This is Part Two of our Family Spring Break Vacation! Part One was at The Great Wolf Lodge, and was such a fun experience. After that, we wanted to quiet down and appreciate nature for a few days at The Dillard House in North Georgia, right in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
We got a quaint chalet, with a loft upstairs for the kids, which they loved having all to themselves.
Day 1
It was about a three hour drive from LaGrange where The Great Wolf Lodge was. On our way there, we stopped off at a Walmart for grocery shopping so we could enjoy dinners, breakfast and a few lunches at the chalet.
Once we arrived, we settled in and put away the groceries and our luggage. It was raining that entire evening, so we lit a fire and had the porch door open to listen to the rain. We all helped make spaghetti and meat sauce, caesar salad and cheesy stuffed crescent rolls for dinner before heading to bed.
Day 2
Our second day was still pretty cloudy and rainy, but we decided to head to the stables anyways to check out the farm and horseback riding.
The horse back riding tour of the property was a highlight of this trip and a must when staying at The Dillard House. I was a little nervous that the kids would be on their own horses, but they did so amazing and the guides were great!
The tour was an hour long and went through all kinds of terrain—uphill, downhill, through the mud, and even on the edge of a river bank! It kept things very exciting.
After the ride, we all worked up an appetite and headed back to the chalet to grill up some hotdogs on the porch for lunch and a recharge. We also had to celebrate a little St. Patrick’s Day, mountain style! (Or Brett style!)
After lunch, it was still raining, but we decided to head to trout fishing nearby, at Andy’s Trout Farm. It was pretty neat because it was only 15 minutes from us, but was in North Carolina, so it was very cool to enter another state.
We brought our own poles and caught enough fish for dinner that night, which we grilled up on the charcoal grill with some rice and veggies.
Day 3
Another rainy day, but we head about an hour away near Helen, Georgia, to hike up Anna Ruby Falls. Brett must have wanted to kill me because I was not ok driving up and down mountain roads in the pouring rain, but we made it.
And the Sun started shining just as we got to the falls.
The hike up to the waterfall was really nice! The kids did great and it wasn’t too long, so they stayed very interested the whole time.
The only time they were somewhat confused was when we got to the top, took a picture and the kids were asking if that was it! They thought we were hiking all the way up to the top of the falls!
After the hike back down, and a small moment in the car for me before we drove down the mountain, we head into the Bavarian themed town called Helen.
We ate lunch at Troll Tavern, which is right on the river. This was our view during lunch and it was so pretty.
From lunch, we could see this really cool roller coaster through the trees so we crossed the river to check it out.
It was called the Georgia Mountain Coaster. We each took a kid in the little two person cars and it was so fast! The ride definitely made the trip to Helen memorable for the kids.
No trip to Helen is complete without visiting Hansel & Gretel Candy Kitchen. All of us picked out our own combination of truffles, caramels, chocolate covered nuts—and a caramel apple for Brett! You can guarantee that these were all gone way too soon, before I could snap a decent photo!
That night we lit another fire with the porch doors open, chilled in the chalet and grilled steaks for dinner.
Before we hit the road the next day, we had one last photo shoot.
We had such a great time in the mountains and the ride home really wasn’t that bad. It was nice that we had the weekend to spend at home before heading back to school and work.
Thank you Georgia, for an incredible and memorable Family Spring Break Vacation!
You can plan my trip anytime!
Best vacation ideas!