Time to head South

Time to head south—the weather was getting just toooo chilly. We opted not to take the coastal route. That stop gave us the “opportunity” to re-visit Hazelton and get a final look at the Turner gravestones. Not wanting to cook, we stopped at “Speck’s Tavern”, a local spot claiming home-cooked food. We parked our little Jetta next to a few large trucks that looked like they’d just come out of the woods loaded with dead animals. We walked in to a very dark, almost empty bar. A few patrons were sitting in front of those little card gaming machines – drinking beer with cigarettes dangling from their mouths. The bartender got us our beers and we took a better look around. The woman next to us, drinking something that looked like straight whiskey with a beer chaser, was talking to anyone who would listen. Her story of multiple marriages and hard luck life kept us entertained. In between, we took a look at the wall covered with 9/11 commentary—lots of “kill the muslims” and military slogans. We drank our beer and opted to make the best of leftovers in our own refrigerator.

Our mountain route south took us through Ashville, NC. After all of the endorsements of this funky, arts-fartsy town (Everyone has said, “You two would just LOVE it!”), we had high expectations. We took the trolley tour of the town—a two hour drive through no-where! The first hour was spent driving through their “Historic District” – which looked like a middle class 1930’s neighborhood. Then, it was off to see the big “downtown”….. a few blocks, a few restaurants and some boutique shops. What a yawn!

So, rather than spend any more time in the Carolina mountains (evenings were very chilly!), we made our way to Atlanta. We hit the infamous Atlanta traffic on the far side of I-285 and had the joy of driving through Atlanta with their less than friendly drivers. No one seemed particularly happy to see our 70 feet driving down their roads. We got to the Cummins dealership, just south of the airport, checked in and settled in for the evening.

The next day, we were hoping to get our jacks fixed (they were sporting a slow leak), but by day’s end, it was obvious that we wouldn’t be able to get the part for at least a week. So, we decided to spend the weekend and head out on Sunday. On Saturday, John dropped me off at the airport Marta station and I took the train up to Dunwoody. Shell met me at the station- how great to see her again! We did a few hours of shopping – it was like old times! Then, we picked up some pulled pork and sides for dinner, stopped to say hi to Elaine and met the boys for dinner at Shell and Frankie’s. It had been so long since I’d seen the house, it was like a whole new place. And, the dogs….the only dog I knew anymore was Chrissie! We finally met Callie and Hooch. Great dinner, lots of wine –it was a great evening.