After I came back from China, I wanted to go somewhere else for fun. Nothing happened during the long weekend in Jan because it was too late to plan. It wasn’t early to plan anything for Feb with a reasonable price either, but when I saw the article about 7 wonders in Georgia, I knew we were going.

Read some articles about each wonder. I decided we didn’t need to plan too much, but just go…

  • Tallulah Gorge 峡谷

  • Amicalola Falls 瀑布

  • Stone Mountain 石头山

  • Warm Spring 温泉 （Skipped 没去）

  • Providence Canyon (峡谷）

  • Radium Spring (镭泉）

  • Okefenokee Swamp (湿地）

一月份长周末哪都没去，计划的太晚了。二月长周末一定要出去玩！要飞的地儿都太贵了，也没计划休长假。当看到佐治亚州7大景观的文章时，我就决定了自驾。大致的行程查了查，不是旺季，什么都不用提前预定，到时出发就可以了。

Feb 16, 2023

We drove 9 hours today to our lodging place near Tallulah Gorge. As always, I drove and Erik booked the motel on the way. During the drive, I joined several company conference calls. Erik had been working the whole time as well.

The drive was nice. I always enjoyed seeing ranges of mountains.

一早出发，开了9个小时到Tallulah 峡谷附近。半路老艾网上订了个快捷酒店，就住下了。我家自驾一般都是我开车，老艾导航找吃住，完美搭配。

出来玩就是心情好，一路两边都是山，比坐办公室好多了 :)

Feb 17, 2023

We got to the Tallulah Gorge little after 10am. Not many people there at all. It was a nice hike around the rim, and down to the suspension bridge. Not as hard as I expected. But, it did have a strenuous trial warning sign for the 300 steps to the bridge. And of course, Erik needed a picture to show he did the steps.

Tallulah 峡谷， 很小的峡谷，在上面转一圈、下到吊桥一共一个半小时。醒来前还在下大雨，我们徒步时已是晴空万里！

After the Gorge, we drove an hour and half to Amicalola Falls. I fell in love with it at the first sight. we can see all the way to the top from the bottom of the waterfalls. 离开峡谷，我们开了一个半小时，来到Amicalola瀑布。刚踏进公园就一眼望见它的全貌，我对这个小瀑布一见钟情，一路上待着渴望的心情一步一步向上爬…

Plunging 729 feet, Amicalola Falls is the tallest cascading waterfall in the South

It didn’t disappoint me at all when I saw it so closely. It is so lively and full of energy, like dancing in front of me! 它太可爱了，那么的活泼，水花四溅，翩翩起舞的样子…

Both places today required climbing steps. Erik did a great job. 两个景点都爬了阶梯，老艾今天表现真不错！

A good day has to end with a good meal. And, that has to be Chinese! We drove to Atlanta after the Falls, and went to Great Harvest for hotpot and spicy food. 玩了一天哪能没有中餐？我们开到亚特兰大，去吃大丰收的干锅！香辣虾和黄金蛙的干锅双拼，加上牛肉火锅，味道好，吃得好舒服😌。

Erik is getting our food off the robot. 送餐机器人

Feb 18, 2023

We discussed if we would climbed up the Stone mountain without seeing the confederate memorial carving or not, because it would cost us $60 and many people said it wasn’t worth it. Erik said it would be like going to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower :( so we went.

We were the first in line for the summit skyride, on which we could have the best view of the carving. We got in the cart first and got the best spot to see it. I wasn’t impressed.

石头山看联邦纪念雕塑（不知咋翻译），60美金很不值，但既然已经来了，就像老艾说的，难道到巴黎不看埃菲尔铁塔吗？唉…

Skyride saved us time from climbing up and down the mountain. So we headed to Providence Canyon and finished our hiking there!

没爬山省了时间，还有时间游玩Providence峡谷。这不是一个天然峡谷，而是19世纪农民不正当农作，造成水土流失形成的。

Georgia’s “Little Grand Canyon” is a testament to the power of man’s influence on the land. Massive gullies as deep as 150 feet were caused simply by poor farming practices during the 1800s.

I thought we would skip Radium Spring, but since it was on the way to the swamp, why not. To my surprise, it was a very nice and quiet place. I got to be relaxed there for a little.

今天最后一个景点，镭泉。本来说不去了，但刚好路过，就去看一看。很美的泉水，周围很安静，拍了几张照片，我们就离开了。

Feb 19, 2023

I was anxious to see the Okefenokee Swamp, especially the boating，because there would be many alligators. I was debating if I wanted to do it or not, but I thought if others were not eaten by alligators there, I have a good chance not to be…

We got to Stephen Foster State park in the morning. It is the west entrance to the swamp. We rent a two people canoe , because Erik said that was the safest choice.

Two minutes in, Erik spotted a small alligator. I got excited right away! Besides, this is just a PERFECT day for paddling, blue sky and calm water looking like a mirror.

We definitely took our time paddling and enjoying the time. I just loved it so much. The reflection was so crispy clear that I got confused sometimes with what was real and what was the reflection.

Erik’s two eyes are like twenty eyes. He can spot everything. Our first 10ish alligators were all spotted by him. After a while, I began to be able to identify some.

When he saw one, we would slowly approach the alligator until I got scared, then we sat there and just looked at it. We spotted more than 20 alligators. It was such a great experience! Highly recommend this trip.

今天是去湿地划船，听说能见到许多鳄鱼。我心里有些怕，但兴奋大于恐惧，这样的事一定要去体验！

一早到了Stephen Foster 州立公园，租了条船，就出发了。不到两分钟，老艾就看到一只小鳄鱼。带着老艾就像带着几十双眼睛，他能看到很多我看不到的。每当他发现一只鳄鱼，我们就慢慢靠近，我录像，他掌舵。看了5、6只鳄鱼之后，我渐渐的不怕了，鳄鱼根本不搭理我们。划了2英里，大大小小看到20多只，还有几只龟。到了Billy岛，我们上去转了一圈，就启程返回。

今天的天气简直是完美，蓝天白云没有一丝的风。水面好像一面镜子，从没见过这么清晰的倒影，船在如此平静的水中前行着，伴着两旁树上垂下来的松萝凤梨，仿佛是入了仙境…

Feb 20, 2023

We stopped by Savanna before heading back home. We went to downtown and had brunch at The Collins Quarter. I had some dishes in mind. When we sat down at their location at the Forsyth Park, they didn’t have what I wanted on their menu. Erik was patient enough to encourage me to get what I wanted, so I decided to go to the other location, which was 15 mins walking distance. When we sat down again at the other location and saw the dishes I wanted on the menu, I was happy! :)

We ordered three their popular dishes. The waiter was amazed that we finished them all. Well, he didn’t know that Erik and I were still half hungry. Hehe…

We also stopped by briefly some places tourists normally went and took pictures and left, except lining up to buy the ice cream from Leopold’s which opened in 1919. I enjoyed the two flavors I chose this time: Coffee and Tutti Frutti. Tutti Frutti has been the flavor since 1919.

都说萨凡纳小镇好，我们就停了一下，几个网红点打了卡，网红餐厅吃了个午饭，网红冰激凌店买了冰激凌。别说，这家冰激凌真的好吃！

After a nice brunch, it was the 9 hour drive. I drove it all the way home. My own bed and my blankets were calling my name and I missed them.

吃饱了，甜点也吃好了，就开始了9个小时的回家的路程。一想起家里的床、我的被子，我就有了继续开的动力。都晚上了，高速上的车比我想象的多的多，可能长周末，都出来玩了吧。10点半，我们安全到家。5天的自驾，开了很多车，走了很多路，可以睡个好觉了！

It was a nice road trip with a lot of driving of course. I am grateful we are safe and are able to afford traveling.

每次旅途回来，我都会很感恩。 感恩有好的身体、感恩有时间、有经济条件出去游玩，我们是多么的受神的祝福啊！