Road Trip Weekend

 The date for the Athens Twighlight Crit came around and we loaded up for a little road trip through the southern Appalachians and Foothills.    First stop was the BMX comp,  we hung out there for about 2 hours watching guys do some amazing things on their bikes,  20 feet in the air. 

 We walked around, watched the racing, watched the people,  saw some folks we knew.  For some reason there were a lot less people there this year.  It was nice to be able to access front row seats anywhere on the course, but a bummer that not many folks showed.  The racing went on and it was exciting. 

After the finish we headed to our hotel in Commerce.   About halfway there, I crested a hill with about 3 other cars, doing about 3.76 over the speed limit,  we all saw the cop on the side of the road and let off the gas.  He pulled out and was behind us in a flash.  He followed us for a mile, in the left lane, while we were in the right.  Then he got behind us, then came the blue lights.  Dang it. 

It turns out that we have a headlight out on the van and that is why he pulled us over.   I'm not sure why he followed me for so long, but I suppose he was hoping I would break some more laws..  

He let me go with a handshake once he found out that I was squeaky clean.

 Sunday morning we headed up to Toccoa Falls College to visit.  This is where Rhonda spent 4 yrs of her life, I was there a little more,  where we met and lived our first year of marriage!    Her parents wanted her to wait until she finished college before getting married,  I had different ideas. 

We climbed around the waterfall, waded in the cold water, drove around campus reliving memories.  Then we headed north.  We were thinking about hiking down to Panther Creek Falls, couldn't remember the distance.  It turns out that it is 3.3 miles one way, so we kept driving to Tallulah Falls. 

Back in the day, a person could park in the dirt lot, hike down to Bridal Veil Falls and swim or hike up the river.  Not anymore.  Now you have to pay $5 to park at the Interpretive Center, and then hike a couple thousand stairs.  It was fun being in the gorge again, fun showing the kid the 60 foot cliff I used to jump off of, but that trail was not fun.....

 I paddled this river twice.  Once in a kayak, the Dagger Gradient and once in a C-1, Dagger Cascade.  I purchased pics from the pro photog who was there, but can't find them any more.  Bummer.

Too Many Signs

 After the slog up and down some more stairs, we headed north again.  Stopping in Clayton for some Mexican food, we then headed uphill through Highlands and Cashiers.  We stopped for a hike up and around Whiteside Mountain.   About 16 years ago, I had the opportunity to climb Gom Jabber.
That was an experience I will never forget.  Hanging out on the side of an 800 ft cliff for 6.5 hrs.  
Another place with a lot of memories and exciting to share the experience with the kid. 

After the hike, we headed home,  tired.