One of the things I love about road trips is that you can just pop in and see all the unusual, cool, weird things that inevitable turn up.
For example: I stumbled onto the Babyland General Hospital!
I had no idea this even existed. I was (or thought I was) slightly too old for Cabbage Patch Kids when they came out, and I was never a doll person - always more interested in stuffed animals. (Everyone take a moment to wave at Clarence! He’s my office car assistant.)
But when you discover that there is a Cabbage Patch Kids hospital where you are - you really have to go visit! I drove past the sign, did a quick doubletake, and made a very sharp turn into the driveway.
When you see things, you need to leap on them! What if you never see something like that again??? Don’t miss out!
It was so cute!
It was kind of like a giant warehouse of adorable little vignettes of different Cabbage Kid scenarios. How cute is this???
It’s weirdly so cute to see all these little growing Cabbage Patch Kids in their little cabbages, or growing from the trees. (Sorry: my photography is not awesome. Just dial up the cute vibes a few degrees when you look at these!) Okay, yes; from a slightly different perspective this could be a little creepy. But everyone there was happy, and carrying around their dolls - along with some new things to buy!
This was another totally unexpected discovery that caused me to whip my car into a hard left turn: Brasstown Bald! It is the highest point in Georgia - and once served as a massive climb in the Tour of Georgia bike race. Sadly, the race is no more; but this site continues.
You have to drive up a very steep hill (VERY! STEEP!) to get to the parking area. Or, if you are a dedicated hiker you can trudge up. (I drove!)
Do you already have your National Park Service membership card? Fortunately I do, and I got in for free with it. (Good grief - sign your card; I thought I was in real trouble from the lady at the gateway for not signing mine!)
Then there is a hike from the parking area to the visitor’s center at the top. And for those of us who are fans of getting stamps - you have to go to the top; no stamps at the parking area level visitor’s center. You can either walk up the steep, but scenic, trail or pay for a shuttle. Again: have your NPS card. With it, it was $3 for a ticket; without it I think it was $8.
When I got to the top, I was waiting for the men working there to finish folding a US flag so they could give me a stamp. One kept fumbling his end, and I mentioned that my Girl Scout troop practiced folding flags. So they had me come over and do the folding while one guy held the blue end! I was not awesome, but it went okay and at least I didn’t drop it.
I got two nice stamps, and wrote the date next to them in my NPS stamp book. (I travel to enough places that I needed the bigger book!) I walked to the upper level observation deck - and observed a lot of fog and some light rain. And I watched the movie. Always watch the movie at NPS sites!
It was a day of unexpected fun things to see - the very best kind of day!
I am a strong believer in the value of getting out of your usual routine and your usual area, and going to see new things. Sometimes things don’t work out and it’s less fun. But if you keep an open mind and try new things - you can discover all kinds of happy surprises!
What kinds of new things could you be open to this week???