I have discovered a great little secret in the mountains of Hiawassee, Georgia. It is a wonderful coffee house cafe called, “Mountain Perk Coffee House Cafe”. Whenever I am in the area with a extra time to kill, I always stop in to have a white chocolate latte and blueberry scone. I set up my computer and start blogging. The guys that work the counter are so friendly and the atmosphere is so relaxed that it is like sitting at home working in my kitchen.

Mountain Perk Coffee House is a fully gourmet coffee house. You can get any kind you want! They are the home of a brand of coffee called “The Dancing Goat”. I was given a sample of it today and it was the best coffee I have ever tasted. The legend of dancing goats goes as follows:

“Coffee was first discovered in what is now called Ethiopia. According to legend, the area’s
remote highlands were home to a goatherd named Kaldi. One day he noticed his goats dancing
and prancing after eating the small, red fruit of a nearby shrub. Not wishing to be left out of the
fun, Kaldi ate the coffee cherries and soon he was dancing with is goats.”

I just learned today that the staff are certified and trained Baristas, which are “bartenders in a coffee shop.” They serve organic coffees and teas from around the world. They make their own soups and sandwiches from scratch and have a variety of scones, muffins and breads. I tried a strawberry-banana smoothie today that was excellent!

The other really cool thing about this coffeehouse is that it promotes and features local artists, authors and musicians. They have writers night, which is an open mic for local writers, live music, local artist, book signings and there is a great reading area in the back that has new and used books on sale.

I highly recommend stopping by when passing through Hiawassee, you will be pleasantly surprised and extremely pleased.

Singing Out!

There aren’t many places to go for fun in this tiny little town of Blairsville.  But, if someone is desperate for some fun, there is a little restaurant/bar in Hiawassee called the Yacht Club. Tuesday night is karaoke night. So, last night, My Mother, brother, my daughter Haley, Dad, Charles and Erika Rich and I went to check things out.

The place was packed and loud with singing and laughter. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. We found the only table left and quickly sat down. We ordered a couple drinks and a huge plate of onion rings. As we sat back and listened, we heard everything from Charlie Daniels to Neil Diamond. Ability did not stop anyone from jumping up to the mic to sing their song. I give them credit for having the guts to get up there and sing. And you know what? It’s all about having fun…who cares how good you sing? But, was I, Tracy Matlack, going to have what it takes to sing out in front of a crowd?

Mom, Ray, Haley and I got caught up in the excitement and quickly wrote down a song we wanted to sing and gave it to the DJ. We went off in the corner and practiced a few times until we felt comfortable with it. The longer we sat, waiting to be called up, the more nervous we got and Mom just about chickened out!  He finally called our names and we got up in front of about 35 people and sang our rendition of I’ll Fly Away. We even had three part harmony going in some places.

It was a lot of fun and we went back to our seats with smiles on our faces. We faced our fears and lived through a new experience.  Like I said earlier, I am excited about trying new things and living new adventures. This is one I think I will be doing again soon!