We spent a weekend in Dillard, GA to get to a higher elevation and at least 5 to 7 degrees cooler than our home base of Chattanooga, TN. You can't escape the humidity in the South no matter how far you drive!!! But it was a nice weekend trip. The bugs and spider webs on the trail made us long for our AZ hikes. We did the Tennessee rock trail and part of James Edmond.

I would recommend visiting in April/May to see the rhododendron in bloom. They are amazing to see at that elevation where they are more like trees than shrubs. With the heavy white and pink blooms on the branches arching over the trail, you feel like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty in a fairy-tale wooded forest.

I think we gained 5 pounds from eating at the Dillard House. Everything is grown nearby but then most of the vegetables are cooked in bacon fat - so you kind of lose the organic benefit!!! People book their summer vacations here year after year - big reunions and family get-togethers especially.