Driving through the Appalachian Mountains and on to Augusta, Georgia, in a Mercedes-AMG GLE 53
A pilgrimage to Augusta National Golf Club to watch the Masters is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for golf fans to feel as if they’ve stepped back in time. I’ve landed in Atlanta a day before the tournament starts, and since I’ve got my hands on a Mercedes-AMG GLE 53, I’ve decided to take a scenic detour to visit another decidedly old-fashioned area: the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
I tee off the trip with breakfast at Buttermilk Kitchen, a farm-to-table spot in Buckhead. Fried chicken on a buttermilk biscuit with a side of pimento cheese grits is definitely the right way to start a day of driving around the South, and I’m soon zooming northeast on U.S. Route 19 toward the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. I peel off on State Route 60, pulling into the community of Suches, known as the Valley Above the Clouds, and park the Mercedes at the Cooper’s Creek Recreation and Wildlife Management Area. A short hike brings me to Sea Creek Falls, a 30-foot waterfall with a swimming hole at the bottom. Not wanting to muck up the car’s pristine interior, I turn around without getting wet.
I wish it were late enough to wet my whistle when I stop at Serenberry Vineyards & Winery 30 minutes later. Instead, I buy a bottle of crisp chardonnay for later and head over to Chester Brunnenmeyer’s Bar & Grill, a rustic spot in the historic town of Blue Ridge, where I nosh on a mesquite-grilled burger topped with pimento cheese.
From Blue Ridge, I turn east and curve slowly north, crossing the state line and winding my way up U.S. Route 64 to Highlands, North Carolina. I stop for a stroll on the Highlands Heritage Walking Trail, taking in the quaint turn-of-the-century buildings in the picture-postcard town.
The sun is starting to sink, so I get back in the Mercedes and head to Skyline Lodge, a 1930s hideaway that reopened as a modern boutique hotel in 2021. I’m surprised to find myself getting hungry, but maybe that’s because I know what awaits me at the property’s restaurant, Oak Steakhouse: a 20-ounce, dry-aged rib eye. After that, I’m ready for bed.
I’m up early the next morning to make the three-hour drive back south to Augusta, entering South Carolina and following Highway 28 along the Savannah River and the Georgia border. I finally cross the river back into the Peach State just north of the Augusta National Golf Club, where I join the melee of fans traveling in to see “a tradition unlike any other.” I hope the fairways are as green as they have been in my dreams.
The Car
2024 Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 4Matic+ SUV
The updated GLE 53 remains as burly as ever, albeit with lines that are a whole lot sleeker than most amateur golfers’ swings. The 3.0-liter, six-cylinder engine powers this chunky SUV (with as much as 74.9 cubic feet of cargo space, you’ll have plenty of room for all of your clubs) from zero to 60 in just 4.9 seconds. An adaptive damping system and quick-shift, nine-speed, automatic gearbox add to a level of performance that’s more pleasantly surprising than a hole-in-one.
From $86,750, mbusa.com
