Chapter 28 – Georgia, Sweet Georgia

Hello Dear Readers! Lady Wanderings is back at the keyboard. I hope you haven’t spent any time worrying about whether I’d given up. Of course not! It’s simply been a pleasant reset after a spectacular and busy overseas adventure.

We spent the first two weeks of our recovery visiting our family and friends. Yep, we flew from Miami to Seattle, parted ways in the airport where Dale continued on a flight to spend a week with his mom, and I grabbed an Uber to spend a week with mine. After so much time traveling together, it was just a bit weird saying goodbye, even if it was for a short time. We met again, back in SeaTac Airport, and flew to Phoenix to reconnect with friends and Dale’s stepmom. Both weeks were lovely opportunities for catching up, (an impromptu day trip to Olympic National Forest for a park stamp…number 43!) and lots of hugs.

We had planned a visit to our storage shed in Phoenix to potentially pick up some extra things we now have room for in Big G. We(Dale) dutifully carried the key with us all over Europe. We were a bit chagrined when we showed up at our unit and discovered that the key we had carried was actually for one of the special compartments on Big G. Turned out to be a blessing in disguise, given we couldn’t remember anything we thought we wanted, nor did we want to open boxes to see if something jogged our memory. The one thing we were hoping for was the largest suitcase in storage. We were done with carry-on, and since we had one last flight left, we figured we could combine a few things and check it. Finish our tour with no stressing over scrambling to board early enough to guarantee overhead space. So, off we went to Goodwill, where we found the crappiest suitcase big enough to stuff a body in, bought it for $20, performed a little duct tape structural shoring up, and prayed it would make it to Panama City, Florida intact.

And then its was time to go “home”. Big G was waiting for us at the dealership in Panama City, Florida from which we had acquired him. They had graciously agreed to store it for us at no charge while they worked on some punch list items while we were traveling. We were scheduled to pick him up on March 18, and we landed, on schedule, on the 17th. By the time we checked in to the nearest hotel, with our still intact checked bag in hand, we looked back on our 15 flight legs, many taxi and Uber drivers, hotel and VRBO stays, and said a little thanks to the universe for seeing us through it all so flawlessly. Our blessings continued through the pickup and walk through the next morning and through our two days at the Panama City Beach KOA while we moved back in and reacquainted ourselves with our home!

And finally we felt ready to continue our quest around the US. And our first stop was Georgia. We made two stops, both in state parks. The first, located in SW Georgia is the Georgia Veterans State Park and Golf Club. We had booked a premium waterfront site, which did not disappoint. There was a marina with a restaurant that was very welcomed after the drive. And a golf course so accommodating that they offered to store our clubs there so we wouldn’t need to figure out how to transport them back and forth, given its two miles across the park and we opted to not rent a car for this stay. Turns out the five nights we spent there were so peaceful, and there was so many things to do there that the time just flew. We golfed all eighteen holes, didn’t matter that it took two days to do so. We hiked around the park. And we were able to focus and get our travel stays planned and booked through June! From there, we headed north for three nights at Red Top Mountain State Park about an hour north of Atlanta. This stop was at my request – as a HUGE The Walking Dead fan, I’ve had it on my bucket list for quite awhile to visit the places the show was filmed. My dear husband, showed all kinds of support and joined me on a hosted tour of the Atlanta filming locations. Our guide, Greg Fox, is in the film business and was full of interesting factoids as he drove us around Atlanta. I loved every minute of it, as my knowledge was tested at each stop, can I name the scene that was filmed here? Yes! For all but one. Greg would share a clip from the show that included the location and neither he nor I could get over how young Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) looked given the first season was out October 31, 2010. And yet, TWD tours are still the most popular Atlanta city tours requested! Dale, though entertained by Greg’s stories, really didn’t get much out of looking at empty lots and street corners. As I said, he is a Dear. We finished our stay in Georgia with a good hike around the park paths and a quick trip into town for a beer at a local brewery.

All in all, we found our visit to Georgia a gratifying one. We had been to Savannah and the coast, so it was great to see the other part of the state. But, now, it is time to move on. There are a few more National Parks ahead! Its nice to be back on the keyboard, dear readers! Until next time, Lady Wanderingwise will be thinking of you!