Welcome to Visit Augusta GA blog

Mountain biking is a great activity to explore the area around Augusta.  With over 100 miles of single track, you can take your pick from all sorts of trail options.  This weekend we decided to check out a new section of Bartram trail that connects two parks at Lake Thurmond.  The new section extends the length of the original trail to 18 ½ miles one way from West Dam Park to Wildwood Park while passing by Spring Lakes and Petersburg Campground.  Depending how far you want to ride on this in and out style of trail, you can start at any of the four trailheads.  We met up with friends at the trailhead just outside the Petersburg Campground to ride the new section that extends towards Wildwood Park.

The new trail is considered intermediate level and was designed with exciting banked turns, dips, and jumps.

With all those fun features and the occasional beautiful view of the lake while meandering through the woods, this trail could easily become a favorite of mine!

If you’d like to ride Bartram Trail or explore some of the other trails in the area check out SORBA-CSRA, our local mountain biking club. Their website  and forum are great resources for biking information and directions.

If you need to rent a mountain bike during your visit, contact Chain Reaction Bicycle Shop at (706) 855-2024.

See you on the trails!

“Whirl (N): a rapid round of events, affairs, etc”

We all need a little mini-vacation sometimes and a weekend whirl to freshen things up is always fun. October in Augusta, Ga ushers in cool fall weather and plenty of ways to enjoy it. Downtown is in full swing with exhibits, concerts, performing arts and festivals. So start planning your trip now for October 14^th – 16^th!

Friday Night

Cruise the Augusta Canal. Order dinner to go from Casa Blanca Cafe, grab a bottle of wine and a light blanket and put it all in a picnic basket before you head down to the Augusta Canal for a moonlight cruise with live music on board.

Saturday

Cruise around town. After strolling through the Saturday Market on the River, head over to the Augusta Museum of History and take a historic tour of Augusta aboard a trolley. You’ll learn about the legend of the Haunted Pillar, the bones in the basement of the Old Medical College building and lots of other cool facts about the history of Augusta.

Art Credit: Leonard "Porkchop" Zimmerman

 

Cruise through Gåårtdensity. Pronounced Garden City, Gåårtdensity Gallery offers an eclectic mix of urban art and jewelry from local artists. Make sure you check out one of my favorite artists – Leonard “Porkchop” Zimmerman – at the gallery. You’ll love his fun interpretation of pumpkins as part of the “Lurking in the Orange” exhibit, opening this weekend!

Cruise to 5 O’Clock. Head over to Kings Way and dine like a king for dinner at the 5 O’Clock Bistro. Make sure you try the Southern Fried Goat Cheese Pie with Georgia Peach Vinaigrette – it is absolutely delicious!

Zombies are cruisin’ for a bruisin’. Learn how to spot and slay zombies in Augusta’s first interactive haunted attraction – Zombie Apocalypse Survival Camp. Le Chat Noir combines off-Broadway style theatre with haunted house scares and audience participation for an awesome Halloween season experience that you definitely should try.

Sunday

Cruise through the sky. Boshears Skyfest is a local favorite each year. Take a ride on a helicopter or airplane, watch air shows and parachute teams perform, ride the carnival rides and eat fair food for lunch before heading home.

Note: This blog was written last year after the Hispanic Festival. The 2011 Hispanic Festival is this weekend – October 8th & 9th.

Augusta is home to many different festivals, celebrating all sorts of different things. Each year in the fall the Hispanic American Cultural Association in Augusta hosts a weekend-long festival celebrating Hispanic heritage in Augusta.  A couple of weeks ago I decided to check out the Hispanic Festival. I love festivals, especially all the food!  This year there were food vendors from fifteen different Spanish speaking countries.

Everything smelled so good that it was hard to choose what to eat!  There were also plenty of choices for refreshments like pina coladas and fresh squeezed lemonade from the lemon truck.

The Augusta Common is always really lively during festivals and events like First Friday. There were a ton of folks enjoying the day along with the fantastic food and music.  I also found a fantastic pair of earrings for $5 at one of the vendors’ tents!

I had such a great time that I’m looking forward to the Hispanic Festival again next year!

On a fall Saturday, my husband and I, along with our neighborhood friends decided to check out Steed’s Dairy Farm.

This is the perfect place to bring the entire family for a fun filled day with lots of fun activities and sites to see!

Steed’s Dairy is a working farm, right in Augusta’s backyard.

This farm is complete with cows, cornfields, a five acre corn maze, petting zoo, hayrides, and plenty of activities for the kids. Just to name a few: slides, corn kernel sand box, face painting, jumping pillow, and much more! We enjoyed our time out there and I thoroughly enjoyed the delicious boiled peanuts-a fall favorite! They have a great concession stand that includes Chick -fil-a! You can enjoy your eats and treats under their pavilion picnic.

I recommend you make Steed’s Dairy your new fall family tradition, and don’t forget your camera!!!

Steed’s Dairy
4634 Wrightsboro Road
Grovetown, GA 30813
706-855-2948

(Note: This blog was originally posted November 5, 2010. It has been updated with information about Arts in the Heart 2011)

Arts in the Heart of Augusta is one of my favorite festivals.  I look forward to attending each year.  Every year a different country is showcased and this year it was Brazil.

This year I was on a mission!  My neighbor – Mr. Melvin has lived in Augusta all his life but has never been to Arts in the Heart!  I couldn’t believe it so I invited him to come along with me, my mom and youngest son.  Of course, he was surprised by how big of an event it was.

Obviously food is abundant with all the different countries represented.  There are over 15 different countries represented in the world food bazaar each year.  Mr. Melvin had no trouble deciding what to eat though.  He went straight for Jamaica.

I ate a Meat Patty from Jamaica on Friday  so I was headed for the Fish and Chips from Ireland on Saturday.

We walked around and checked out the  arts and crafts, and  jewelry before we stopped at a couple of the stages.

Now, there was a time when I would sit at the Children’s stage or the Family stage and just watch all the different groups perform.

If I got a good seat up front I wasn’t moving!  Since our group was mixed this year I thought we should keep it moving and get a little more variety.

I don’t think I will have to convince Mr. Melvin to go next year.  As a matter of fact he already told me he was going to bring his stadium chair next time!

Arts in the Heart of Augusta 2011: September 16 – 18

Friday, Sept 16: 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Saturday, Sept 17: 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Sunday, Sept 18: 12 noon – 7 p.m.

Featured Culture for 2011: GREECE

Weekend Badges: $7 at the gate   //  $5 in advance (available at all SRP locations)