Oddities and Old Friends

Before leaving Athens, I had to take in some of the unusual sights that the area has to offer.While the world's only double barreled cannon is cool, I got much more of a kick going to Dudley Park. This park is home to an old railroad trestle that just ends in midair. That's not what makes it cool. What makes is cool is that when they recorded their first album, Murmur, exactly thirty years ago, Athens' favorite sons, R.E.M. used a sepia tone image of this trestle for the back cover of the album, you know where the tracks are listed. I had been listening to the album all day in preparation for my setting foot on this hallowed ground. Once there, I almost couldn't stop looking at it and taking pictures of it. Other than a teenage couple sitting at the start of the trestle, no one else was paying tribute to this spot, though the community has fought to protect it from the city fathers. I couldn't resist the temptation to channel my inner Michael Stipe on this sunny warm day so I put on my iPod and sang Talk About the Passion. It felt good and having done this, I felt my visit to this indie rock Mecca was complete and I could move on to my next destination.

The next big stop on my road trip was to be visiting my friends Matt & Caroline and their two year old son, Colin at their home just north of Atlanta. Along the way, I stopped to take a look at an artistic bus stop shelter make from buses. I also attempted to visit John, a bail bondsman who reportedly had a life-size pink elephant on his property. Arriving at his place of business, I saw no pachyderms of any hue. I drove around the building twice to be sure, as if I might not have noticed a gigantic pink elephant the first time around. Maybe I was still missing it. I wasn't sure, so I went in to ask. John told me that he was in the middle of a legal battle because a local politician had it out for Ellie Phant (that's her name). He had an ordinance passed forbidding large displays like her. Although she would have been grandfathered in, when she left to take part in a parade, the authorities would not let her return home, so she's currently staying at a friend's house.Such is the life of an elephant of color in the deep south.

I continued on to visit my friends and Matt made a wonderful dinner and we chatted the night away. Colin was especially thrilled to see me again, though my last visit was only in November. The next morning, I went out for a long run on a gorgeous sunny day. I opted to run for two hours around what was now the dried up Berkeley Lake. Caroline explained to me that they were repairing the dam and that they had drained the lake to work on it. It was a much hillier run than I expected, but it felt good to get out there and move. After my run, I went shopping with Caroline and it felt like we were once again in New Hampshire going out on our lunch break together. This evening it was Caroline's turn to cook and then Matt and I went out to a local brewpub called 5 Seasons. I was happy and surprised to see the Bruins on TV. It turns out that besides Matt and I formerly living in New Hampshire, the bartender also used to live in The Granite State. It turned out so did the realtor sitting next to Matt. The four of us talked about Boston sports for a good long while and it made for a great night with a flavor of home I've not experienced outside New England. I truly love that Matt, Caroline, and Colin make me feel like I'm a part of their family and even refer to their guest room as my room. As much as I treasure my time with them and could spent the rest of my days off with them, I must leave today and continue my journey for I have more places to see and people to meet.