Amicalola Falls

I have made my reservation at the Lodge in GA, which is so very exciting! This is the historical beginning of the trail, the approach. The archway from the Bill Bryson movie "A Walk In The Woods" is located here and it was once the only way to the AT. It holds the first book to register your hike, the place where you sign in and write some chosen words to other hikers behind you. It's about 8.8 miles of hard hiking with 600+ stairs to get to the start, but now you can drive 1 1/2 hours to get there. What should I do?? I had decided to drive but now, I'm thinking I may want to do this the right way. It wouldn't feel the same if I just drove...guess I'll be sleeping on this and doing what's right for  me. It does add a day to my itinerary, but that's an easy fix really. What a huge moment in the scheme of things...I'm so ready!