weekend trip to Bavaria

We took a quick weekend trip to Bavaria for Memorial Day. Helen, Georgia that is. We were lucky enough to spend a few days up there with Jims parents in their timeshare. The lodge was in a great location close enough to the town that we could walk but set away from the traffic and tourists. The nicest part of the entire weekend was the fact it was only 1.5 hours away from home!

We got there on Saturday and immediately packed up the stroller and walked into town for some lunch.

Here we are having lunch by the river. Although surrounded by toys, Maddie just wanted to eat this dirty menu. Yuck.

The Chattahoochee River runs right through downtown Helen and one of the main attractions there is tubing down the river (aka "shoot the hooch") for visitors. We watched tubers pass by all thru lunch and decided we had to do it. Jims parents agreed to watch Maddie for the afternoon while Jim and I tubed down the river. We had a blast. It wasnt exactly relaxing as we had to pay attention to rocks, limbs, etc to not get stuck... but it was a really fun adventure. We didnt have a camera with us but we did take a picture of others from the bridge.


Our resort had both an indoor and outdoor pool... yay!! Maddie got to show off her super cute swimsuit and have her very first swim! She wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first.

Once she realized it was like a huge bathtub and she could splash the water with her hands... it seemed more appealing.

She's ready to go snorkeling, but the flippers were a little big. She said she didnt mind just using them to chew on until next year.

Back at our lodge... our bedroom had a huge wall sized mirror. Maddie thought the baby girl in the mirror was hiiiilarious and loved playing with her. She would crawl right up to the mirror and giggle.



On Sunday we went to Dalohnega to take Jims parents to the Smith House. YUUMMMM. It was good. Maddie had her first taste of mashed potatoes and one of her alltime favorites - sweet potatoes.

Next up - Amicola Falls. The tallest cascading waterfall east of the Mississispppi. Cool, huh?

Grandpa, Jim, Maddie and I decided we would work off our lunch and hike up to the top of the falls. Notice the sign. It reads "Difficulty - Strenuous." My calves are still telling me just how strenuous it was. Maddie on the other hand says she feels great and isnt sure what we're complaning about.


Here are the guys and Maddie with the view of the Georgia Mountians behind them. You cant really see the mountains... but I promise they're there.


And back at the resort again.... Maddie had fun on the playground and swings.

First time on a slide.
Check out this smile... I think she likes the teeter totter...


Did I mention that Maddie is moving non-stop now? And for some reason she LOVES diving off the bed. Like swandive style. She has yet to actually fall, we're always holding onto her. Here she is forcing her way over the side. SCARY! She has no concept of gravity... yet.

And last, here she is giving the baby in the mirror a kiss goodnight!