Frankie's Italian Restrauant

I know you are expecting a hiking/biking blog entry, not a restaurant review. Bear with me however.

This morning, I decided to revisit the Silver Comet Trail (maybe not the best choice for my legs after a two hour hike the night before, and weight training). I drove to Hiram, and started from the parking lot referred to as "Rambo". It is named after the plant nursery in an adjacent parking lot. I planned to ride as far as Rockmart, and come back.

This is a particularly nice section of the trail. Most of it is quite secluded, passing through a nature preserve. It also includes the highest trestle on the trail, and a long, lighted tunnel.

I rode bast Rockmart to a sports complex, and took a rest stop. I was quickly running out of gas, having not eaten much. I went back east on the trail to the Main Street exit, and looped around, but found nothing. The trail goes right through a park further west, so I went back and got off again there.

Just off the trail, I happened across a storefront Italian restaurant named "Frankie's". Not being very adventurous in terms of restaurants, I started to pass it up. I did not see any alternatives however, and there were a couple of bikes in the rack, so I decided to go for it.

When I entered, I was greeted by two other friendly cyclists, who confessed to being weekly diners. They told me that once I had tried bread sticks, I would be hooked. Almost immediately, a basked of them appeared at my table. While I was admittedly very hungry, they were none the less outstanding. I could have stopped without eating the whole basket, until the creamy garlic dipping sauce appeared. It was over.

I ordered soup and half a sandwich. The sign at the entrance talked about the potato soup, so I decided to try it. Good call. It was without question the best I have ever had - irregular chunks of well cooked potatoes, in a cheesy brown soup. Wow.

While I was eating, Frankie herself stopped by and introduced herself. She invited me to write on the wall, a privilege reserved for Silver Comet riders. It was difficult to find a spot however, as the wall was almost full. Not surprising with the great food and southern hospitality.

The good lunch fueled me up enough to make the return trip.

I would drive to Rockmart just for more break sticks, so it you have occasion to ride this section of the trail, make sure you hit Rockmart at lunch or dinner!

Back to the Beginning

With an extra hour and comparatively cool Summer weather this afternoon, I decided a short hike was in order. With no time to drive anywhere, I decided to revisit Jones Bridge Park. This was the first hike in my official hiking career. It is only 20 minutes from my house by car, or 5 minutes by boat. Since I don't have boat, I had to stick with the car.

This park is more like a jungle along the Amazon River than a typlical North Georgia forest. The hike runs along the river for quite some time, and then turns inland to climb a ridge. It rejoins the river at one point, but at a higher elevation.

Because of the good trail signage in the Chattahoochee parks, I have always said that one must be pretty dumb to get lost in one of them. I guess it takes one to know one! I managed to miss a turn along the way, and ended up hiking 30 minutes longer than planned.

With the amount of wildlife I saw, it is hard to believe this part is so close to my house. Today, I saw a Blue Heron (missed the picture again), a beaver swimming in the river, a deer, and the usual geese and deer.

Overall, a great way to end a difficult week!

And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street

I was riding on the Big Creek Greenway today, dodging the many other people on various conveyances also using it. I started thinking about the variety of ways people use that trail. I have seen bikes, bicycles built for 2, bikes with kiddy cars, skaters, dog walkers, regular walkers, joggers, kids on bikes with training wheels, kids on big wheels, and joggers with strollers containing either babies or dogs. As I thought about it, I realized that there was one thing I had not seen - unicycles.

I completed the bulk of my ride, and had lunch as usual. I got back on the trail, and within 5 minutes, I had encountered a father with his son and daughter, all riding.....you guessed it! Unicycles, and riding them quite proficently I should say.

I can die happy since I have now seen everything!

Conquering Sawnee Mountain

I closed the office early today in preparation for July 4th, and decided to take advantage of being so far North and having extra time. A friend has recommended the hiking trails at Sawnee Mountain in Cumming, so I decided to give it a try.

Since I had a good bit of time, I decided to start the day with a visit to the Amicalola River Trail, just outside of Dawsonville. The trail runs along the river for some time, and then climbs a high ridge. This section of the river is known for its rapids, popular with kayakers. In fact, as I arrived, a group with a guide just finishing their visit. As a result of the distraction, I went the wrong way along the river, resulting in a short, pleasant walk along a rocky section of the river.

The actual trail runs on a boardwalk for close to half a mile, bringing back some unpleasant memories or last week’s bike crash. Fortunately, the boardwalk was dry this time, and I was on foot. The guide says to expect the first half mile to be crowded with swimmers, boaters, and people fishing, and I found this to be the case. Once the trail turned away from the river, I did not see a soul.

After finishing this trail, I drove back toward Cumming and Sawnee Mountain. Sawnee is an unusually large mountain in a city that is otherwise flat, causing it to stand out like a sore thumb, visible all over the city. The various communication towers on top make it more so. I began on the Indian Seat trail, which took me right to the top, which has a wonderful view from the edge of the large rocks lining the area.

I descended the trail to the intersection of the Laurel Ridge trail, which runs to a very attractive visitor center. Along the way, I came across a structure referred to as the tree house. It is actually at grade level, but extends out over a ravine.

The visitor center has a second tree house, this one with a suspension bridge high up in the trees. It was not clear how one would get up there. I suspect that is only possible when the visitor center is staffed.

After a brief pause for some trail mix to fix my blood sugar, I headed back along the Laurel Ridge trail to the South parking lot.
As the weather has gotten warmer, I have done more biking and less hiking, often biking in the same area week after week. I discovered today that I do miss doing more hiking, which I look forward to resuming when the weather cools. I also miss the adventure of going to a new place, which I was able to more than satisfy today.