Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Back porch gnome, castle gnomes and the journey there

- This gnome resides on the back porch of sister and brother-in-law's cottage beside the Hiwassee River in western North Carolina.  The cottage used to belong to his late parents, who changed vacation houses from a lake house in northern Florida to this one about 20 years ago (cooler weather and all that).  So the gnome moved with them from the lake to the river.  A minor alarming incident was caused once when the gnome was still at Lake Talquin and one of the other son's friends took him after a visit.  Apparently he wanted to take the gnome on one of those photo shoot things in which he would be placed in funny places with photos posted, etc.  But the gnome was safely returned and I think he has the look of one who has seen much.  :)

- When I was driving back from North Carolina on Sunday afternoon, I had set my GPS to the address of my friend Jeanne's home in Snellville, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta), where she would be hosting book club.  I was going straight there.  So when I reached I-575 in Canton, Georgia (about 30 or so miles north of Atlanta), my GPS told me to exit and turn left.  Hmmm.  Was I being messed with by the GPS?  It has done that before.  Shrugging - I exited, thinking there must be some parkway going east to the Atlanta 'burbs that I  didn't know about.  Oh the journey - it took an hour and 20 minutes to drive that way via a state highway (140 east) - with many traffic lights.  But much of it was beautiful - especially in the Crabapple / Hickory Flats area.  And I passed by this astounding sight - a mysterious "castle" guarded by - yes, gnomes.  (I didn't have time to stop, so I borrowed the photos from Google images.)


- There's a short write-up on the castle here.  I love that it has a moat and drawbridges.  The house was built with granite from Georgia quarries and apparently has a subterranean living space.  Totally unexpected in an otherwise suburban landscape.

And I was only 30 minutes late to book club, with many tales of my journey there.  :)

16 comments:

LL Cool Joe said...

Sounds like you had an interesting detour anyway. I can't help there is something a bit creepy about Gnomes. They always tend to look like they are up to no good. :D

Leonora said...

I love that castle!
My dad always had garden gnomes in our yard : )

My GPS does this to me ALL the time. I don't like it anymore and I've been tempted to toss it out the window.

Joanne said...

I kind of love all the gnomes in this post! You don't see them much around here.

Riot Kitty said...

My dad used to collect little knomes (2-3" statues.) I have no idea why.

Chatty Crone said...

I will tell you Lynn - I am astounded!!

I had NO idea there was a castle in Georgia - that has blown my mind. I sent the info to my daughter and we are going to to there.

Thank you for the information.

Elephant's Child said...

Oooh. A castle. And a moat. And a drawbridge. I would have been a lot later than thirty minutes. Thank you so much for this side trip.

Snaggle Tooth said...

Poor Gnomes always getting abducted! One is missing from a home in the village center now too- that one does have a wise look. Glad he made it back. Wow! A journey of gnomes- how strange. Sounds like a strange place to live - like a bomb shelter or something- I guess some long ways around can be interesting instead of irritating.
Can you believe I still haven't used GPS?

Jannie Funster said...

Hey, that castle has a gnome too!!

Good thing you didn't end up being diverted to GNOME, Alaska by that GPS. :)

xoxo

Lynn said...

Joe -

You might have something there. :)

Leonora -

Once I was traveling a highway on the way to Pensacola, Florida and had never been that way before. My GPS had me turn left and then right on a little country road, go over a bridge and then put me back onto the original highway. Strange that.

Joanne -

I was astounded to see that castle and the guarding gnomes. :)

Lynn said...

Riot Kitty -

Does he still have them?

Sandie -

That can't be far from where you live - let me know when you go. :)

The Elephant's Child -

I know - I should have stopped.

Lynn said...

Snaggle -

I got along without a GPS for years - it's handy, but has its issues, too. :)

Jannie -

lol! That would have been bad. :)

xo

Granny Annie said...

I am suspicious of gnomes. One picture shows a leprechaun. Does that qualify as a gnome? I am suspicious of leprechauns also.

We carry a road atlas for our gps:)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Lynn - that looks like a fun place for all .. subterranean living - amazing. I'm not that keen on gnomes .. but know people love them .. and this looks just their sort of place ..

Gnome in Canada sounds a little far!!

What a fun trip .. and glad you weren't that late .. cheers Hilary

Sara said...

The Gnome in the first picture looks a bit scary to me...at least his eyes do.

GPS can be so funny sometimes. We had friends who followed theirs and ended up at a brick wall. Evidently, the road had significantly changed.

That's a cool castle and maybe your GPS knew you had Gnomes on your mind and decided you should discover this place.

Have a good weekend a day in advance:~)

Lynn said...

Granny Annie -

I got that GPS when I started that print job and was driving all over the place - it's been handy. I'm glad I took that side journey, even though it made me late.

Yes - there could be something slightly sinister about those guys. :)

Hilary -

I read somewhere that the owners are very nice and just a little quirky - I could see that. Cheers to you!

Sara -

Maybe. And you have a great weekend, too!

Shionge said...

It reminded me of the Amazing Race where I saw the contestants grabbed this Gnome...is it the same type?