Home Again

There was a big change in our plans on Friday. Tracy’s stepfather went in for some routine tests, and they discovered two blocked arteries, one of which required putting in a stent. That meant no flying for awhile, and they decided to cancel their trip to Florida. At that point we were in Asheville, NC visiting our good friend, Laura. Since we were expected in Hartwell, GA that night at Tracy’s cousins we decided to continue on and then spent a day in Atlanta before heading home.

Although we never got to warmer temperatures (the best we did was mid 40s), we did see nearly everyone we set out to see, and had a great little road trip. We’re home now with a clear calendar for another week since we expected to be on the road until the 18th. We got out of Atlanta before a huge snowstorm and icy roads hit which has totally shut down the city. We had dry roads all the way home, and are glad to be here since a storm is also headed our way tonight. We, unlike Atlanta, have plenty of snow removal equipment so it’s unlikely much will close down here.

Here’s a photo recap of our little road trip:

This is what it looked like when we left Rochester a week ago. I took this shot out the car window, and except for add the Edge Burn action from Pioneer Woman, its right out of the camera. While we were away they got several more inches of snow, so it’s all white here again.

We stopped for dinner that night in Erie, PA at the Quaker Steak & Lube. It’s just a step up from fast food, but we always get a decent dinner.

Our first stop was in Charlotte, NC to visit good friends. Somehow I never took a photo of any of us. What was I thinking? We had a great time catching up as we hadn’t seen Carole and Gordie in several years. They had never been to the Billy Graham Library so the next morning we headed over there.

None of us knew quite what to expect, but all of us were very impressed with the multi-media presentations in the library (the building in the back). It was a fascinating story of Billy Graham’s evangalism and a walk through history from the late 1940’s to the present. Regardless of your religious convictions, you cannot help but be impressed by Graham’s faith and dedication.

After lunch, we went to the Carolina Raptor Center. This appears to be one of the bigger rehabiliation centers for raptors in the US. They treat many injured birds over the course of a year, and are able to release about 50% of them into the wild. Others remain in the center and some have been cared for there for many years.

This is actually two photos put together. The center has seven Bald Eagles.

Another photo with two combined. As we were watching this hawk, a worker threw in a piece of deer meat, and the hawk went right at it.

I loved these three owls lined up together. All of the birds at the center are unable to fly or unable to fly well enough to survive in the wild. It’s a nonprofit organization, and they have birds there that have come from as far away as the west coast.

On Friday, we drove to Asheville to have lunch with a good friend who used to be a pastor at our church. Again, it had been many years since we’d seen Laura. We had a great lunch at a southern cafe (I had a fried catfish taco and grits), and had time to catch up before we headed off to Hartwell.

The last time Tracy saw his cousin, Lillie, was nearly 40 years ago. She lives a few miles from her dad and we stayed with Gayle and his friend, Cora. After dinner with their extended family (again, no photos!) we sat around their dining room table working on identifying relatives in old photos. Both Lillie and Tracy spend a lot of time on geneaology, and it was fun for me to listen and try to piece together a bit more of their family puzzle.

Gayle and Cora live on Hartwell Lake and as we drove out the next morning the sun was just coming up.

After spending the day shopping in Atlanta (I did some serious damage at Archivers and found a great pair of boots on sale at the Mall of Georgia), we headed to Decatur for dinner. Sarah attended seminary in Decatur, and The Brick Store was one of our favorite spots to eat when we were there to visit.

I like the PW’s Seventies action on this one.

When Adam heard we were eating at The Brick Store, he said, “Have some brie for me,” so we did. Yum!

We left Atlanta early Sunday and got to Clarksburg for dinner. Thanks to an iPhone app, Yelp, we found a fantastic Mexican restaurant. I had the shrimp fajitas and chile renellos, both of which were amazing. Since it was so cold (12°) I was able to take the left-overs with me which survived the rest of the trip just fine.

We arrived home mid-afternoon yesterday and have spent most of the time unpacking and trying to get organized so we can make good use of our unexpected time at home. I have just one page and the cover to complete on my Christmas journal, so that’s high on the list. Thanks for hanging in there on a photo-heavy post.