Our adventure in Helen continued today. The morning started off earlier than usual since we had to check out at 11 am. We had our big breakfast and started packing up. Surprisingly, we got done by 9:30 am. We headed to town and I think it was too early for this bavarian town at this time. Plus we didn’t see any horse buggy rides yet. Hmm.. Start to feel panic now since we promised the kids the ride today. A return visit maybe in the horizon?

So we decided to drive around and head to Unicoi State Park. We checked out the lake and took some pictures then drove into the park. It looked very busy with a lot of campers in the park. I mentioned it to Mr. Rojo and he wouldn’t want to hear anything about it. But maybe.. maybe if we rent an RV we might get a chance.

Then we continued our adventure to check out the Anna Ruby Fall. It was next to the Unicoi State Park. We drove up and saw some pretty sites there. There seems to be more water up here than where we lived. Unfortunately, the visitor center is currently closed due to the renovation so we couldn’t get the stamp. The walk up to the fall is about 0.4 mile but we weren’t properly dressed for it. So that will need to wait for the next trip. Plus I think when the weather is warmer it will be more fun.

As we headed out of town, we stopped at the Hansel & Gretel Candy Factory. Good place to refill your energy with their chocolate and candies. Plus got sugar free chocolate as a gift. We talked to the lady there and found out that the horse buggy rides are there everyday. So we headed back in town again.

It was almost lunch time so it’s time to get a quick bite. Our destination today was Cafe International. Everyone there was so nice. We were able to eat outside with Java. The food was great! Mr. Rojo had another Bratwurst and I had Bratwurst on Bun. Yum yum!!

The best part was the Black Forest Cheesecake. Don’t feed that to children though. I can really taste the rum in there. Hmm.. No wonder I feel sleepy afterward.

Next stop was what the kids were waiting for – the horse buggy ride. We got on and took a real nice and leisure ride until Mr. Rojo dropped his camera and decided to jump out of it to grab the camera. Gave the lady a scare that she thought she had dropped the kids. After it was all done, the camera was ok and the kids were intact.

A walk in the town today was much nicer as the weather was warmer and I will say less crowd. hehe.. But technically, it wasn’t that crowd over the weekend either. We checked out different stores and just hung out at the main street. The weather was nice and the kids enjoyed hanging out by the water fountain and Java enjoyed the attention he got.

Overall, it was a great weekend trip. The kids loved the cabin and we promised them that we will go back when the weather gets warmer. There are so many things we would love to do. The kids love it so much that when they got home, they even create their artworks for the cabin vacation! That’s my Picasso in a making!

We started off Saturday as we prepared our weekend getaway trip but things changed by 11 am. Java threw up and we had to rush him to the vet and the diagnostic wasn’t that good. The vet even mentioned the possibility of Distemper – a fatal disease that hasn’t been around for years! How could that be when he already had 3 shots of the vaccine. Anyhow, long story short we ended up putting him in the clinic for an IV shot and waited to see if his situation will improve later in the evening.

Finally by 4 pm we picked him up and he was still weak but the vet thought it’s safe to let him go home. We could still need to bring him to an emergency clinic if his condition is worsen. We decided to bring everyone with us to the cabin for the night. For one, we couldn’t cancel the cabin for the last minute. Eventhough the management company at Cedar Creek was very accomodating and even waived the pet fee for us. We also wanted to keep an eye on Java and there is no reason we can’t do it at the cabin. The fresh air might help too. ;)

We headed to Helen around 5pm. We got to the cabin around 6:30pm. After we found the cabin, we headed to town so that we could pick up some grocery.

Our first stop was Betty’s Country Store. It is the only grocery store in Helen. It is really nice store with pretty much everything you need. But being shopping on coupon for a while, I got quite a sticker shock on the price. But that’s to be expected. I got bags full of grocery for $70 which provided us for 2 breakfast and 2 dinner. Well worth it!

The first night we just took it easy and had dinner at the cabin. The cabin is really nice. It is something we would love to have it for ourselves all the time. The kids don’t want to come back! But next time, if we will go as a family I will probably book a bigger room. Technically, this is supposed to be for the two of us. So I guess in the sense it worked out.

The next morning we took it easy again. :) It’s our motto this trip. ‘Take it easy’… So we didn’t head out of the cabin till almost noon. Oh! gosh! how we were under-dress! It was coooldddd. So first mission, we need to look for sweater. I packed jackets for the kids but forgot ours! Go figure!

Once we got our sweaters, we walked to north of downtown which is pretty much one block to Hofer’s. I guess weekend is the busy day for business here. The line was out the shop. We got a few pastries for the kids to hold them down and waited for the table. The food was great. I had Weiner Schnitzel and Mr. Rojo had Bratwurst platter. Ok.. Now we were ready for a nap! For one, we had another baby waiting at the cabin so we needed to head back. The kids wanted to ride the horse buggy but we promised them after we got back to the cabin.

Back to the cabin and it was another nap. OH! How great it was to just sleep!!! By the time we woke up, we were too lazy to go anywhere so another dinner inside the cabin then a movie. That what I called ‘vacation’.

Well, the next day was full of activities The Q Family style. So don’t expect much! ;)

So 1 more days before my little weekend getaway to Helen and I have been hard at work checking out on what and where to eat.

“Bratwurst – sausages ..you can’t eat Germany food without that. Schnitzel, breaded & fried lamb meat. Then in Thailand they always have deep fried whole leg of pig. Super crunchy on the skin and yummy meat. But will pack you about 5 lbs if you eat the whole thing”