This weekend, Michael and I visited his brother Sean and Sean’s girlfriend Caroline in Young Harris, Georgia. Sean moved there recently and works as the Director of Residence Life at Young Harris College. It’s always fun to hang out with Sean and Caroline because we always find something exciting to get into, and when Michael and Sean get together, all bets are certainly off!
We started off Saturday morning with a trip to Helen, Georgia, an allegedly quaint and picturesque Swiss-German town set in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I was very excited to see what awaited us in Helen, as I eagerly anticipated being transplanted into another world in just 30 short minutes! Well…Helen was German alright, if “German” means a short row of Swiss-looking buildings built for a theme park attraction—think Gatlinburg with a few Swiss details and fewer concrete black bears. We were in another world alright, just not the world any of us had pictured. Helen was far from quaint unless you associate charming with rumbling Harley Davidson engines! As we always do, we made the best of the situation and headed to a bier garden to down a few brews and eat some schnitzel and sauerkraut. The highlight of the afternoon was our dining entertainment, which consisted of a one man band (very loose description) and his beloved hot pink ipod. It didn’t take long for us to decide it was time to go home!
Upon our return, the competition portion of the weekend began. Let me preface by saying that the McGreevey family produced two very competitive sons, and no time spent together goes by without some friendly competition. We started off with a game of disk golf, and nothing is worth mentioning about this game except for that I seriously throw like a girl and the maintenance crew forgot to mow the grass—which does not make for pleasant playing. Oh yea... I guess I can admit the defeat that Michael and I suffered during our inaugural 9 holes.
We brought the competition inside for the evening and started off with a few games of dominoes and a game of darts, which I decided to sit out for fear of sending anyone to the hospital. My lack of aim paired with sharp flying objects is definitely not a good idea. Finally, we got to my area of expertise—Scattergories! When it comes to any tests of my physical skill, I will raise my white flag high! But I was not going to be defeated in Scattergories! After six games and several arguments over word choices consisting of Mr. T…Royal Crowning…Tyra Banks… J*#$ in 1942…and Hip People, I was gloriously named the victor. It was about damn time I won something.
Sunday involved round #2 of disk golf in a different park with much shorter grass. Michael and I emerged as the winners, but the most memorable part of the day was almost getting bitten by the giant black rat snake I met while traipsing back to the car. I promise to walk the path next time, even if it takes a few minutes longer. And yes…he was big! Not quite the size of an anaconda, but he was big.
All in all, it was a fabulous weekend with many hilarious moments, a surprising town, and great adventures! I would happily do it all again (minus meeting the snake)! Ladies and Gentlemen...I present you with Helen, Georgia!
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