We left Tybee Island, drove through miles and miles of picked over cotton fields, to the New York City of the South, Atlanta. We had only been two hours away from, and should have gone there after, Chattanooga, but…whatever, we have time. We went in search of the long lost Doomiche Walker Danger Texas Ranger M.D. Nicole hadn't seen her in 8 years, since she moved South, at her going away party. It was like those 8 years hadn't passed and we caught up over pomegranate martinis, red wine, and apple pie shots. With her very sweet roommate, Regina, we played Pitch, Spades, and Dominos (Mexican Train). It was really cold out, so we were thankful to be inside and warm, although we (okay, Mom) had to go at 3.00am (when we were finally done playing cards) to rev the RV engine so the battery would keep the furnace going and the pipes wouldn't freeze.
We went to the High Museum of art to see "Dali: The Late Work", even though it seems it's not cool to like Dali anymore. The observed general opinion is, "I used to like Dali, but I'm over him". Well, we are still fascinated with his work and impressed with his skill, creativity and intelligence. We especially liked the lithographs that Dali did for Don Quixote.
We also visited the Folk Art wing to see works by Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Howard Finster, Mattie Lou O'Kelley, and Mose Tolliver. Being in the South provided our introduction to these self-taught artists, but also, being in the South, crossing though the Carolinas and Georgia, helps to appreciate these artists, their personal stories, and their works. Mom says, "Rothko sucks".
We passed through the modern art galleries, (where Doomiche couldn't stop laughing at the giant white trapezoid hanging next to the giant green Trivial Pursuit looking piece), to finished with the Titian exhibition. Mom had been excited to see it, but realized that she had confused him with one of the artists that she actually did like (Tintoretto) while studying in Italy.
We ate dinner at Varsity, an Atlanta dining institution. The experience of having "What'll ya have? What'll ya have?" shouted at you by thirty cashiers, and the hats, were damn fun, but the hotdogs and burgers weren't anything to write home about.
The following day, we visited the Margaret Mitchell house and learned all about how "in a weak moment, [she] wrote Gone With the Wind". Nicole was the only one of the group who hadn't seen the movie, even though when she was younger, some folks used to say she favoured Miss Scarlett. Doomiche just happened to have a copy, and we watched it after delicious dinners of turkey hash, bangers and mac, shrimp and grits, and salmon in coca-cola bbq glaze at the Flying Biscuit Cafe. Nicole clapped her appreciation after the first half, not realizing the the dvd had to be flipped over and that there were one and a half more hours.
We said thank you for the hospitality and drinks and breakfasts, and said goodbye and good wishes to Doomiche and Regina. After some discussion, we decided to head southeast, via the local roads, and pass by Stone Mountain. Stone Mountain is the largest outcropping of granite in the world. Being Yankees, we had never even heard of it before, but into the massive boulder, they have carved the 'Mt Rushmore of the South'; a Confederate bas relief of Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee, and General Stonewall Jackson, overseen by Gutson Borglum, the same artist who did Mt. Rushmore.
After driving through acres and acres of some 'experimental forests', which looked like they had all been control-burned, we stopped at a KOA campsite in Forsyth and hooked up for the night. The next morning, we felt like we still needed some catch up sleep and get some work done time, so we decided to stay for an extra day. For lunch, we drove North 12 miles to the town of Juliette, where they filmed the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. We ate at the actual Whistle Stop Cafe. Mom told me not to order the bbq, but I didn't 'get it', as I had not seen the movie. So, after a lunch of, yes, fried green tomatoes, Southern fried steak, fried catfish, sweet potato soufflé, and pecan cobbler, she bought me the movie. We watched it in the RV. Great movie, made even cooler by the fact that I had just eaten at, watched the trains go by, and seen the waterfall the kids walk across in Whistle Stop.
On our way to Boynton Beach for Christmas, we are stopping in Savannah. $7 to stay overnight in the visitor centre right in the historic area and the chance to go back to the hopefully haunted Tavern Bar at the Olde Pink House!
Soundtrack:
Eric Church (Smoke a Little Smoke)
Patti LaBalle (Barbeque Bess)
Click here for photos!
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