Marginally Outdoors Activities

Obviously we don't spend all our time hiking. We have full time jobs, a house to maintain, and other obligations (well, honestly, the house and chores are usually the last priority). And sometimes we just do other things for fun besides hiking. They are usually somehow connected to the outdoors, though. My favorite "marginally outdoors" activity is going to vineyards. We have so many nearby and they are all in the mountains, so we can enjoy the views and scenery without actually hiking. Win/Win! Sometimes we'll do a short hike (so we don't end up all sweaty and gross) and then head to a more casual vineyard. Or if we start out intending to hike but then it starts to rain, we have a back up plan.  

Most recently we went to Cavender Creek Vineyards, which is not far outside Dahlonega at all. It's not new; we just hadn't been there yet. Cavender is very casual and rustic. It's surrounded by farms and there are some farm animals onsite. The Cavender donkeys are well known and adorable. They also have some livestock guard dogs, who also enjoy "guarding" the tasting room (to allow those to pass give out pats or treats). I'm hardly a wine expert or snob, so everything we had tasted great! In particular, we liked the peach sangria and would have taken a bottle of that home if possible. The staff were very friendly as well and there was a great live musician outside on the back patio. They also have an old log home onsite available for rentals. Overall, I would say Cavender Creek has something for everyone to enjoy. 

We have been to a lot of vineyards over the years and we've celebrated many special occasions at them. I tend to categorize them in terms of fancy or casual, so here are two lists of our favorites so you can plan accordingly! Again, no paid advertising or compensation, we just like supporting small businesses. 

More fancy:

1. Wolf Mountain- Dahlonega

2. Kaya- Dahlonega 

3. Yonah Mountain- Cleveland

More casual:

1. Cartecay- Ellijay

2. Cavender Creek- Dahlonega

3. Frogtown- Dahlonega

Columbus Chattahoochee River Walk 3-21-18

Most of my work during the month of March had me in Tifton, GA. I hate to say it but there is really not a lot going on in Tifton. I searched for a park with a nice walking trail or some kind of outdoor recreation area but did not find much. I didn't have much time in the afternoons after work to drive anywhere and didn't want to be out in an unfamiliar area by myself, so most of my physical activity was limited to the hotel gym. 

During part of the month though, I was in Columbus. Due to "springing forward" and also the fact that Columbus is practically in central time anyways, I had a lot more daylight to work with. The weather has been mostly horrendous all month but I had one or 2 ok days while I was in Columbus. So of course I had to see how the Chattahoochee down there compared to my beautiful river up here north of Atlanta. I was delighted to find a 15 mile long walking path along the banks of the river (I could have walked to Alabama, but why would anyone do that?). My part of the river is more scenic because obviously the area around the river in downtown Columbus is developed and has a lot of buildings, traffic, etc. I'm sure as you get away from the city, the river and scenery becomes more serene. The path itself is lovely; it's very wide and flat, which makes it great for bicyclists, joggers, and walkers. 

I only walked a mile or so on the path after starting at Woodruff Riverfront Park near downtown, because I also planned to walk around downtown Columbus. It was extremely windy and cold and very few other people were out and about. I did see some kayakers, as this part of the river is quite rapid-y, and fisher folk. I was also shocked to see motor boats on the river. I walked down to some old mill buildings and looked around there and also walked across a small bridge onto an island, which would be a great place to hang out if it wasn't freezing and windy. 

After walking along the river, I went up into downtown Columbus (which is apparently also known as Uptown). It's slightly sketchy but overall I found it quite nice. I went in a great coffee shop and met several storefront dogs who were hanging out on the sidewalk in front of their respective shops. I always like to support local businesses and there were quite a few in downtown Columbus. There seems to be a culture of coffee, beer, and bicycles (and dogs) in Columbus and I can't argue with any of that. There is also a lot of public art. It seems like they are really trying to make it an interesting place. Just my assessment after spending a few hours there. 

So in a month of traveling for the first 3 weeks and rainy weather every weekend I was home (not joking), I am happy I managed to find a little adventure wherever I could. There are many places near Columbus I would like to go such as the Warm Springs area and Providence Canyon but alas, no time for that when working. Maybe another time..

Cali- North Park

I didn't really have much planned for the Friday of our trip. In the event one of the other days got off track or didn't go as planned, I was going to use Friday as a "make up day". But every other day went perfectly so Friday ended up being completely open. The weather was also looking kind of unpredictable so we weren't really sure what to do. I thought about going to one of the art museums at Balboa Park but wanted to save some money (James' Plant Power addiction is hard to keep up with). So we decided to just go walk around the North Park neighborhood of San Diego. 

I like getting to know different parts of the city and areas tourists possibly don't visit. As the name indicates, North Park is on the north side of Balboa Park. There are a lot of boutiques, restaurants, and other small businesses in this neighborhood. It's also home to a historic theatre and music venue (I would like to go to a show here sometime in the future). It seems to be a hip part of town (although I'm sure we brought the cool factor down). Research tells me it is #13 on Forbes list of "Best Hipster Neighborhoods" (I looked this up just now while writing this post). The fact that Forbes has a list of top hipster neighborhoods is possibly the most anti-hipster thing I have ever heard of. Or maybe the hipsters would embrace the irony of it. 

What I like most about pretty much any neighborhood I've come across in San Diego is the abundance of really cool street art and murals. I love alleys covered in paint and random small pieces of art on sidewalks. So mostly that is what we looked for in North Park and we found plenty of it. We also went in some really cool shops, particularly one called Pigment. If I lived here, I would have no paycheck because I'd spend it all here. It's like the ultimate home decor/stationery/party supply store. I'm pretty sure they may have been the original inspiration for both Pinterest and Instagram because everything there is beautiful and perfect and dripping with succulents. I actually didn't buy anything because there was too much beautiful stuff to choose from. 

It actually rained while we were walking around so we ducked into a great cafe called Sipz which serves vegan Asian inspired cuisine. It was delightful and just what we needed on a rainy California afternoon. We got some amazing Vietnamese coffee and vegan sushi and chilled out for a while before heading out. 

The rest of the day we spent packing up and cleaning the apartment (remember, leave no trace!) and then we walked up the street to another shop I had been wanting to check out, Often Wander at Noon. I don't really buy souvenirs when we travel, at least not the tacky magnet type of souvenir. The past few trips I've bought jewelry because I can wear it every day and remind myself of happy memories (plus, who doesn't like jewelry). But again, trying to reign in the spending, so I bought some cute cactus art prints and a cactus dishtowel. 

In the evening, we walked around the corner to a lovely Indian restaurant called Sundara. It's a little hole in the wall and easy to pass by despite being on a main road in Ocean Beach. A Google search brings up a stunningly bad review of the place, so bad I thought it was a satire on the snobbery of food critics. The chief complaints were bad service, a table set for 4 even though only two guests were seated at it, and using chicken breast in the curry. Well, we received great service throughout our visit from different employees, the table setting was lovely, and I'm vegan so I couldn't care less what kind of chicken they use (although I'd prefer no chicken at all). The waitstaff were very attentive to our dietary needs and food allergies. We ordered samosas, Saag curry (James) and Channa Masala (me) and it was ALL DELICIOUS. We had plenty left over and considered it one of the best meals we had during this trip. It really was the perfect way to wrap up our time in Ocean Beach.