travel time: 10 hrs. 13 min. distance: 669 miles average speed: 78 mph
just outside macon,georgia came a last minute recollection. a passing comment uttered some time ago. but now, it was stuck in my head. as it would turn out, this memory came just in time, and with help from a few friends chained to their computers, i was able to confirm my destination.
exiting the freeway just a few short miles after receiving that confirmation, my anticipation began slowly building. it had 25 miles to build, and i was making my way deeper into the isolated back woods of georgia.
there were no signs telling me where i needed to go—no mention at all. had i not been driving with a specific purpose, and the aid of my gps, i likely would have missed it entirely. i certainly never would have found it on my own.
none to soon, i arrived at my destination, and was immediately overcome with a sense of gratitude. often i find myself grateful for authenticity—for a truthfulness that rarely exists. so often in my travels, i have found it lacking where i hoped for and expected more. but as i pulled up to the whistle stop café in juliette, i was incredibly excited to find that it was exactly as i had expected.
situated caddy-corner, railroad tracks on one side, and a small street on the other, the whistle stop sits, exactly as it appeared so many years ago now, beckoning you to come in and enjoy some fried green tomatoes.
i couldn’t resist that call, and when i opened the screen door, letting it close with a loud bang behind me, i was even more amazed that the interior of the café also appeared to have been plucked directly from the silver screen. but in this case art imitated life, instead of the other way around.
the café was quiet, with the exception of that screen door slamming from time to time. at the counter sat a couple of obvious locals, and in addition to me, there were two occupied tables with visitors from other parts. i must admit that i was shocked. how was it that this place wasn’t full of people? was it the lack of signage or direction? was it the nature of it’s ‘hidden’ location? is it just that so few are aware of its existence? i can’t say for sure, but again i found myself grateful.
rather than contending with obnoxious tourists (i fall into the latter, not former category), i was able to enjoy my meal in peace, marveling at the integrity of the structure.
the waitress approached, ‘can i get you something to drink?’ ‘diet coke please.’ ‘tomatoes?’ ‘yes please
that was that. drinking my cola from a mason jar, i gobbled up the tomatoes, dipped in a spicy horseradish sauce. truth be told, i don’t really like tomatoes—but i liked these. maybe it was psychological, but i was so happy to be there.
after my mid-day snack, i got back on the road towards mississippi. i would be meeting laura and robert for the first time after having heard about them for years and years. i was not to be disappointed as they were everything i had expected and more. their graciousness in accepting a virtual stranger into their home was only enhanced by the experience of actually spending time with—i was laughing from the minute i walked through the door!
we chatted and laughed for quite awhile, and finally, it was time to call it a night.
unfortunately, it was a rainy day, but after checking out weather.com last night, i was prepared, and determined to make the best of it.
i was up at 7am, but spent some time taking care of some personal business, so it was about 10:30am when i got out of the hotel. based on anne's suggestion, i opted to hop on one of the many trolley tours that take you through the historic district. it seemed like a great idea since, 1) i would be dry, and 2) it would give me an overview of the city, and i could later decide where i wanted to spend more time.
the tour was very comprehensive. the guide drove us around the city for an hour and a half and gave a lot of historical information as we passed by the various sites. the historic district is as beautiful as i expected, even in the rain. spanish moss hangs from every tree, and the houses seem to have been made specifically for the purpose of drinking mint juleps on front porches. it was everything i expected it to be.
me on the trolley tour
following the trolley tour, i was starving! i debated hitting paula deen's well known lady and sons restaurant, but the truth is, i don't like southern food. even when i lived in north carolina, i could never get my head (or taste buds) around collard greens, grits...and frankly, fried chicken is okay, but not my favorite way to eat chicken. so i decided i'd rather have food that i liked, and i walked up to city market where i found a cafe and ordered a bbq chicken sandwich. now THAT was tasty! the place was kind of a dive, which made the food even more tasty, and i found that eating in a restaurant by myself, for the first time in a long time, was completely bearable:)
following my yummy bbq, i stopped at a nearby candy maker and picked up some divinity and pralines--both seeming the perfect southern desserts. i paused in a covered gazebo to stay dry while savoring my treats. i haven't had divinity in ages, and it was absolutely delicious! i know how difficult it is to make, which made me appreciate it even more. while enjoying my cover and my sugar, i was joined by a local character who chatted me up a bit before i decided to get on with my agenda.
i'd be lying if i didn't admit that much of my interest in visiting savannah has been associated with 'midnight in the garden of good and evil'. i read the book when it was released, and the descriptions of the local 'cast' and setting have called to me. as such, seeing the bird girl statue pictured on the cover of the book was a necessity.
the statue used to guard a grave in bonaventure cemetery, but after the book/movie, the grave was receiving a great deal of abuse, and the statue was moved to the telfair. it's quite a lovely statue actually. it is very serene and calming, and i can imagine that the effect of it's original placement would have been even more so.
unfortunately, pictures were not allowed, so i had to settle for one outside.
telfair museum
i enjoyed the remainder of the afternoon wandering around the various squares, pausing in chippewa to reflect on forrest gump's box of chocolates.
i continued my wanderings, pausing at the birthplace of juliette gordon low, and appreciating some of the more 'decorative' oddities savannah has to offer.
the aforementioned 'decorative oddities'
eventually, it was time to dry out! it had rained all day, and i had spent the majority of my time outside, so i needed a break before determining how i would spend the rest of the day. i came back to the hotel, uploaded photos, and managed to fall asleep.
about two and a half hours later, i woke up to my phone ringing. first anne, then julie. i called anne back and mentioned that i kind of felt 'done' with savannah--like i had seen what there was to see. i was asking her what i was missing, but she had had a similar experience here. then i mentioned that i had considered taking a ghost tour, and she encouraged me to follow through. my head was killing me, and it was still raining. but i knew i would probably regret it, since 1) who knows if/when i will ever be back here, and 2) savannah is known for being fairly haunted, and i LOVE a good haunting!
colonial cemetery
i stopped for a bite on the way back to the historic district, and arrived a bit early. i killed some time in my car (it was dry there), and then went to meet the guide at the colonial cemetery.
as it turns out, i absolutely would have regretted it.
i was the only person on the tour, which meant my guide, tana, could personalize it and show me things that aren't usually included. it didn't hurt that we got along quite easily.
the tour was a 90 minute walking tour, and it was awesome. i learned all sorts of fun facts, and it was on this tour that i learned some of the quirkier things about the city--the ones that interest me.
i was amused to learn that standing on the sidewalk outside the fence of the cemetery, we were actually standing on graves they had decided to pave over. in fact there are several former cemeteries in the city that have been paved over and now have buildings on them!
i was also amused by the mass grave for yellow fever victims. 666 of them died, but the savannahns refused to put '666' on the grave, so instead put 'almost 700'.
there were many great stories and quirky facts about the city, and i was so glad i had fought the headache and the rain, and my laziness, to go. as it turned out, the headache meds kicked in and the rain stopped just as the tour began, which made for an absolutely delightful experience.
me and my private tour guide, tana
i plan on/hope to sleep in tomorrow, at which point i will get on the road to make the 10+ hour drive to mississippi and the schuckman's, who will be escorting me around new orleans on friday. yay!
for those who haven't realized yet, i'm posting photos as i go, and they can be found here. and by the way, why are you all so silent?!
travel time: 4 hrs. 48 min. distance: 330 miles average speed: 77mph
this morning i was up early with the kids..the 'kids' being colby and julie's--otherwise known as madison and cooper. it's hard to sleep when kids are afoot, but it worked out because i had errands to run. first stop was the advanced auto parts to return the unneeded thermostat. next was the saturn dealership to return the unneeded relay. they couldn't give me cash back so instead cut me a check. which meant the next stop was my new bank (after the paypal/ebay debacle, i switched to bank of america). that proved to be more difficult than expected, but success was ultimately found. when i pulled up to the drive through atm (the check scanners in the atm have completely won me over to b of a!) there were four cars in front of me. instead of panicking about my car overheating, i was content to wait my turn...absolutely fearless.
after the bank, i headed back home for a couple of hours before i decided it was time for lunch. which, of course, meant sonic:)
the afternoon was spent playing with the kids, and topped off with yet another of colby's delicious steak dinners, fresh of the grill.
no telling when i will see julie and colby again, so the goodbye was bittersweet. but the journey must continue.
got on the road about 6 and it was wide open. i realized somewhere along the way that with all of the traveling i've done over the years, this is the first trip i have ever taken alone. granted, i have traveled to a place solo before, but was always meeting someone on the other end. this is a first. the first of many firsts i hope:)
when i arrived in savannah, i called the folks to let them know, and dad regaled me with his journal entries from my last trip here. i had no recollection of being here, and i guess since i was 7, and the end of the journey was disney world, i suppose it's fairly understandable!
it's raining here, and i'm hoping it passes tonight so i can fully enjoy tomorrow!
travel time: 4 hrs. 45 min. distance: 317 miles average speed: 75mph
i loaded up my car this morning praying that all of the 'to take' items would fit in my saturn ion. and they did, but barely. sometime next month i will have to fly back to pick up the dog and the rest of my things (thanks to my parents on both accounts), rent a van, and make one more cross country trip. even though i am leaving much behind, the essentials and pseudo essentials had to be stuff, shoved, pulled and pushed into every nook and cranny of available space in the vehicle.
saying goodbye is always hard, and i have been trying to avoid 'real' goodbyes as much as possible, resorting to 'see you later's and 'talk to you soon's. but saying farewell to the folks was tough. mom tried to remain unemotional, with little success, and leaving the driveway i couldn't help but reflect on how much i had enjoyed sharing the same house with them again for the last few years. i am fortunate to not only love my folks, but to like them too. at some point soon, i will have to pay tribute to all of the ones i've left behind, but for now, i am focused on the getting to where i'm going.
the drive to julie and colby's in raleigh was largely uneventful. laura called to check in on me and near the end of the conversation as we got to talking about why the blog change. as a result, she googled me, and landed upon my old address. that's when we learned that it had been taken over by a porn spammer type page. i imagine that many someone's out there are very clever and have a way of finding recently released addresses. and i imagine that they probably try and take over sites that get a decent number of hits, and for better or worse, i have. unfortunately, i don't know everyone who reads my blog, and there are some who didn't 'get the memo' about the change. it is mortifying that those people will get a great deal more than expected. i've contacted blogger to see what can be done, but as of yet, no response.
i'll be honest...it's been kind of a rough week. my work situation changed unexpectedly on monday, and the job i thought i had until mid-november is no longer so. i've been overwhelmed, panicked, flustered--you name it. i was feeling after that conversation with laura, that i really needed something to go right.
and tonight, something did.
many of you know that my car has been having problems for over a year now. it's a problem that only surfaces in warmer temperatures, and it has been in the shop multiple times in an effort to fix it. the problem is that when idling, the temperature gauge would skyrocket and the ac would stop working. it didn't take long, so i could be sitting at a stoplight and my car would start overheating. the only solution was to turn on the heat at full blast, which was mighty uncomfortable in mid-july, let me tell you! it was a constant source of fear for me, and i begged off driving friends anywhere for fear i'd get stuck and have to sweat them out.
someone suggested i try replacing the thermostat, but it turned out that would prove more difficult than expected. all along, i had planned to have colby look at it when i got here. nick took a preliminary look last night, and gave colby a heads up about potential complications. when i got here, colby did a bit of fiddling. after a run to the parts store, and colby's threat to sabotage my car, thereby forcing to camp out in nc for awhile, a phone call was made to a local ward member/mechanic, who told me to bring the car right over.
long story short, a series of coincidences unfolded, and after two hours, a lot of head scratching, and some pure 'luck', the problem i have been dealing with for over a year now was fixed. and it didn't cost me a cent. now i am left trying to figure out how such a gesture is adequately repaid...for the first time in a long time, i got in my car without fear, and that is an amazing gift. after departing, julie and i hit the wal-mart for a few necessities i had not had a chance to pick up before leaving. we forgot that we were in my packed car, and there was no room for our purchases. we made it work, but poor julie was a bit crunched.
tomorrow i will spend the majority of the day here, enjoying the new pool, and eagerly awaiting colby's promised steak dinner (anne..remember how yummy that was?). tomorrow night i'll head to savannah where i'll attempt to get some good sleep before playing there the following day.
situated caddy-corner, railroad tracks on one side, and a small street on the other, the whistle stop sits, exactly as it appeared so many years ago now, beckoning you to come in and enjoy some fried green tomatoes.
that was that. drinking my cola from a mason jar, i gobbled up the tomatoes, dipped in a spicy horseradish sauce. truth be told, i don’t really like tomatoes—but i liked these. maybe it was psychological, but i was so happy to be there.
