Christmas Trees In North Carolina

IMG_3775A few years back, we started going to a Christmas tree farm to select our annual Christmas tree. However, we noticed that we didn’t like the Leyland Cypress trees that are offered in Georgia. They just don’t seem to have sturdy enough branches for our ornaments. We would still get the fir trees that had been brought in from North Carolina.

This year, I wanted to do something different. Why not go to North Carolina and find our tree at a farm?

We headed up to Waynesville/ Maggie Valley area to go to the Boyd Family Farm which I had found through searching the web. (more…)

Vogel State Park – Fall Hike

Autumn:

Crisp Air.

Harvest Time.

Fall Leaves.

Time to get out of Atlanta and go “Leaf- peeping”

The Former Lumpkin County Courthouse is now home to the Dahlonega Gold Museum

First stop is Dahlonega. Flags and crosses honoring veterans line the streets leading into the town of 5,000 residents. Central to the historic downtown is the Dahlonega Gold Museum. Housed in the original Lumpkin County Courthouse – the oldest courthouse in Georgia, the museum details the history of the first gold rush in U.S. history. (more…)

Japanfest 2014

Welcome to Japanfest
Welcome to Japanfest

One of my daughters is taking Japanese in middle school this year. Although we’d been before, she wanted to make the trek up to Gwinnett Center to attend this year’s Japanfest the weekend of September 20. This was made more appealing by the two free tickets her teacher gave us.

My favorite performance of the two-day event is Matsurizo Taiko, a professional ensemble of Japanese drummers that regularly perform at Epcot. As we made our way to the auditorium, the usher said,”I’m sorry. It’s too crowded for you to enter.” No, this can’t be happening, I thought to myself. We still had a few minutes before the show was to start. However as more people came behind us and expressed disapointment, he shrugged his shoulders and let everybody in. “You have to stand up and there’s no security,” he warned. Inside the dark auditorium, we could feel (before we could hear), the constant boom, boom.boom of the large drums. Despite not having seats, the performance was captivating as the 14 men and women kept us entertained. (more…)

Dragoncon Parade – Atlanta

Speed Racer
Speed Racer

Captain America.

Wonder Woman.

Batman.

Yep. You guessed it. It’s the annual Dragoncon Parade over Labor Day weekend in Atlanta.

I had no clue what to expect as I’m not a Sci-Fi buff at all. I remember watching Star Trek as a kid only because we didn’t have have cable and it was the only thing on TV. I didn’t like it. (more…)