Georgia’s
Agritourism Route to Blue Ridge – Part 2 – by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
Georgia’s
Agritourism Route has the same goals of generating supplemental income in rural
areas as the Italian and British ones, but entered this type of tourism when it
was more developed as UC-Davis described.
When
we first starting visiting Georgia, our destination was Mercier Orchards
outside Blue Ride, a pick-your-own-produce orchard, that served lunch and sold
apples, blueberry and pecan pies, donuts, and souvenirs such as books written
by people in the community documenting Appalachian life. Wineries dotted the freeway and have
increased in number today.
Today
log cabin homes are for sale for people who want to be Blue Ridge Mountains
Ridge Runners. Billboards for fudge and
homemade ice cream entice drivers bound for Mercier Orchards to buy
apples. Zipline advertising entices
family daredevils. Historic downtowns
entice antique hunters.
Wineries
along the Agritourism Route have names that evoke images, making you think
their wines might dance on your tongue.
Some wineries with evocative names include:
-Sharp
Mountain Vineyards
-Fainting
Goat Vineyards
-Horse
River Vineyards
-Bear
Claw Vineyards
Two
farms are open for visits now along Georgia’s Agritourism Route:
-Mountain
Valley Farm
-Pleasant
Union Farm
The
town of Blue Ridge offers most of the amenities associated with agritourism now
such as air conditioning, pools, saunas, spas, and an adorable town with
several tea rooms, fancy country good stores (look for tea and quilts), and a
bistro or two. The town also has an arts
center and a writer’s retreat.
The
only things I would add are cooking classes and maybe square dance classes to
work up an appetite. The items for
cooking classes could include:
-pies
with lattice crusts
-fried
pies
-donuts
-biscuits
-country
gravy
-corn
bread
-cheesy
grits
Georgia’s
Agritourism Trail on I-575 North of Atlanta towards Blue Ridge is a nice
country outing from the Big Peach City.
Blue Ridge is relaxing and pretty and might coax you into a longer
vacation.
By
Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
