THE COLLEGE CAMPUS TOUR PART 1 – SERENBE, GEORGIA
Look what I got in the mail today! It is a postcard outlining the Commencement Weekend festivities at Duke University.
It is hard to believe that it has been almost 4 years since my son, Taylor, went off to attend Duke. Now, in a few shorts months, he will be a college graduate. On the other hand, my youngest son, Austin, is a junior in high school, and in April we will embark on a trip with him, visiting the college campuses he is interested in. In planning Austin’s trip, I took a nostalgic look back at the college tour I took with Taylor when he was a junior in high school. Our college tour started in Georgia and we traveled to Rhode Island and back, visiting 7 universities along the way. We also took a few side trips that included driving the Blue Ridge Parkway and visiting the Biltmore Estate, as well as a visit to Newport, Rhode Island. Since it is the college-search time of year for many, I thought I’d share our trip with you in a multi-part travel series that will begin in a magical place called Serenbe, Georgia. This part of the trip had absolutely nothing to do with college campuses. Instead, we used the trip south as an excuse to have a family reunion. Our son, Adam, was just down the road attending Georgia Tech University. Our other son, Nathan, and his wife Louisa flew in from DC and her parents joined us from Alabama, and we flew in from California. So, bear with me, as Part 1 of this travel series has nothing to do with college, but everything to do with sharing with you a really wonderful vacation spot called Serenbe.
Serenbe is a 1,000 acre community located about 45 minutes outside of Atlanta. It was developed to demonstrate how a community can provide housing and a commercial area with a minimal impact on nature. I had somehow heard about Serenbe, learned that it had a charming Inn, good restaurants and beautiful grounds, so I became intrigued. When I read that the New York Times dubbed it “the Sonoma of the South” , I was ready to pack my bags. And so, I convinced the rest of the family to join Taylor and me at this really beautiful place, pre college tour.
Serenbe has a very interesting model for what they term “balanced development”. The focus of the community is on land preservation, agriculture, energy efficiency, green building, walkability, high density building, arts and culture, and community living for multiple generations. All of that sounded idelic to me, and when we got there I discovered that in many ways it really was what we think of as Mayberry, USA.
Photo Credit – Serenbe.com
There is a small and very charming downtown area, complete with a few delightful shops and a couple of restaurants. Lovely green plants line the streets……
and there were benches to sit and watch the world go by. Even the sidewalks are decorated with interesting iron sculptures.
Across the street from the storefronts are some really attractive high-density homes. Serenbe’s urban development model calls for commercial space to be integrated with residential space. And I think they achieved that very nicely. There is loft-style housing right in town where you can pop across the street to The Blue Eyed Daisy Bake Shop for your morning coffee and croissant. There is a market, a gift shop, a bike rental shop, a fitness center, an art gallery, a salon and even a spa in town. I understand that now they have since added a Playhouse.
It has all been designed to promote walkability and community living. The hope is that the residents will develop a strong sense of community and enjoy spending a great deal of time there, where most of their needs are met. This, therefore, contributes to a sustainable way of living by reducing the need for what they term “between-place” travel.
Single family residences are just down the street from the main commercial “downtown” area.
Covered porches with rocking chairs and swings were common to most of the residences.
The landscaping throughout the community is low maintanance and natural to the habitat.
Serenbe has an a delightful 20 room Inn where part of our family stayed.
Photo Credit – Serenbe.com
We also rented one of several cottages available to overnight guests.
Photo Credit – Serenbe.com
Our cottage, called Dogwood Cottage, had two bedrooms, each with en-suite bathrooms.
The two bedrooms shared a common living room (where we added a roll-away bed) and small galley kitchen.
Throughout the grounds there were other cottages as well, each with their own distinct charm.
We would walk over to the Inn for a delicious breakfast in the main house every morning.
And one evening we also had dinner at the The Farmhouse Restaurant located at the Inn.
The ultimate goal of the community is to demonstrate how urban development can succeed on the edge of a metropolis, (in this case, Atlanta) while preserving a vast majority of greenspace. Seventy percent of Serenbe’s land is preserved greenspace. A traditional subdivision-style development would generally do just the opposite and disturb nearly 80% of the land. So, our family took full advantage of the magnificent grounds and enjoyed hours of walking and exploring all that the community had to offer. Below is the Lake Pavilion where parties and events are held in an open-air building overlooking the lake and pastures.
Serenbe is also a community that is designed to be self-sustaining. There is a 30 acre, certified-organic farm nestled into the community with homes located right on the edge of the farm. Residents can work the farm, or they can participate in the farms CSA program that offers over 300 varieties of vegetables, herbs, flowers, fruits, and mushrooms to its members. Serenbe’s farm also supports the local restaurants, so much of the food offered in Serenbe’s restaurants was grown right down the street. Residents also enjoy a thriving Farmer’s Market every Saturday in the town square.
Photo Credit – Serenbe.com
The Inn has its own vegetable garden which supplies fresh produce to its Farmhouse Restaurant.
We walked what seemed liked miles of beautifully laid out green spaces.
Charming paths lead to arbors covered by grape vines…..
and Wisteria vines.
Other paths took us to the chicken coops where fresh eggs are gathered for breakfast.
There were farm animals……
and ponds full of ducks and geese.
One of the things I enjoyed most was a walk through the Labyrinth.
An iron box contained an aerial view of the labyrinth and explained its purpose and significance.
Pretty statues were dotted around the property and we would come upon them unexpectedly as we strolled the grounds.
Serebe also has its own stables where residents can board horses. There are miles of trails for riding, walking, hiking and biking.
Serenbe is a very special place. In looking back, it makes me long for a visit again soon.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of my College Tour Series where we really will visit colleges. Next stop: The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
You can find information about Serenbe at their website here.
PS – The folks at Serenbe have never heard of me, but if you speak to them would you please tell them I said hi?
All opinions expressed in this post are my own. All photos are the original property of Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com and may not be reproduced without specific permission.
