Head for the hills

New Orleans couple finds refuge by buying a
bed and breakfast in the mountains of Georgia

By: Millie Ball, Travel Editor
Date Sunday, June 8, 2003

HIAWASSEE, Georgia -- Every afternoon, Bill and TooToo Cirlot head to their home's deck with glasses of something cool and sit down to relax and watch what they call their "sunset cruise."

"We just look at the view," said Bill. And sometimes chat with their overnight guests sharing the mountain vista from the Cirlots' six-room inn, Mountain Memories Bed & Breakfast.

Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia, is to the left, perfectly formed like a peak in a child's drawing. Beyond are more of northern Georgia's tree-covered mountains, fading in the distance into smoky shades of blue. To the right, on the B&B's sloping, mowed lawn, is a doghouse-size wood structure with "See Rock City" on its roof.

Birds twitter. Guests talk and sometimes laugh softly. On the last Friday evening in May, stress seemed to have evaporated into the low humidity.

Well-behaved pets

Later that night, it was chilly enough to sleep under blankets. One guest woke up long enough to smile as she looked down at her 14-pound mutt with curly auburn fur; the dog was snoozing peacefully beside the bed. Unlike some B&B owners, the Cirlots like animals, own a cat (Meenoush -- "French for kitty, like when you don't know a cat's name and say, 'Here kitty,' " explained TooToo). The Cirlots' eyes are sad when they mention their dog died not long ago. So they welcome most well-behaved pets. (Some guests -- ahem -- have perfect pets.)

This time last year, the Cirlots were desperate to find some down time in their hectic lives. They lived in Covington, commuting three hours daily to jobs in New Orleans. Bill was general manager of the Best Western French Quarter Landmark hotel. TooToo, a nickname her parents came up with 43 years ago, shortly after they legally named their baby Marylou, was administrative coordinator of the heart failure and heart transplant section at Ochsner Foundation Hospital. High stress jobs, both of them.

That dream so many of us have about swapping lifestyles? They did it.

"It was complete corporate burnout," said Bill, who is the more serious, steady one, while TooToo is Sandy Duncan peppy and petite, with cropped blond hair.

"We had a good friend who had been in a car wreck, and was in the hospital a long time," said TooToo. "He really wanted a Corvette, and one day after he was well again, he told his wife, 'I should have a Corvette.' But then he said, 'No, can't do it. It's a mortgage for a house.' His wife asked him, 'What life are you going to buy one in? This one or the next?' So he bought it the next day."

The Cirlots were beginning to think like that. Their families supported them.

It was after breakfast the last morning in May that they sat again on their Georgia deck to tell their story. Bill, 42, tall, with a graying goatee and mustache beneath his straight brown hair, was dressed for the day in a polo shirt and chinos. TooToo, wearing no makeup, her arms holding her knees and her feet propped on the edge of the chair, was still wearing blue and black plaid pajamas. "I tell guests that's the dress code for breakfast."

"Actually, I was at work one day, one of those really bad days," said Bill. "And I called her at work and said, 'What do you think of buying a B&B?' "

Why not?

So Bill hit the Internet and researched B&Bs, mainly in North Carolina's mountains, where New Orleanians appreciate the cool summer temperatures. He'd found Mountain Memories online, and called the real estate agent, but where exactly is Hiawassee, right?

He forgot about it until the agent called the day before their B&B investigation trip last September. They agreed to stop in Hiawassee on their way to see an inn in Waynesville, N.C.

They stayed several hours. The older couple who had run Mountain Memories for 10 years was ready to retire.

The Cirlots were intrigued by the two-story B&B up a hill so steep that most cars can't go more than five miles an hour, even after switching into second gear and mashing the gas pedal. Who knew Georgia has such hills and such views? There were whirlpools in some rooms. There were decks, porches, wooden swings.

By Jan. 24 this year, they'd sold their home in Covington and were the new owners of Mountain Memories B&B. On Jan. 31, they had a full house, a group that had been here previously.

"I expect the worst, and when it doesn't happen, then I'm glad," said Bill.

"I'm the eternal optimist," said TooToo.

The hills are alive

So far, so good, although the daily shopping has been a bit of a surprise to TooToo. "And we're really surprised by how many good restaurants there are in Hiawassee," she said.

"And how many things there are to do," said Bill, handing over an envelope of brochures. Country stars from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to Charley Pride, Trace Adkins and the Oak Ridge Boys are on the schedule at the Georgia Mountain Fair this season.

There's Brasstown Bald with an observation deck and theater at 4,784 feet; the Chattahoochee National Forest; a couple of crossings of the Appalachian Trail, which begins in northern Georgia; an outdoor summer show, "The Reach of Song," about the cultural heritage of southern Appalachia before, during and after World War II; Lake Chatuge, a Tennessee Valley Authority reservoir with marinas for fishers; a vineyard; kayaking.

"Hamilton Gardens right down the road has the largest collection of rhododendron in Georgia," said Bill proudly. It's in bloom from late April to early May.

Highlands, N.C., a favorite of New Orleanians, is about an hour's drive northeast; Helen, Ga., sort of a junior Gatlinburg, but with zoning to maintain the pseudo Swiss Alps atmosphere tourists seem to love, is less than an hour southeast.

Communing with nature

"We call it our little slice of heaven," said Bill. "The stress level here, there's no comparison."

With the bright eyes of a child, TooToo said, "We have a ground hog, deer, rabbits, wild turkeys. We had a cardinal I named Crazy Charlie, and he'd bang on the window every morning, but he's not back this year."

So far, they've had a couple renew their vows in the B&B's gazebo, had a few guests -- very few -- who Bill described as "challenging," and they are content. And happy.

They've brought some of New Orleans with them, Carnival beads, art and posters. But Hiawassee is now home, and they're already boosters of the area.

It's amazing what can happen in a year when you quit talking about changing your life -- and do something about it.

Millie Ball can be reached at mball@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3462.

IF YOU GO TO HIAWASSEE, GA. . . .

Getting there: Hiawassee is two hours from Atlanta; Asheville, N.C.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Greenville, S.C. Check maps or call for best routes.

Mountain Memories B&B. 385 Chancey Drive, Hiawassee, Georgia, 30546. Tel. (800) 335-VIEW (8439) or (706) 896-VIEW (8439); www.mountainmemoriesbandb.com. There are six rooms; couples in love should pick the more romantic upstairs rooms, while pet owners would do best downstairs. Double room rates are $135 a night on weekends, $125 Sunday-Thursday, including an evening dessert buffet and a breakfast buffet -- both excellent. Children 12 and older are welcome. Firefighters and law enforcement personnel should ask about special midweek rates, when available.

Area information: Towns County Chamber of Commerce, (800) 984-1543; e-mail townscoc@brmemc.net; www.MountainTopGa.com. Besides the helpful county visitors guide, request the brochure on Southern Highroads Trail: Scenic Driving Tour of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.