Hello there! As the Executive Producer of the Georgia Traveler series it's my pleasure to tell you a little bit about the "behind the scenes" action involved in the production of our fourth brand new show this season. As you may know from the Georgia Traveler website, on this episode we’re on a
Rabun Gap Ramble, exploring the Rabun Gap Loop in the northeast mountains.
Rabun county is a beautiful place, and it's about as far northeast as you can go without being in the Carolinas! It's a very popular place for tourists to visit and fall is the perfect season for leaf peeping. The main drag (so to speak) through the county is US 441, so, that's the basic route we choose to travel. The road goes directly through some beautiful mountain scenery but is fairly straight and has four lanes in most places, which is also what made it perfect for the motorcycling segment. Phil has been interested in motorcycles for a while and he volunteered to take the State's Motorcycle Safety Training Course and become licensed in order to complete the shooting on this show. Since Phil was a relatively new rider, we wanted a safe, straight road. Motorcyclists with more experience will want to check out US 76, which winds from Ringgold to Clayton throughout the Georgia Mountains. One of our future shows explores part of that path, show 206,
Scenic Mountain Highways. Phil was joined by some friends and we chose Clayton as the rally point to start our ride. From Clayton we went north on US 441 through Mountain City, Rabun Gap and Dillard. Then we turned south and went to Tallulah Falls. Part of the crew went to Tallulah Gorge State Park to interview our riders fr the motorcycling segment while Phil and Dan (one of our photographers) went over to Isabelle's on the Gorge to shoot our food find for this episode.
If you watch the Isabelle's segment on GPB's website, you'll see all the motorcyclists in the background because the majority of us went to join Phil for lunch once we wrapped those interviews. And I must tell you, the food at Isabelle's was fabulous. I had never had a fried pickle before and that was a very tasty appetizer. My main course was the chicken salad plate and it was great- fresh, homemade chicken salad and some fresh fruit along with a yummy muffin. I always eat so well when I travel with Phil.
In addition to being the show's EP (that's TV lingo for Executive Producer), I also produce segments. For this show I produced the motorcycling segment, but because we were able to shoot both in a single day, I also had the privilege of being present for some of the Isabelle's shoot. David Zelski wrote, produced and edited the story about Lake Burton and our Associate Producer, Jennifer Houston Wood, wrote and produced the segments about the Dillard House and the Chattoooga River. Excellent work by all!
e", exploring the Rabun Gap Loop in the northeast mountains. After an appropriate safety course, Phil is experiencing the outdoors on a motorcycle. The famed Dillard House is our getaway and David finds family fun at Lake Burton. Keely and the guys learn to ride the rapids on the Chattooga River and Phil discovers food with a view at Isabelle's on the Gorge in Tallulah Falls.
