“If money help a man to do well to others, it is of
some value; but if not, it is simply a mass of evil, and the sooner it is got
rid of, the better.”
-Swami Vivekananda
Day 13 of Mentor on Road, USA, was a
Saturday and since we did not have any events lined up today we decided to take
a day off and visit some tourist sites in Georgia. We went to Blue Ridge Forest
and took the Blue Ridge Rail scenic train of 4 hours. It was a wonderful
experience as we were surrounded by greenery all around. We were happy to learn
about the history of that region.
We tucked into the charming mountain village of Blue
Ridge, Georgia in the lush Chattahoochee National Forest. The area is
known as the "antique capital" of Georgia with friendly folks and an
old time atmosphere.
The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in northern Georgia comprises two United States National Forests, the Oconee National Forest and Chattahoochee National Forest. The combined total area of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest is 866,468 acres.
It was a regular 4-hour, 26 mile round trip which winds along the beautiful Toccoa River in vintage, climate-controlled or open-air rail cars. At one point, we crossed a place where a bridge separates the states of Tennessee and Georgia.
The Toccoa River and Ocoee River are the names in use for a single 93-mile-long
(150 km) river that flows
northwestward through the southern Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern United States. It is a tributary of the Hiwassee River, which it joins in Polk County, Tennessee, near the town of Benton. Three power generating dams are operated along it. Toccoa
comes from the Cherokee term for "where the Catawbas lived".
The relaxing ride started at the historic depot, built in 1905 in downtown Blue Ridge and then we stopped for a layover in the quaint sister towns of McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee.
Then we headed to
take our lunch at a riverside restaurant with
a great view, beautiful ducks and ducklings swimming in the river. It was a
lovely place with a serene environment. The restaurant started in 1992 located along the scenic Toccoa River in
the north Georgia mountains with a dining experience of really delicious food
in a fine-looking place. The
people too were very kind and warm. It was a complete enjoyment day with
family.
We then drove down to Jacksonville and reached our hotel at
11 pm. It was a good experience driving in the night.
Finally, it’s time to take some rest. We look forward to an
exciting day tomorrow which is again a holiday planned with a beach trip to
St. Augustine, Florida.
St. Augustine is a city in
the Southeastern United States, on the Atlantic
coast in north-eastern Florida. It is the oldest continuously
occupied European-established settlement within the borders of
the continental United States.
Saint Augustine was founded on September
8, 1565, by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Florida's first
governor. He named the settlement "San Agustín", as his ships bearing
settlers, troops, and supplies from Spain had first sighted land in Florida eleven
days earlier on August 28, the feast day of St.
Augustine. The city served as the capital of Spanish Florida for
over 200 years, and became the capital of British East Florida when
the territory briefly changed hands between Spain and Britain.
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