Twelve Days of a Dixie Christmas #8

A Countdown to our Favorite Christmas Destination The Christmas season is taken pretty seriously in the southeastern US, and the Richardson Tribe has a dozen suggested destinations to make your holidays more adventurous. Over the next 12 days, we will reveal each of our favorite RV camping and recreation spots until we reach our #1 Christmas Holiday Destination. Come back each day to see the places this southern family has grown to love. #8 - Helen, Alpine Village - Helen, Georgia Ok, I admit it's a bit crowded and touristy, but Helen has to be one of our favorite Dixie Christmas holiday destinations. The "ginger bread" architecture of the simu-German alpine village lends itself to the Christmas season. Enjoy Christmas music and bratwurst as you browse through dozens of nic-nac shops offering-up all sorts of candy, fudge, t-shirts, knives, and otherwise, pretty cool stuff. The Chattahoochee River flows through Helen, barely a creek at this point. In the summer season, visitors can "shoot the Hooch" in inner tubes and kayaks. Tubers can pull over and enjoy a brew and sandwich before proceeding downstream. The water is a little too cool this time of year for such activity, but you will still enjoy sitting by the river enjoying a hot beverage as the sun sets. Then the light show really begins. Everything in the village is outlined with lights, even the horse-drawn carriages. It's an awesome experience. On one particular visit to Helen last winter, the kids found a phone booth. They had never seen a phone booth, but soon discovered the cold hard fact about public phones, they seldom work. While visiting Helen, we like to camp, pan for gold, and collect rocks at Gold n Gem Grubbin' in Cleveland, Georgia. Helen is also very near Unicoi State Park, Vogel State Park, Blairsville, Dahlonega, and Brasstown Bald, the highest point in the great state of Georgia. So, there you have it. Our #8 Christmas destination is Helen, Georgia. Check- in tomorrow to see what our #7 favorite Christmas destination is.