Marketing In The Mountains

When people ask me about what I am working on, I respond in the worst possible way. I will look you dead in the eye, shrug my shoulders, cross my fingers and say, “Here’s hoping it will all work out.”

Bullshit.

There is not much in this world that I have not plotted and planned to make happen.

My dear,

Hope is NOT a strategy.

I know this and I live this. I am extremely (yeah… exTREMEly) strategic about my life, my work, even my friendships. I love finding opportunities where I can pick up new tools & resources to really kick butt at what I do for a living.

I got a pretty opportunity this past Spring. I was fortunate enough for my work to pay for me to enter a Marketing College specifically for the tourism industry. Yes, I am already college educated, but this takes it to a different level and affords me the opportunity to get an accreditation in my field.

Okay, okay.. enough with the official stuff. Let’s talk about my trip!

I decided to pop up the night before. I hate to arrive the day -of an event. It typically takes a day or two to acclimate and not feel rushed. So I packed my little bag, and drove the 4.5 hours to the North Georgia mountains. I booked a room at the very same Inn Tim & I stayed in for our engagement weekend. I stopped by the place, and lo and behold, was placed right back in the exact same room! What were the chances of that happening!?

Oh yeah.. in all of it’s tacky heart-shaped glory! I changed clothes and immediately hit the town, wandering from shop to shop.

Helen, Georgia has this faux-Bavarian look. It’s like a Disney-version of Germany. I love it… it’s really cute and the themed-out community is sort of fun. It was raining a bit, and I was hungry, so I wandered over to the Troll Tavern by the Chattahoochee River.

The weather had gotten pretty bad and the electricity went out while I was at the restaurant. I had to sit for about an hour (before my credit card could go through,) so I settled in with a cup of soup (Beer Cheese soup,) and a Helen of Troll. It was Rummy to my Tummy… get it? Get it?

I left the restaurant and wandered a little more. Did a little shopping and snapping of photos.

Finally, I worked up enough of an appetite and stopped at a little cafe and ordered a brat with tons of mustard.

After dinner, I walked back over to my Inn and settled in for a bath and tons of magazines!

The next morning I made my way to my final destination for the week: Dahlonega, Georgia. Their tagline is “Pure Gold,” for their gold mining past. The marketing college, which is a three year program for one week a Spring, was held at North Georgia University. I checked into my room and this is what I had to look forward to for one week:

Oh yeah… a bunk bed situation. I had a room mate, and honestly, next year, I might opt to not share a room, if that is at all possible.

Our schedule was jammed pack with orientation, dinners, parties, and classes.