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Editor’s Note make yourself at home region offers incredible natural beauty – and hospitality that will make you want to stay W Specializing in Remodeling and New Home Construction Before Before After Customization expertise Turnkey solutions No job too big or too small Serving all of Northeast Alabama Licensed and insured “I had another contractor look at the house and he said it was going to need too much work and in the end, we would still just have an old house. It was the difference in daylight and darkness talking to Scotty. He started talking about all the things we could do. He had so many ideas I would have never thought of. We wanted to preserve every bit of the history of the house we possibly could. And Scotty told me about ways we could do that. He also knew we were trying to stay within a budget and he met it. John and I could not possibly be any more happy with what he did for us.” –Sara Quinn To find out more about this remodeling project and other information, visit vccinc.co 256-996-7111 John and Sara Quin hile i am noW officially a resident of the lookout mountain area, i still feel compelled at times to say, almost apologetically, “i’m not from around here, but...” (my husband is, i’ve been coming here regularly for almost 15 years, etc.). during the past three months, while crisscrossing the lookout mountain region conducting interviews for this issue, i have met many people like myself – transplants from other areas. many of the them hail from places much farther away than the Birmingham, ala., suburb where i grew up. i’ve found it interesting and somewhat reassuring that almost all of them used the same phrase and tone near the beginning of our conversation: “i’m not from around here, but...” There must be a reason for this. i think maybe we want to fit in with the locals – many of whom go back many, many generations. not that anyone has made me feel like an outsider. Just the opposite; locals have gone out of their to make me feel at home. still, human nature is a funny thing – it seems important to name some tie, whether it be through family, friends or even business. While alabama’s lookout mountain region offers a wealth of natural beauty and rich cultural experiences and is ideally located, it is just beginning to be discovered by a wide audience. Which is why i was surprised to meet so people from across the country who had not only learned of the area, but made it their home. There’s tami Brooks, director of Gadsden’s imagination Place children’s museum, who moved here from california. The executive director of deKalb county tourism, John dersham, is from Pennsylvania. (see his column on page 6.) Joan and Jim Byrum, whose home is featured on page 54, came here from selma, ala. and then there are two members of the cherokee county Park Board – dave crum, from new Jersey, and Jeff Wolfe, from indiana. They all gush praise for this region and enjoy talking about the reactions of their family members and friends who are unfamiliar with it. “They think this is Xanadu,” Brooks says of friends who battle urban california traffic. Wolfe has created an informal tour of the area for his visitors. he takes them by yellow creek falls, then cherokee rock Village (see story page 40), then to little river falls and around the rim of little river canyon to orbix hot Glass, where they can make their own glass art. They then travel on to desoto state Park and usually end up having lunch at the Wildflower café in mentone, Cel ebr atin g the lookou t Mou nta in reg ion ’s Cul tur e, history and nat ura l beauty ala. They spend the afternoon on a pontoon boat on Weiss lake. Plan Your “People cannot F all believe that northeast G etaway alabama has all this,” he says. A Rock-Climb Mecca with ers’ A Shabby ‘Sheep SpeCtACulA still, it’s not just ’ event Venue ViewS for everyo R ne Visiting a Stop the natural beauty on Hank’s last Rid Keeping Appal e Folk Music Ali achian ve or things to do that A Secret Bed & Breakfast inspire people to visit And more! this region time and again or make it their home. it’s the people. They are quick to greet a new face with a warm smile, and are just as quick to make you feel like you belong here. tourists often say one of the best things about visiting the area is the laid-back atmosphere. i agree and would like to personally invite you to come experience the lookout mountain region and its charm for yourself. Fall 2013 lesso the trail of tears ns from an exotic animal park , walk with author Jerry philosopher, made ellis, a wood-carv ing -to-order meal kids’ museum s at the hardware ing that’s all about store, a imagination, fall events Olivia Grider Editor [email protected] Fall 2013 Lookout ALAbAmA 1