a roof top bar at top The Water's Hotel for a night cap glass of wine.  The view from up top was amazing! 

 

Day 3: 

We started the morning at another coffee shop, Kollective Coffee + Tea,  at the end of the strip which had very good coffee and good breakfast options including gluten free and vegan!  After that we took off up the hill behind our hotel and went to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower.  It was a beautiful view and so much history to read about up there!  Then we filled up our water bottles in the hot springs along the side of the road and headed down the road about 30 min to Garvan Botanical Gardens.  We spent the majority of the day in the botanical garden soaking up the beauty that was all around us.  It's defiantly worth the drive over to spend the day there.  They do have a food truck and canteen there that you can get food, however we just packed in snacks since we had a large breakfast.  Back at the hotel, we freshened up again and got ready for dinner.  This was our last night and we wanted to go somewhere really nice.  We landed upon Luna Bella for a fabulous steak dinner!  This is defiantly a must when in Hot Springs!  We then turned in for an early night to watch a movie and have some wine in our hotel room.  

Day 4:

We packed it up and headed home.  It was a great and relaxing girls get a way and not too far of a drive from home.  I highly recommend it if you've never been and are looking for a true, old school, spa treatment like no other!