Video summary
An Australian vlogger shares their first-time experience visiting Northern Georgia, highlighting the stark contrast between this region and Southern California. Upon arriving in Atlanta and traveling north, the traveler was immediately struck by the lush, green landscape dominated by dense forests and rivers, a natural environment that felt more reminiscent of Australian bushland than the concrete jungles of the West Coast. The trip was intentionally paced to allow for immersion rather than frantic vlogging, with significant time spent relaxing on porches and observing wildlife, particularly deer that would gather to eat from their hands. A memorable encounter involved a pregnant female deer protecting her fawn from males, showcasing the peaceful coexistence between humans and nature in this part of the country.
The cultural and commercial differences were equally surprising, especially during a visit to a Walmart in Ellijay where firearms were openly displayed alongside spray paint and other goods without being locked in cages, a practice the vlogger had never seen before. The town itself offered a charming, slower-paced atmosphere that reminded the traveler of Portland's earlier days before it became overly commercialized. In Athens, Georgia, the group explored a bustling university city with a vibrant arts scene, visited a tattoo shop, and even spotted rapper Soulja Boy performing at the local theater. The area also featured unique attractions like a wildlife rescue zoo where an alligator was spotted, and quirky roadside art installations that added to the eccentric charm of the region.
The highlight of the journey occurred in Cedartown when the vlogger met with extended family for a day of shooting and training. Guided by a cousin who is a former law enforcement officer and firearms instructor, the traveler learned how to handle an M&P .22 rifle and participated in defensive tactics training while wearing specialized protective gear used for raiding meth labs. This experience was described as a highlight of the trip, offering a glimpse into a lifestyle and skill set that many Australians do not have access to due to strict regulations back home. Beyond the shooting range, the group explored an indoor skate park in a small town and floated down a river, further emphasizing the blend of modern amenities with deep-rooted connections to the land.
Overall, the trip was described as a refreshing change of pace that allowed the traveler to slow down and appreciate the natural beauty and community spirit of the South. The vlogger expressed gratitude to their hosts, including the mother-in-law Mary who facilitated much of the experience, and noted that the combination of nature, local culture, and unique activities made it an unforgettable journey. With plans to return for more adventures, such as visiting the Bigfoot Museum rumored to be located in Northern Georgia, the traveler concluded that this region offers a distinct and welcoming alternative to the fast-paced life they are used to at home.
Read the full video transcript
All right, what's up guys? We have
recently just come home from a trip to
the south, Georgia specifically.
Northern Georgia we spent the most time
in, so we didn't get to really check out
Atlanta that much apart from like flying
in and then driving out of Atlanta, but
it was still cool to see the different
kind of geography and buildings and
stuff like that compared to Southern
California. This is my first time to the
south as an Australian. We're only there
for 1 week and we packed in as much
stuff as possible. Like there's a whole
bunch of stuff that we did. I didn't do
too much like running and gunning
vlogging style on my phone because I
just kind of wanted to be there and take
it all in and like live through the
moment. I just wanted to share with you
guys my first experience to the south as
an Australian. Once we touched down in
Atlanta, I was blown away by the amount
of just trees and forest and bush there
is there. Like everything is so green. I
know they get a lot of rain in the
south, so it makes sense like why
everything is so green and lush. The
very next morning
was the first encounter we had with like
wild deers.
You feed one of them and then the rest
come bolting down.
You guys already ate. You had heaps
earlier.
He's the only one that will eat out of
my hand. He's got a bone angle.
Something happened to his ankles here,
right there.
Not too sure what happened, but I think
he's all right.
Yeah.
Wildest thing was like going into the
Walmart in Ellijay and there was like a
minimal people there. It was like the
middle of the day. There wasn't that
many people there. And once you buy your
stuff, there's no one standing at the
door asking to see your receipt to like
check it off.
And uh the biggest difference in this
Walmart compared to the local Walmart
here is they sold firearms, which I'd
never seen at Walmart before in my life.
And the spray paint was not in a cage.
Like everything was out. Same with like
the boxes and the socks and like the
toothpaste and stuff. All that stuff was
just sitting on the rack. Nothing was in
cages, which blew my mind. So, we did
get to check out Athens in Georgia, and
Athens is like kind of a more of a
bustling university-style city. It was
probably like an hour and a half from
where we were at.
And we got to like walk around the
street and like pop into a few stores
and stuff. I stopped into the tattoo
shop over there, Walk Along Tattoo. All
those dudes, super nice. For me
personally, Athens kind of reminded me
of like Portland, how it has that kind
of music, art, culture before Portland
kind of went in the toilet. I feel like
Athens is still kind of has that
charming kind of vibe about it. Um we
actually seen Soulja Boy in the middle
of the sand. We seen at the front of the
Georgia Theater that they were
performing. We went back later that
night, and we were able to like pop our
head through the door and see Soulja Boy
doing the um
I actually got to see a gator. So, I
seen an alligator. It was in a zoo, but
um they had this like wildlife rescue
zoo that we checked out in Athens, and
you could walk around.
So, we're back in Ellijay, Georgia,
which is northern Georgia. Look at this
hat that I got. I got this hat at a
thrift in Athens. It was $7.50. We're
just going to explore Ellijay today.
It's Sunday, so a lot of businesses are
closed cuz it is a small town, but we
seen a bunch of like semi-abandoned
places. We're going to go stick our
heads in at, hopefully, and just see
what there is to do
for uh two people on a Sunday in LAJ.
So we hit this mom pop cafe in town and
it was like a small really charming
coffee shop and the funniest thing they
had a sign on the door and it was like
no no Wi-Fi, no public restroom, no free
water and just seeing a sign like that
is crazy cuz like cafe culture in Los
Angeles is like come on in, sit down,
take your time. Like if you need to work
on anything there's free Wi-Fi, we've
got a restroom, there's free water. Like
it's just funny to see in contrast the
differences. We pulled up to this
Squidbillies thing that's remember cut
on Cartoon Network? Do you remember this
thing from Cartoon Network?
Adult Swim? Is that on Cartoon Network?
But there's a big art installation here
with a Squidbilly and people have broken
the limbs off it and put some graffiti
on it, some stickers and whatnot.
On the side of the highway here.
And there's some questionable vehicles
in the back there. I don't kind of want
to go and look but I don't want to come
up on anyone.
I don't want to fall through.
He's like the Walking Dead.
He's like a zombie in this car.
That bus too.
And the dump.
And this is the bush.
So in summertime you get a tube or a
floaty and you come down here and this
is where you get in and then you get on
the river here and you float down
however far. Let's go have a look.
Wow.
It's probably I don't know a foot and a
half 2 ft deep here but over in the
middle maybe it's deeper and you just
float down the river.
I think it picks up a bit further down
there.
Wow. I haven't seen this much greenery
and shrubbery since I was in Australia.
Honestly a lot of the south or northern
Georgia is reminding me of like Wagga
Wagga in Campbelltown with the forest
and stuff, with the bush I should say
forest. Camden bush, I'd go swimming in
the river like this, go hang out there.
So, this is giving similar kind of vibes
to like southwestern Sydney.
This is very similar to like how I'd
walk home from the skate park
first half of my life. Like there's a
shortcut through the bush, it's very
similar to this.
Yeah.
So, this is what we've been doing. This
is about 85% of the trip is just Rachel
wanting to feed the deers here
off the porch.
We're out We're out in town earlier and
she said we need to go home now because
the deers are going to be here soon.
So, that's what we're doing. This one's
pregnant, we think. She's got a belly on
her.
>> Huge ears.
>> Yeah.
>> Those two are males.
>> Mhm.
Yeah, she's been running them off.
Look, look, look, ready?
She stonches them out.
Look.
Go on, get. Go on, get, she says.
So, we drove by this semi-indoor skate
park that was probably the only thing to
skate within a 100-mile radius. At first
glance, we thought like the gates were
locked, but Rachel actually opened the
fence and I decided to have a few kick
turns on the ramp.
>> This isn't bad. Like if it's a small
town
and then the church has a a skate park
like this, why not? Honestly. It's
indoors. They have curtains, too. Look.
I think for that's I think that's when
it rains or snows hard.
I'm out of breath.
Haven't skated since being here.
All right, let's go.
>> You've gone like months without skating.
It's only been a week.
>> Shout out to Corey out of Keen Ramps.
Look at that. All the way from Long
Beach, California.
Out in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Out in Blue
Ridge.
>> Yeah.
>> This is Blue Ridge, right? Yeah. Not
L.A. J.
This is the day I'd been looking forward
to for months now. We drove down to
Cedartown to meet up with some family
and Rachel's cousin Josh was kind enough
to let me jump on the tractor and he
showed me the ropes and I was able to
clear the brush before we could get to
the shooting, which I was super pumped
for.
>> So we're out here in Cedartown,
northwest Georgia.
I'm here with Josh.
He's a firearm instructor and also
extended family. We're going to do some
shooting today. Super excited for this
cuz I feel like a lot of Australians
don't get this opportunity to learn how
to shoot and train like this because if
we did, we'd be on a list in Australia,
so very happy to be out here. But what
is this M&P .22? Yep. Shoots smooth as
butter.
>> A lot more to go after that.
>> And we've got a bunch more to go after
>> Oh, yeah.
>> What's your background?
>> So, 16 years law enforcement,
SWAT trained, I did
about 8 years instructor, as a firearms
instructor, defensive tactics
instructor, and a general instructor
teaching new academy.
Um
I taught at the range more than I did
anything teaching firearms.
I worked undercover narcotics for five
of those years, and this is what we had
to wear going into meth lab raids, which
were prevalent around here. Meth was
everywhere, and
this particular vest is flash proof,
um
flame retardant. There's a whole suit
that goes with it.
>> So, as you can see, we all had an
absolute blast being able to shoot and
train in the bush there, and I had a ton
of fun myself, and I just want to give a
big thank you to Josh and to Jackie for
being so welcoming and organizing the
whole day. Like I had a ton of fun. Like
this was the highlight of the trip for
me.
So, this has been an absolute trip of a
lifetime. Being able to see a different
part of America was kind of like really
refreshing for me. It was really nice to
kind of slow down and just like
have that mellow kind of pace of life.
And honestly, a lot of the time we
spent, we spent just sitting on the
porch and just relaxing in nature. I
feel like in the south, there's still
forest and trees and nature, and they've
kind of built their infrastructure
around rivers and forests and stuff like
that. So, there's still kind of a
connection to the land, whereas
California is kind of pretty much just a
suburban concrete jungle for the most
part or desert. So, it was really nice
to to in and around nature. I just want
to give a massive shout out to my
mother-in-law Mary for having us out
there and hosting us. Like it was such a
fun time just to relax and be out in the
bush there with the deers and stuff.
That's pretty much it for this video.
Like I'm super glad that we got to check
out the south and I'm definitely keen to
go back because there's a lot more stuff
that we want to do. Like there was a
bunch of stuff that we did. I just
couldn't fit it all into one video. We
got to check out the Bigfoot Museum
which is kind of sick. Apparently
there's a lot of Bigfoot sightings over
there in northern Georgia. So people are
out there looking for Bigfoot. If you
guys are new to my channel, make sure
you subscribe, leave me a thumbs up,
drop me a comment below.
Check out eveningmob.com if you want to
support me further. Follow me on
Instagram at Enochism. That's pretty
much it. Cheers for watching the video
and I'll see you guys in the next one.