Six Days Down South

I spent the past six days in Georgia and North Carolina. I visited family and friends.

Day 1:
11 AM flight out of Logan International. It was delayed about an hour because of some battery problem. I was supposed to leave from gate 25C but the people from 30C got transferred to our gate and we got transferred to theirs. They were going to Jacksonville.

((this was my first flight. i don't count the time when i flew to florida when i was 9 months old. it's pretty crazy that all this happened. just when i'd say to myself: "it's no big deal." i heard a crew member joking that everything was falling apart...the airline, the plane, the batteries, etc. Not very comforting to a first time flyer.))

On the plane I listened to Astronaut by Amanda Palmer. It was not very epic going to charlotte.

We got to Charlotte-Douglas in NC and got a rental car.

We stopped at Wendy's for lunch on the way to Flowery Branch, GA. The people there definitely had a southern accent. There were confederate flags around. The people only had about three teeth in their mouths. Yeah.

We eventually got to Flowery Branch. Flowery Branch is home of THE ATLANTA FALCONS!


The actually fucking Atlanta Falcons practicing:

We got to my dad's friends house and we had a cookout dinner grilled by her son Joe. After that we hung out for a while and then joe gave us all rides in The Cobra. He built the cobra from a factory five racing kit. It has no roof, no heat, no A/C, no radio, no windshield wipers. But you don't really need that stuff because it's loud. It does have seatbelts. It's the safest car in the world. You are strapped in well. It's a harness type contraption. It has a quick release so it's easier to take off than put on. But it locks you in there well. You have to be careful of the exhaust pipes when exiting the Cobra. They get really really hot after it's been on. joe drag races the cobra. It goes really fast and is so loud and

OH SO AWESOME!

This is the cobra:


Seriously, it's better than Disney world.

After that, we watched shark week on discovery channel. it was mythbusters. then we went to bed.

Day 2:
We went on a tour of flowery branch and the surrounding area. For those of you who don't know, flowery branch is a very small town. it used to be just a railroad stop. near the tracks is the section of old houses and the center of town. the center of flowery branch is literally tiny. the length of the street. the center consists of: town hall, a coffee shop, a few other buildings and the police department.

The police department is only open Monday through Friday from 9am-4pm. If you need the police outside of those hours, you have to call the county sheriff's office.

Flowery Branch PD have bike racks on the back of the cruisers. The officers are encouraged to park and then patrol on bike.

We also saw city park which was tiny and the marina. Well, it was all on land. the lake dried up.

We ate lunch at a place called Dreamland BBQ. It was so good. If you're ever in the Atlanta area of GA, I highly recommend.

Then we went to Gwinnett Place Honda. joe works there. we got a behind the scenes tour through the mechanic bay and everything. It's owned by Rick Hendrick. You know. the guy who owns hendrick racing (nascar) and like a billion other car dealerships.

We also went around to random houses that were newly built and open to view. You can get a REALLY nice house for cheaper than here.

After that we went to the movies at Mall of Georgia. We got in for free because joe's stepson is the manager there. We saw Dark Knight.

I also saw the northern lights. They were pretty cool. Well, at least that's what I think they were. That's what my dad's friend's across the street neighbor said they were.

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The market is saturated in GA, and pretty much down south. There were tons of starbuck's and waffle house's. there were three starbucks on the same street, only a few buildings down! In Mall of GA, there was a DQ/Orange Julius on the first floor, then one right on the next floor. Serioulsy. how many DQ/Orange Julius's do they need in one building nevermind on the same street!

Gas is also cheaper down south. It was only $3.80something. Here its over $4 a gallon. I also learned something. When you buy gas you only buy 9/10 of a gallon. This is because it is liquid, and the vapors expand into the other 10th. So you only buy 9/10 of liquid gas, but it really is a gallon of gas.

They have red dirt down south. This is because of the clay it in. Its really awesome looking.

They also have a vine called Kudzu down south. It was imported from Japan. It takes over the trees here and kills them. It is because the climate isn't cold enough to control it.
This is the Kudzu vine of death:


It attaches to anything and everything. including wires and such. They don't really know how to get rid of it or kill it. They also haven't really found a use for it yet. Although some people make Kudzu Jelly. I wonder how that tastes.........

Here is more info about Kudzu: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu

Day 3:
after eating breakfast, we left for the 2 and a half hour drive to maggie valley, NC where my aunt and uncle live.

When we got there we went to this transportation museum called Wheels Through Time. It was really neat. Everything there is owned by Dale Walksler and is in working order.

Then we went to my aunt and uncle's house. It's really nice. My uncle grilled steak for dinner. It was fantastic.

In NC they have vine problems too. They have NC Ivy and Poison Ivy all over the trees there.

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A dream I had: (note: i was telling my sister about twin peaks and the character Richard "Dick" Termain before falling asleep and having this dream) I was picking Elton John songs out for an unknown reason and someone was arguing with me and made me upset. I was crying and such when this guy named Richard comforted me. We ended up going on a date to see a movie. It was a kids movie but it was rated R for some unknown reason. i really liked him but someone told me he was a crazy psycho-killer. I was trying to hide from him.

this is when i woke up.

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Day 4:
Today we went to chimney rock. It was pretty awesome.

Pictures:


The lake in the second photo is called Lake Lure. It is man made.

Day 5:
Today is the day we went to The Biltmore Estate. It is in Asheville, NC.

IT. IS. HUGE.

we went on a tour and such.



Then we went on a drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's about 41 miles long and its beautiful. You should check it out if you're ever in NC.

We ate dinner at a place in Waynesville called Bogart's. It was really good.

Day 6:
View off upper deck at aunt and uncle's house:


self portrait same location 9:13 AM 8.3.08:


After packing and saying goodbye to the Blue Ridge Mountains and my aunt and uncle, we headed back for Charlotte-Douglas Airport.

Ate lunch at the Great American Bagel Bakery in the airport.

Flight left at 3:05 for Boston.

On the flight back I once again listened to Astronaut by Amanda Palmer. It was much more epic, especially because we kept climbing altitude and I could see the cities and water below. It was awesome. It was also very epic to listen to Boston by the Dresden Dolls on the way back to boston, especially when I could see the actual fucking city of boston from the sky. It was glorious.

Sometimes music can be even more epic in the air.

and to close this blog entry I leave you with one last picture and a quote from "Boston" by The Dresden Dolls...

"...right now, we're here in Boston..."



kudzu love

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