{"id":8768,"date":"2018-04-14T07:41:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-14T11:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/?p=8768"},"modified":"2023-06-24T00:20:14","modified_gmt":"2023-06-24T04:20:14","slug":"helen-georgia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/8768","title":{"rendered":"Helen, Georgia"},"content":{"rendered":"

A coworker of John\u2019s suggested we visit this quaint little German-type town just north of Atlanta, so we took a road trip on one of his days off.<\/p>\n

Helen is a mountain town in northeast Georgia, close to the Tennessee border nestled in a small mountain valley. The town formed naturally during America\u2019s early days of colonialization, gold seekers and lumber barons. But like all those towns, as time moved on and the lumber and gold prospects diminished, so did the town. This picture is from the Helen website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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In 1969, three business men, noticing their town\u2019s lack of interest to tourist heading north to the Blue Ridge Mountains, were wondering if there was something that could be done to spruce up the town and make it a tourist stop.<\/p>\n

They sought out the help of an artist, John Kollock, who agreed to help them out. He took pictures and made some sketches. He said that the location of Helen reminded him of some of the German and Bavarian towns he had seen during his service. The townspeople loved his idea and over the past 40 years has transformed itself into Georgia\u2019s third most visited city. This picture is from the Helen website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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We don\u2019t know what an ACTUAL German town looks like, but in our mind\u2019s eye, this would be it.<\/p>\n

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The buildings and the signage give a feeling of being transported to another place as soon as you step out of your car. The smells of sauerkraut, Bratwurst and beer add to the illusion of a German village.<\/p>\n

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There is a central courtyard of sorts with all variety of shops, restaurants and outdoor seating so you can enjoy the live music.<\/p>\n

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I love all the bright-colored buildings.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m not sure, but a Cinderella horse drawn ride is NOT what I expected to see in a German town.<\/p>\n

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There are little windmills with little Dutch boys and girls scattered around town. You could make a game out of trying to find them all.<\/p>\n

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There is a big one just outside of town.<\/p>\n

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Though kind of hokey because you know its not actually a German town, the atmosphere is appealing. We are anxious to return here to enjoy magic of feeling transported to a different place, which is saying something since we normally do not visit a place more than once. There is just too much to see in our great big country, but this little town deserves a re-visit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A coworker of John\u2019s suggested we visit this quaint little German-type town just north of Atlanta, so we took a road trip on one of his days off. Helen is a mountain town in northeast Georgia, close to the Tennessee border nestled in a small mountain valley. The town formed naturally during America\u2019s early days […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[830,834,981],"class_list":["post-8768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-georgia","tag-helen","tag-sightseeing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/image_thumb-1.png?fit=615%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3hvz5-2hq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14200,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/14200","url_meta":{"origin":8768,"position":0},"title":"Helena, GA Going Dutch","author":"Wendy","date":"June 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"We've visited this Bavarian-themed town once before The great food, beer and fun atmosphere has brought us back on our way to Atlanta, Georgia. Look, John met some friends already. The decorations along the street are very unique. My favorite its the little tree house village with walkways between the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_9273_thumb.jpg?fit=750%2C461&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_9273_thumb.jpg?fit=750%2C461&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_9273_thumb.jpg?fit=750%2C461&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_9273_thumb.jpg?fit=750%2C461&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8741,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/8741","url_meta":{"origin":8768,"position":1},"title":"Stone Mountain Park","author":"Wendy","date":"April 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Stone Mountain Park is located just east of Atlanta, Georgia and is the site of a large dome-shaped rock made of granite. A large carving depicting three Confederate military leaders is carved into the North side of the mountain. With all of the controversy and political issues surrounding this issue,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/0406StoneMountain02_thumb.jpg?fit=470%2C626&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9561,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/9561","url_meta":{"origin":8768,"position":2},"title":"Georgia, Here We Come…Eventually","author":"Wendy","date":"February 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Having said farewell and until next time to all of our RV\u2019ing friends we are beginning the long trek back across the country on our way to Georgia. We are not rushing by any means, just a meandering trip. Our first stop is Benson, AZ where we are camping for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_8905_thumb.jpg?fit=739%2C555&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_8905_thumb.jpg?fit=739%2C555&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_8905_thumb.jpg?fit=739%2C555&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_8905_thumb.jpg?fit=739%2C555&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12913,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/12913","url_meta":{"origin":8768,"position":3},"title":"Independence, Hatcher, and Denali","author":"Wendy","date":"July 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"John is officially back on days and our sleep schedule is back to normal. It\u2019s time for more sightseeing. We are again traveling north, and this time we are bringing John\u2019s coworker Martin, with us. We are heading to Independence Mine State Historical Park as our first stop. The scenery\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20200703_104810.jpg?fit=1024%2C767&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20200703_104810.jpg?fit=1024%2C767&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20200703_104810.jpg?fit=1024%2C767&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20200703_104810.jpg?fit=1024%2C767&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9719,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/9719","url_meta":{"origin":8768,"position":4},"title":"Reed Bingham State Park, Georgia","author":"Wendy","date":"February 28, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"We are at our last stop before heading to Atlanta, where John is contracted to work for the next two months. As you can see, we are all snuggled into our camping spot, but the angle from which a picture is taken can be deceiving. It looks like the tree\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_9003_thumb.jpg?fit=719%2C541&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_9003_thumb.jpg?fit=719%2C541&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_9003_thumb.jpg?fit=719%2C541&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_9003_thumb.jpg?fit=719%2C541&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8209,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/8209","url_meta":{"origin":8768,"position":5},"title":"Littleton, North Carolina","author":"Wendy","date":"April 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As our traveling friends know, finding America\u2019s little gems is the best reason we do what we do. In Littleton, North Carolina we happened to find several interesting stops. Let\u2019s talk about the first one. Littleton is a small town and could have possibly come by its name as a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/image_thumb.png?fit=580%2C378&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/image_thumb.png?fit=580%2C378&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/image_thumb.png?fit=580%2C378&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8768"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14239,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8768\/revisions\/14239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}