Georgia

It sounds like the beginning of a dirty joke: “A lady novelist walks into a monastery . . .” but I am very serious about spending the weekend sleeping, meditating, singing, and praying with forty near-silent, white-robed, celibate men.

In 1968, the tiny mountain town of Helen was dying. Over lunch, three local businessmen decided the town needed to add some street appeal if it hoped to capture the interests of passersby. By the time the leaves began to turn in 1969, Alpine Helen was born.

A selection of fun ways to celebrate the season, including trips to must-visit museums and a getaway to Macon.

There’s a common sentiment in Macon that downtown used to be nothing but parking lots—and now you can’t find anywhere to park. While you may have to settle for a space an extra block or two away these days, strolling around town is precisely the point of this charming central Georgia city’s cultural and social revival.

At Tank Town USA in Morganton, visitors can bash a junker with a sledgehammer before crushing it with an armored personnel carrier.

Take the plunge at these unique Southern scuba-diving destinations. Come face-to-face with West Indian manatees, explore the 120-foot-deep lake on the Tennessee-Kentucky border, and marvel at the northernmost coral reef system in the country.

On Jekyll Island, Georgia, the glittering era has been carefully preserved in numerous historical structures, most notably the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.

The star of FX’s Atlanta shares why he loves the Alpine village—and where to find his favorite socks.

This year, our youngest child settled fully into college life, and I got an eight-week-old puppy. I claim these two facts are wholly unrelated, but Bruegel the Boston terrier will never leave my house for a dorm room, much less start dating a musician.

It’s the little things that matter most on a weekend escape to the largest of Georgia’s enchanting Golden Isles.