The Miracle of Birth At Babyland General Hospital

So, as I sit back and think about some of my travels over the years I often find that my fondest memories come from the locations that are the strangest.  Now, over the years I’ve had many opportunities to visit a lot of great places around our country and even into Canada (never had much of a desire to leave our continent).  Some of them stunning in natural beauty, others strange tourist traps hell bent on extracting the last nickel from your out-turned pockets, others serene and some just damn strange.  I guess under the category of ‘Damn Strange’ is where is I would list my visit to Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland.

Now, the drive to Cleveland (see my post on Helen, Georgia) is a bit of donkey ride around the mountains, but very scenic nonetheless.  Cleveland is your average, quaint mountain town with a population around 3400 people.   While I personally haven’t spent much time in Cleveland, I have driven through Cleveland on many occasions.  Like most small towns in Northern Georgia, Cleveland seems like it would be a wonderful place to have kids and raise a family of homely, often shapeless children with bizarre names…..wait…..

Yes, welcome to Cleveland, Georgia.   Home of the Cabbage Patch Kids.  Who doesn’t remember the craze of the Cabbage Patch Kids in the early 80’s?  Mothers, fathers, and grandmothers going to fisticuffs and shouting matches attempting to stomp out the competition in K-B Toy stores across the country!  Oh, those were the days.  Folks lining up for a chance to spend their hard earned dollars on these (in my opinion) hideous folk art dolls with very strange names – Damn Strange!  However, many don’t realize that the Cabbage Patch Kids came from a humble beginning known as Little People Originals as named by their artist designer Xavier Roberts.  Mr. Roberts is now 60 years old and I’m sure enjoying a gifted life from the revenue of the little people he created.  Some credit should be given to Martha Nelson Thomas who may in fact be the original creator of the dolls but would not sell her design to Mr. Roberts.  He created his own iteration and the rest is history.

Babyland General Hospital is a very strange dichotomy from the moment you pull onto the 96 acre palatial estate.  The lush plantation sprawls out before you highlighting the impeccable antebellum architecture of the ‘hospital’ itself which stands at great contrast to the garish and whimsical interior design.  I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I’m not posting pictures from this trip.  You’ll really need to visit and see for yourself.  However, you can gain a bit of a peak into the strange world of cabbage by visiting the hospital’s website:  www.babylandgeneral.com.

Upon entering the hospital you are greeted by nurses at the triage booth.  In the main lobby you can peruse glass cases full of the original Little People and the astronomical prices associated with them.  Needless to say, the glass cases are still full!  These Little People are reserved for adopting parents with VERY deep pockets.

Next you move into a room that features hand stitched Cabbage Patch Kids.  The adoption fees for these children run around $200 per ‘kid’.  Each doll is hand sewn and painted just like the originals.  Once you leave this area you enter into the 70,000 square foot spectacle that is all things cabbage.  While my excitement level was not topping the gauge, the little ones that were with us went berserk.  Anything you can imagine that is Cabbage Patch Kid related is available.    I’m pretty sure you could literally spend hundreds of dollars on outfitting one Kid and that doesn’t include the adoption fees!

It shouldn’t take long upon entering the main area of the hospital to spot the Cabbage Tree and the holy grail of the Cabbage Patch empire – Mother Cabbage.  Every hour on the hour her tender and beautiful leaves open wide and release a new Cabbage Patch Kid into the world (as I laugh uncomfortably under my breath).

OK, I’ll be honest.  This is when things get damn strange.  The hospital, for the most part, is a giant toy store.  However, the hourly celebration of life with Mother Cabbage is both beautiful and vexing.  To witness the coming of life you’ll need to listen for the hourly announcement that Mother Cabbage is ready deliver.  You’ll need to join the throngs of real ‘little people’ that gather around the Cabbage Tree to witness this miracle.  After making the necessary preparations and the initial examination is complete, the orderly gives Mother Cabbage a shot of TLC to help her relax and then it happens…..  No, I can’t really share the whole thing.  Again, you’ll need to visit to understand how each and every kid comes into this world!  All I can say is that I can only liken the entire act to a Disney movie – adored by children and written for the humor of adults.

After the miracle of Kid birth, the audience gets to name the new baby.  Most often, the names are made up from the first, middle and last names of the kids in the audience.  After the naming celebration the Kid is whisked off to its post-natal examination and shots which everyone is welcome to witness.  Keep in mind these Kids are not your average garden variety (cheap pun intended) boxed versions by Coleco (though there are hundreds to choose from).  These are mid-grade kids that run from $100-$200 in price, er, I mean adoption fee.  So, be prepared if you have a little one with you that you may get a full court press to adopt the new Kid that your own little one just watched be born and may have been responsible for naming.  Yeah, it’s a great sales pitch!

While the whole affair is a little strange (sorry – Damn Strange) it is very well done and it’s neat to see the little ones enjoying themselves so much.  The staff are obviously dedicated to their jobs and do a great job staying in character as doctors, nurses, and orderlies.  All and all it’s a great day trip that everyone can enjoy and find a bit of humor in. 

While the spectacle is worth witnessing, nothing beats getting home with empty pockets and self-medicating after a busy day at the hospital ‘birthin’ babies’.  Another great trip ends with a great evening along the Coosawattee River.


Till next time,

Chris

Let's Take A Road Trip To Helen

So, I thought it would be nice to lay aside some of the issues of late and take a day trip in the North Georgia Mountains.  If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times.  We are fortunate to live in such a beautiful area with so much to do.  Even during times where neighbors disagree and resolution may seem far away, we have a responsibility to ourselves to turn those things off on occasion and enjoy and be thankful for what we have.  I am always amazed at simply taking a ride through the sprawling wilderness of CRR and seeing the beauty that surrounds us.  I am ‘one of those’ people that love to look at all the different houses and get design ideas from others.  Likewise, I also enjoy visiting some of the quaint towns in the area and taking in their local flavor and rich southern hospitality.  I guess you could say I’m a curious creature by nature and love to see and do different things.  It truly brings about an appreciation of the world around us.So the weather is nice out – let’s take a day trip to the Alpine City of Helen Georgia!Now, let this be said.  Like many destinations in the mountains there is really NO GOOD WAY TO GET TO HELEN from Ellijay.

When I visit I commonly make the full loop.  I leave Ellijay and head East, South East on 52 and circle my way up to Helen through Cleveland.  Now, if you have never stopped at the Cabbage Patch nursery in Cleveland, you really should.  It is a site to behold.  But, more about that [maybe] in a future post.  And, I typically take the northern loop home from Helen via 76 through Blue Ridge and back south to home.  Feel free to explore, but make sure you have a GPS.  I’ve gotten turned around more than once and ended up driving an hour out of my way!  During my last trip I made a wrong turn and ended up coming home via Young Harris north of Brasstown Bald.  Oh, yeah, Brasstown Bald…..no wait, I promise, that’s another postJ

Anyway, the history of Helen dates back to 1828 when gold was found in the nearby Dukes Creek in Nacoochee Valley.  Following the gold rush that occurred for almost a century came the lumber mills.  The Gainesville and Northwestern Railroad line came up from the Chattahoochee River to valley area that would later be known as ‘Helen’.  The valley was named in 1913 after the daughter of the railroad surveyor in charge of the project.  The logging operations dessimated the valley area.  The logging and sawmill operations lasted until 1931.  The lumber was shipped throughout the U.S. and even to Europe. 

Ten Reasons I Love Coosawattee River Resort Association and the North Georgia Mountains

As I sat down to write this I immediately asked myself – why today?  It is absolutely a gorgeous day outside and I’m going to spend part of it on the computer?  Well, to be honest, I started my day early with cleaning the decks and spraying some VERY persistent weeds in the driveway and decided to take a break for a spot of lunch.  It’s one of those days where you say to yourself “It could be like this year ‘round and I would never complain!”.  The breeze through the window above the computer is pure heaven.

I realized this morning that I’ve written quite a bit about individual topics about our area, but have never done an overview of why I love calling Coosawattee River Resort (CRR) my home.  I have been receiving a lot of e-mails lately from folks that are interested in the area (not just CRR) that are looking for information about the North Georgia area.   Many have expressed that they have been readers of my blog through their process of finding a new home in the mountains and are always looking for more information about and things to do in the area.  So, I thought I would create a list of the things that I love the most about this area.  Some are strictly related to CRR while others are unique to the North Georgia Mountains.

Now, if you have taken a look at the comments on some of my previous posts you may be asking yourself “Why does he bother with a blog?”.  The answer is simple:  I love CRR and the North Georgia Mountains and I love to share my experiences with others.  Fortunately, we live in a society that provides for freedom of speech and while we may not always like what others are saying they have the same freedom as us.  Everyone is entitled to their opinions and I allow them to share them even when they disagree with me.  I will be the first one to tell you that I DO NOT know everything about everything, but I am a person that enjoys sharing my insights and thoughts.  Please, take them for what they are – my personal thoughts, insights and observations.

On a sidebar - I received an e-mail from a reader last night asking me about deleted comments on some of my posts.  As I have said before I don’t limit or delete comments because everyone has their own thoughts – and in my opinion, they are entitled to express them.  Any comments on my posts that show as deleted read “this comment has been removed by the author”.  The ‘author’ is the author of the comment, not me.  I believe you can only edit or delete comments if you are registered with Google+ with a screen name.  I’m not sure if anonymous commenters are given the same privilege.  I have only deleted one comment and explained that in another post.  When I delete them they are simply gone.  Why do I work by a ‘no delete’ policy?  Credibility.  Hey, I’m human too, and will take my lickins’ if I step in it.  Deletion of comments would show lack of tolerance for another point of view.  I’m open to all points of view regardless of the side of my opinion they rest on – just please try to be civil.

So, back to my topic:  Why I love living in the North Georgia Mountains, and specifically Coosawattee River Resort.  I’ve detailed my personal Top 10 below.  It’s also my chance to audition as spokesman for the local Chamber of Commerce – just kidding.  These are listed in no particular order.

1. Natural beauty.  Coosawattee is a beautiful development.  I have never lived anywhere that had so much natural beauty within the limits of the development.  Some of my next items relate to the natural beauty, but I think we can all agree, as a whole, natural beauty sums CRR to a tee.
2. The people.  Yes, we can argue over topics and disagree about things from time to time, but that does not mean that CRR isn’t filled with good people (sorry for the double negative).  I have met many friendly people throughout the community and have met some great people through my digital interactions of this blog.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  These could be the same folks that skewer their friends on Topix, but I doubt it – for the most partJ  Everyone from staff to the residents that call CRR home have always been very friendly.
3. The river.  We have 12 miles of the Coosawattee River flowing directly through the middle of our home.  From fishing, kayaking, tubing and wading; the Coosawattee River provides a constant flow of enjoyment through the community for any outdoor enthusiast.  Owners and guests can enjoy this natural wonder at any one of five river parks.  All of the parks provide bathroom facilities, picnic tables, grills, and view to kill for.
4. Exclusivity.  OK, I have to be careful using that word….but what I mean is the freedom that ‘private’ provides.  During spring, summer, and fall (and sometimes winter) I can take my UTV to the mailbox, the pools, the river or any of the amenities and never have to start my car.  I can simply make a scenic and enjoyable ride out of it.  Believe me when I say that I enjoy driving my UTV MUCH more than getting in the car.  I also enjoy tooling around the community and exploring roads and areas that I had never known of before.  The roads in CRR are private and do not follow ‘rules of the road’ so recreational vehicles are a common mode of transportation inside our gates.
5. Pools and amenities.  I love to swim and enjoy visiting the outdoor pools in the summer and of course the rec center pool during cool weather.  All of the pools are equipped with restrooms and areas to change your clothes so you don’t have to jump in your car soaking wet.  Another reason to get that UTV – wet clothes are no problem!  We also enjoy the game room and exercise room at the rec center and the music at the General Store.  I’m not the best billiards player, but I try!
6. Seclusion with convenience.  It’s true that when you enter the gates of CRR you feel like you are leaving the rest of life’s stresses behind you.  However, depending on where you live in CRR, you are not far from the conveniences of East Ellijay.  Walmart and Lowe’s anchor the main shopping center in East Ellijay.  Think of ‘big box’ stores as you may – but they are nice to have close.  I do prefer the smaller shops of the downtown area, but there are just some things you can’t get there.  However, I must say that I am a HUGE fan of the Ace Hardware.  I just like the feel of the old hardware stores.  Not to mention that they have a huge inventory.
7. Wildlife.  Wildlife abounds in CRR.  (Let’s not go there – OK?)  Previous topics aside, you will see a wide variety of wildlife on any given day adding to the secluded, wilderness feel of the community.
8. Carters Lake.  Carters Lake is a 3200 acre recreational lake created by the Army Corp of Engineers and has approximately 62 miles of shoreline.  Boasting a depth of 480 feet deep at the dam, Carters Lake is formed at the end of the Coosawattee River after it exits CRR.  It has a fantastic beach and swimming/recreation area that can be accessed in just minutes from the Main Gate or Eagle Mountain Gate of CRR.  Here’s a great website that shows more about the lake http://www.carterslake.com/.
9. Neighboring towns.  Ellijay and CRR are surrounded by some great small mountain towns.  Consider visiting Blue Ridge in the fall and taking the train to Copperhill, Tennessee.  The fall colors are astounding and Copperhill provides another peek into the small towns of the mountains.  Or, take a day trip to Helen in the fall and enjoy all that Oktoberfest has to offer.  Better yet, head just north to Cherry Log and explore the secretive world of the Sasquatch at the Sasquatch Museum.  The North Georgia Mountains have lots of great places to visit.  Jump in the car and go exploring!
10. Great weather!  Let’s face it – we are spoiled.  Yes, it gets cold.  Yes, it gets hot.  But, all in all, we have some of the best weather around.  Warm days and mild to cool nights even in the summer make living in the North Georgia Mountains great.

So, what are some of the reasons why you love Coosawattee River Resort and the North Georgia Mountains?  E-mail me or post in the comments section below.

Decks are clean, weeds are sprayed, stomach is full – life is good along the Coosawattee River.

Til next time,

Chris