November 4, 2007: Georgia/North Carolina Trip Day 2 | |
Return to Main Index for Georgia/North Carolina Trip |
Arrival at Jeffie's in Atlanta |
A lot has been happening this Fall here in Dallas, and a lot of things are changing or about to change. Probably the most important (and wrenching) change is Fred's impending retirement from Crump Gardens Greenhouses. He and I have been talking for some time about this event, made possible now that we, as a partnership, have sufficient resources, saved and accumulated over two lifetimes of work, to make it possible. Fred has given his notice some months ago, and now only about a month remains in his career there.
As we have done for many years, we are taking our Fall trip, using Fred's sick leave time. We at first thought we might head north to visit Chicago and Father Guy in Wisconsin, but for a number of reasons that schedule proved impossible to arrange. We also thought about heading west, but decided to save that for another time- many of which should be coming up once Fred's time is his own, as mine has been for some time. So, we have decided to travel to Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, to do a bit of hiking and sightseeing but mostly to visit friends and relatives of both of ours.
Arrival at Jeffie's in Atlanta
Again, right on time, we pulled away from the gate and, about fifteen minutes later found ourselves becoming airborne. The actual flight, just over two hours, was pleasant. While Fred read and looked out the window, I worked some puzzles I'd brought along, and it didn't seem like a long time before the city of Atlanta came into view. I thought that Fred might get a chance to ride the subway system at ATL, but I forgot that the American terminal is one of two smaller terminals physically attached to the main terminal building. So we just had to walk downstairs to get our bags and then out to the rental car counters where we filled out the paperwork. We boarded the rental shuttle and a few minutes later were picking up our Chevrolet Cobalt for the drive to Jeffie's apartment in Decatur.
Just across the street from their apartment, Fred spotted a cat in the window of another apartment, and used his great zoom to capture it.
Return to the Page Index
Neighborhood Walk with Michael
We started out from the apartment and walked the short distance to Ponce de Leon Avenue, and then walked east towards the Decatur town center. Very quickly, we passed a couple of antique/curio shops, one of which Fred thought had some interest statuary out front. We found out very quickly on the walk that not only did people stop to ask about the greyhound, but that Michael was very outgoing and liked very much talking to complete strangers. A bit further up the street, Fred came across Ted's Restaurant, notable for the interesting buffalo sign that was out front.
We crossed Ponce de Leon and continued east, stopping at the plaza in front of the Decatur Courthouse. There, Michael ran into a family with a little girl who was intrigued by the dog. While I took a picture of the little girl and the dog, Fred took a picture of me and the whole scene. I gave the woman my email address so I could send her a copy of the picture, but as yet I have not heard from her.
|
We walked around the side of the courthouse, and I got another shot of Michael and Fred, and we also walked around to the esplanade that has been built above the MARTA station in Decatur, where there was a bandbox or pavilion, presumably used for outdoor events, and it is the structure that you see in this picture of Michael and myself.
When we got back to their apartment, we found a new car parked in front of their building, and I think you can tell a bit about the residents of the neighborhood by reading some of the bumper stickers on the car. By this time, Jeffie was home, and she came out to greet us. Here are Jeffie and Michael and Jeffie, Michael and myself out in front of their building.
We went in and visited for a while, and then decided to walk over to a Mexican restaurant nearby for dinner. Their dog was really well-behaved; after Michael fed it its dinner, it lay down quietly on its pillow while we went out. Dinner was really nice and when we were done we returned to their apartment to sit and chat for a while until it was time for us to leave for our hotel.
Return to the Page Index
Evening and Hotel
We got into the room fine, but I decided that the hotel was not in such a great area and that I would try to find a different hotel, perhaps nearer to Stone Mountain, one of our destinations for the next day. So I spent some time online making that reservation before we headed off to bed.
Return to the Page Index
November 4, 2007: Georgia/North Carolina Trip Day 2 | |
Return to Main Index for Georgia/North Carolina Trip |