We invited some friends, Kelly and Beau, to Oktoberfest with us in Helen, GA this past weekend. Kelly is one of my friends from Octave, and her husband and my husband have become friends through watching us perform and our various social occassions (because the women in the group really like each other, so we get together as much as we can to socialize). :)
We knew we had to get up there early because Helen gets packed during Oktoberfest. Fortuntely we weren't too delayed by early morning packing and dropping off our dog, Hunter, with Josef's parents. We originally wanted to be there by 10:30, but rolling in at 11:00 wasn't too bad. We did wind up in traffic and as such had to wait about 15 minutes to roll into our hotel. We stayed at the Super 8, which is unlike any other Super 8 ever. It's actually really nice, because it's in Helen. It's also pricey, because most hotels fill for Oktoberfest and they are so kind as to double their prices.
We went to lunch at the The Altstädter Weinstube & Biergarten, which is pricey but so nice. We each had 2 beers and entrees, and we basked in the warm autumnal sun at our outdoor table. The weather was quite lovely. We had gone to Betty's country store beforehand, where we acquired breakfast for the following morning, marbles and Ronald Reagan paper dolls for Beau and Kelly, and some cider for my friend Via. After lunch, we made our way to the yummiest destination in Helen: Hansel and Gretel Candy Kitchen. There we bought our haul of sweets, including 2 carmel-covered apples, fudge for Josef, nativity calendars (with a chocolate for each day), and chocolate-covered marshmallow sticks. YUM!
After this first round of fun in Helen, we were able to check into our hotel room (check in was at 3, and we had arrived 4 hours too early). We chilled in the room for a bit and then decided to go for a little hike. Beau brought his football along. We ran by the FestHalle, which was getting started already with its music and merriment, but we wanted only to get our entrance bracelets to avoid the line later. We were braceleted up and ready for our return sometime later. We went up the hill to the playground, but we never tried to hike. Instead, we tossed the football around to each other and climbed on the playground equipment. It was a lot of fun. We felt like kids. Luckily we didn't wear ourselves out, because, obviously, there was fun to be had at the FestHalle.
Around 5:00 we took the FestHalle by storm.
No, not really. But we did by clear plastic mugs that lit up when you lifted them off the table. After a few too many rounds of Leinenkugel's Summer Wheat, though, the spinning lights at the bottom of my mug made me feel a little woozy and I had to flip the switch off on the bottom of the mug. :) We quickly made friends with the folks on either side of us at the table. They were all very nice. They had traveled from near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Gulf Shores, Alabama. We danced a whole lot this year! It was so much fun. Lots of Chicken Dances, polkas, etc. We joined in the big conga line that seemed to last forever (but was so much fun). We linked arms with the folks at our table and swayed back and forth. We sang "Ein Prosit" at the top of our lungs every 30 minutes.
We rolled out of the FestHalle around 10:30 or so, and we were all asleep by 11:00. After a rough start on my part, Kelly and I were in her car, heading back to Atlanta by 9:15. We had to be at our warm up for our Octave performance at the Brookhaven Arts Festival by 10:30, but we were a little late. We practiced in the car and chatted about how much fun we had had the night before. The boys were heading down separately, which was a good thing because they were not quite ready to leave Helen at 9:00 when we had been packing up. Luckily, they made it just in time to watch us perform at noon.
After our performance, Josef and I walked around the Festival, looking at the artwork. We saw some amazing things. Josef joked that he was glad that the artwork was expensive, otherwise he would have bought it all. :) I definitely got some good ideas for my own artwork, but I need to figure out when I'm going to have time to work on anything. It was very cool meeting the artists who had created so many unique pieces. Every type of medium was represented, so the organizers definitely deserve kudos for getting such a good assortment to come out. Several happy Festival goers were happily walking away with newly-cherished pieces of art for their homes.
I believe that art, like music, is also a universal language. There wasn't anything distinctly American about the collections of artwork we saw yesterday. The artwork also seemed to depict the world's landscapes, emotions, and dreams. I think it's a beautiful way to connect with one another.
Enjoy your day,
Susan
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