Going with the Garcias

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey” and boy was that our motto on our impromptu trip to north Georgia. We normally spend months planning our trips, starting with ideas on the location we plan to visit on Pinterest. I make an Excel spreadsheet and sometimes a custom Google Map (don’t judge me, I’m a planner). This time was different. Thomas and I both were feeling the heat from long and grueling projects and work and since we currently work remote, we convinced ourselves a change in scenery would help. Two weeks later, our cabin was booked, a few days were on our calendar as PTO, and the other days we told our bosses we’d be taking remote work remotely.

One thing we have not shared yet is that since March 2023 we have limited our travels greatly. The death of one of our two cats, Emerson, was hard for us, created a lot of vet bills, and we did not want to leave his brother, Edward, home alone for long periods of time. After several months of not traveling, we determined we could go places that are somewhat close to home and Edward would go with us. (We could write an entire blog post on traveling with a cat…y’all it’s hard and we feel everything is dog-friendly, but not cat-friendly.) So, this trip to Georgia was no different.

The drive from home to the cabin estimated to be about 9 hours, so we knew we would need to break that up in two days for Edward. We decided Tifton, Georgia was a great break point after the first day. We knew nothing about this town, other than it was right by I-75. We were pleasantly surprised to see how cute of a town it really was. The downtown area is adorable with shops, a theater, and more.

Day two travels were a little more…interesting. We made a pit stop at Buc-ee’s for lunch. Lunch? Yep, lunch. Along with rows and rows of gas stations, you can get some of the best BBQ, fudge, chips, and snacks. You can also get home goods, t-shirts, and everything imaginable with their beloved beaver mascot on it.

Back on the road, we continued our journey. About two and half hours away from our cabin, our car broke down….as we were four lanes deep on the interstate and attempting to make our way around the Atlanta area. Thomas did a great job staying calm and jumpily making our way to the shoulder. We called a tow and got the car to the dealership. After transferring ALL of our stuff (and y’all, we brought everything but the kitchen sink) to the new car, we finished the drive to the cabin.

The insane journey was worth it. Our cabin is nestled in the foothills of the mountains just outside of Dillard, Georgia. We can drink our tea and coffee on the porch each morning looking at the mountains and hearing the birds chirp. On our off days, we even get to go hiking (something that’s not as available in our sunny state) and explore neighboring mountain towns. (Click here to see the amazing cabin that Thomas picked out for us.)

To end today’s post, I want to mention how important rest days are to people, physical and mental rests. Like flight attendants say on planes before takeoff, you have to put your oxygen mask on first before helping others. Take care of yourself! More to come soon as we enjoy our downtown in Georgia.