You can drink wine anywhere, yet one of the most popular escapes connoisseurs and novices alike seek is a trip to “wine country.” Perhaps it’s a unique way to connect your senses to a timeless natural process in beautiful surroundings that produce a complex product; maybe it’s getting to learn from wineries how their craft

You’ve got shady oak trees; cool mountain breezes; gently rolling streams giving way to waterfalls; gazing at the stars in the clear spring sky over dinner and a glass of wine. . . but still something is missing: music. Music has always thrived in Appalachia, and the city of Helen does its part to showcase regional-gone-national talent

Close your eyes and imagine a waterfall. How do you feel? A handful of natural memories are so overwhelming to the senses that they never fade. An Appalachian waterfall has a subtle earthy smell from the rocks and vegetation being disturbed; it produces a cool breeze felt through the humid mountain air; it surrounds you

Hiking is what we need more of right now: as a refreshing activity it can range from meditative to heart-pounding, from effortless to grueling, and it is as varied an aesthetic experience as the terrains upon which it occurs. In the Blue Ridge foothills surrounding Helen, you can do it your way. Here is a

Camping is supposed to be simple: lazing about quietly in nature, cooking over an open fire, and sleeping almost under the stars and almost on the ground. What stands in the way of the stress-melting fantasy for you? Is it the stress of travelling to a remote location after hours in the car? Is it the hassle of permits

Being indoors can be necessary, even restorative from time to time, but we need open space to be our best selves. The Blue Ridge Mountains and a storybook town getaway, Helen, Georgia, beckons city dwellers and suburbanites when they need to be somewhere else physically. . . and mentally. You can get far away in

Though the holidays are only recently behind us, vacation season seems so far away. Money is in short supply. The days sink into darkness by 4:30pm. This is a time of year that feels much like the leisure desert. How could you escape the everyday mentally and do it economically?   A three-day weekend in the Bavarian