Exploring Local Treasures
Tiffany Morse
2.6.21
We had been at home in lockdown for months. I was so ready to get out, I would have even gone somewhere cold, if it meant I got to take a road trip. I was aching to go somewhere, pretty much anywhere. I am sure that you can relate. We needed a piece of equipment to keep going on our house building project. My husband looked and found the piece we needed in a little town in Georgia. The sleepy, little town of Senoia that is about 35 miles outside of Atlanta, two hours away from us. Why would I want to visit there? It is a very old-fashioned, pretty town, that is sometimes full of zombies. This is one of the locations where they film the television show, “The Walking Dead.” I understand that this may not be for everyone, but I was excited. I learned of the town about four years ago and have wanted to visit it ever since.
I had no idea the town was that close to us. I had been going farther away, not really looking at a hidden gem. We excitedly piled into the car, grabbed some snacks, drinks, and headphones for the kids and were off. It was an adventure. We got to see some beautiful back roads, along the way. It was pretty easy to find. It was a Sunday afternoon so it was not crowded, but many things were not open as it was a Sunday Afternoon during a pandemic. We all wore our masks and did practice social distancing.
As we walked further down the street we saw the adorable shops, cute signs, and Woodbury. I will not give too many details or spoilers, but Woodbury is a Primary Setting of Season 3 with The Governor and his group of survivors. This is where a few main characters end up. This is the street they walk up. You feel as though they are there. So, if “The Walking Dead” is not your cup of tea, think about your favorite TV show or movie. How cool would it be to walk around in that world? I confess I did occasionally look around to make sure there were not any “walkers” around. It feels so real and the attention to details was so well done.
Going on down the street we found many cool things. They have a TWD Museum, which we saw through a window. It looked really amazing and we would love to come back. The kids haven’t seen the show, but thought it looked fun. Another really cool thing we found was that there were many stars in the pavement with several different names of TV shows or movies on them that were filmed there. It has been the set for all kinds of films and shows. It was very interesting. I also loved the way that they did the details. They had details that someone who has watched the show would understand, but most were not so graphic that it would scare people or children.
On the right of the Street, we passed by Nic & Norman’s. This is a restaurant with a passion for great food brought to life by Director and Special Effects Director on TWD , Greg Nicotero and TWD Actor, Norman Reedus. We looked inside, saw masks being worn and social distancing being followed. The food looked wonderful, but it was getting late and not everyone felt comfortable eating out yet so we will have to catch it next time.
At the end of the main street we came to small park with a few trees. Next we crossed the railroad tracks, ambled down the street to find the odd town of Alexandria, which comes in seasons and continues to be a part of the show. That was incredible. The amount that you can see even from behind the fences is great. We went up pretty close and yes, I may have crossed a line to get few close ups of the sign. It felt amazing to be outside, on an adventure as a family. Doing something normal for a change was great. Hearing my kids laugh and seeing them run near the gates of Alexandria (them of course not knowing they were running and laughing where loads of walkers had been) was surreal.
We walked back up the street and found an ice cream shop open. I went in first, explained Daniel’s life-threatening peanut allergy and they told me about all of the precautions they take and how they handle food allergies. I was confident they were doing the right things, so we went and gave them a try. This turned out to be a great experience and really helped Daniel to not be as scared over eating ice cream out. (We ended up in ER in New York City because of cross contamination and he had not eaten ice cream out in almost 2 years, not that we blamed him or were crazy about the idea ourselves.) It did however bring happy tears to my eyes to see my husband, kids, and Mom enjoying a wonderful summer outing and sweet treat. That was the most “normal” thing we had done since March and it was August.
We finished our tour of town, eating our cherished ice cream, looking out the window. Out the window we had a perfect view, of the Governor’s Balcony. It was creepy to say the least and I did not want to be there after dark. As we got to vehicle, got in and began to drive away we saw one last nod the show. To the left and down the train tracks was the sign for the road to Terminus. Terminus, is not all that it seems to be and definitely not the place to vacation so we headed home. It was a fantastic day and I can’t wait to go back and see some of the things that were closed and try Nic & Norman’s.
It is funny to me how many treasures and great places to go that we sometimes overlook as we are so focused on going to the ones so far away. Another jewel that we found was a local park. It had gazebos that were empty where we would sometimes stop, eat lunch or dinner and let our kids run around. It may not be the zombie apocalypse, but these are definitely strange days. We all have different comfort levels and will be ready to travel at different times. Whenever you are ready, it is near or far, I would love to help you build your next adventure, tiffm@wishesfamilytravel.com or 678-770-4144. Can’t wait to see you out there!