by Matt Aiken
CNI News Service
A carefree Sunday drive through Northeast Georgia turned into an unexpected award-wining photo session for Dahlonega resident Rhonda Hardy recently.
Though she did have one actual care while snapping what would eventually be the Mountain Traveler cover photo.
“I was hoping that I wouldn’t let the phone flip out of my hands,” Hardy said with a laugh.
Luckily it didn’t.
And what was left was a scenic shot of on the winding mountain road of state Route 356 somewhere between White and Habersham counties.
In a numerical coincidence, she also took the photo from the passenger’s seat of her husband Beal Hardy’s carefully restored 1965 Porsche 356.
The couple recently moved to Dahlonega from the metro-Atlanta area and have been taking advantage of the mountainous highways and byways of Northeast Georgia (and lack of traffic) on a regular basis. As members of the Southern Owners Group, they’ve found plenty of like-minded motorists to enjoy that scenery with.
In this particular cover picture, the parade of Porches range in years from 1948 to 1965.
“It’s a very interesting group of people,” Hardy said of the car club members. “A lot of people who like those cars have an engineering background, and they really appreciate the machine.”
Hardy may not work on the machines herself, but she has an appreciation for the vehicle as well.
“It’s just fun,” she said of their frequent mountain drives.
In the case of this would-be cover photo, Hardy felt she had a good shot as they motored down the roadway on a scenic September afternoon.
So, she grabbed her phone, reached high over the front windshield and took the pic.
“It’s just a shot of us going down the road, and the other cars are in the distance,” Hardy said. “It’s kind of a fun picture.”
Now it’s an award-winning picture as well. You can check it out, and the newest edition of Mountain Traveler right now.
A twice-annual publication, published in the summer and fall, The Mountain Traveler is a full-color regional visitor and travel guide for Northeast Georgia. It is available at stores, shops, visitor centers and other key distribution points all around the region. So, feel free to hit the road and go pick one up today.
And who knows? Maybe you’ll see the Hardys and their cherry-red ride somewhere along the way.