Drive, drive, drive and then drive some more

I took that picture at 11:00am, May 27th before I left for my parent's place. I packed up the car with everything I could think of and threw in the kitty cats for a nice little 6 1/2 hour jaunt to the Atlanta area. I saw this sign as I got into Gwinnett county (where my parents are):




My dad will be happy to know that by living in Gwinnett he lives with success.

Trip miles: 355
Total miles: 355

I spent the next couple of days with my mom shopping, eating, hanging out, and, oh yeah, looking at houses. My parents still haven't found a house and after going out and looking with them I can see why. The houses are ridiculously overpriced and the newer ones are pretty but built like shit. Not to mention all the kitchens are impractical. I told my mom that it's because most builders are men and don't understand that you actually have to use a kitchen, not just look at it. Overall it was actually a really nice trip. I don't get to see my parents all that often. So now Lexy and Murry are settled in (and causing trouble) with my mom and dad for the summer.

This morning I left Atlanta and headed west to Meridian, Mississippi. The drive was okay. Truthfully, there's not much between Atlanta and Meridian. I stopped in Birmingham, Alabama to have lunch. I wasn't overly impressed, although there was a really nice park, Linn Park, and a yummy eatery called Zoe's Kitchen. The city seemed like it was inhabited mostly by young, business-type people, although, that may just be the downtown area where I was.



Then there was the drive between Birmingham and Meridian. I am basically traveling west on I-20 for the entire trip to Dallas. I've discovered that there is absolutely nothing in northern Alabama and Mississippi. Seriously, nothing. There was an exit every ten miles or so with a gas station, that was about it. I think the road is mainly just for trucks and people like me on road trips.

Meridian also leaves something to be desired. I drove to the downtown area and drove immediately back out. It's charming but definitely still being rejuvinated. So instead I decided to go check out a little historic landmark, Causeyville General Store. After getting ridiculously lost I found the little store. They grind their own corn meal there and make their own ribbon cane table syrup. The woman who owns it was pretty interesting. She's an elderly woman and does all the mill work pretty much on her own. She used to have several employees but when Katrina hit she had to have the roof re-done on the store and she was forced to let everyone go. She's still paying off the roof. I bought a jar of the syrup that they make to give to my host in Dallas.

Now I'm just chillin' out in my hotel room. I'm exhausted and can't wait to get to sleep!

Trip miles: 364
Total miles: 719