Get lost in a corn field
Location: Uncle Shuck’s Corn Maze
Date taken: October 12, 2013
Once you enter the giant (yes, more than 4 miles of paths) corn maze at Uncle Shuck’s, you mind be tempted to pull out your smartphone compass. But really, where’s the fun in that? Wander around, hit the checkpoints, check out the views from the raised platforms, get lost and have fun next to corn stalks growing 12 feet tall. Uncle Shuck’s is just one of many corn mazes dotting the North Georgia landscape in the fall. You can find haunted corn mazes, trivia corn mazes, kids corn mazes (made from berry bushes) and all sorts of fall activities (hay rides, funnel cakes, pony rides, etc.).
Eat an apple a day
Location: Mack Aaron’s Apple House
Date taken: October 12, 2013
Cooking apples. Eating apples. Dried apples. Apple pies. Apple cider. Apple donuts. Apple slushies. Apple butter. Do you prefer a Jonagold? Mutsu? Honeycrisp? September Wonder? Rome Beauty? Pink Lady? Take a short day trip north to Ellijay, Ga., and you’ll find as many apples and apple goodies as you can carry home. October is the prime time for traveling to apple country, primarily because the Georgia Apple Festival is held that month. So, if you go, get an early start and know that the apple houses with kids’ activities (hay rides, apple picking, petting zoos, pig races, etc.) are the most jam-packed. Looking for a quieter, more relaxed and personal apple shopping experience — try one of the smaller houses.
Pick the perfect pumpkin
Location: Dawsonville, Ga.
Date taken: October 12, 2013
It’s easy to pick up a pumpkin from your local grocery store, but if you really feel like embracing the Halloween spirit, head to a pumpkin patch. Pie pumpkins, white pumpkins, mini pumpkins, fairy tale pumpkins, gourds — the options are plentiful. And don’t forget your camera and your adorable toddler. A pumpkin patch makes a great fall photo backdrop.
Enjoy a little serenity
Location: Serenbe
Date taken: August 18, 2013
It looks like a movie set — the farmhouse, rolling fields, people on horseback, walking paths and a neighborhood of charming houses. Venture an hour south of Atlanta to Serenbe, and you’ll find yourself among acres of picturesque Southern farm land. Some make their homes at Serenbe, and others head there for a weekend getaway, retreat or special event. Whatever your reason for visiting, you’ll discover the air is quiet and clean, the landscape is lush and green and the porch chairs are perfect for sitting still.
Dine in Southern style
Location: Blue Willow Inn
Date taken: July 6, 2013
You might say that the Blue Willow Inn is off the beaten path — from Atlanta you head east on I-20, wander a few miles down a country road, then drive through the tiny downtown of Social Circle until you reach a stretch of historic Southern mansions. But for people who love traditional Southern food or tourists in search of a unique meal, the journey to the Blue Willow Inn is well known and well traveled. The inn’s now famous Southern buffet has been written about in Southern Living, USA Today and numerous other publications. But if you want a detailed review, just find someone who’s eaten there. Here’s mine: “Best mashed potatoes I’ve ever eaten. I piled my plate high with Southern veggies — collards, sweet potatoes, green beans, fried green tomatoes. I tried chicken livers for the first time, which not surprisingly taste like fried chicken. And, the best benefit of a buffet is you get to sample lots of desserts — buttermilk pie, lemon meringue pie, coconut pie, peanut pie, peach cobbler, banana pudding. Yum.”
Stand in a field of sunflowers
Location: Sunflower Farm Festival
Date taken: July 6, 2013
Atlanta may be home to dozens and dozens of festivals each year, but if you venture a few miles (or 40) outside the city limits, you’ll find an array of unique festivals — including the Sunflower Farm Festival in Rutledge, Ga. Ever wanted to walk through a field of sunflowers? Pick a bucket full to take home? Pose for flower-filled photo op? Drink your weight in sweet tea (check out Bayou Billy’s Dixie Sweet Tea)? Or eat a funnel stick? Held the first weekend in July, the Sunflower Farm Festival features a festival atmosphere amid a field full of sunflowers — some standing more than 15 feet tall.
