Home sweet home

Oh how i love the greyhound....

a. Marietta main square

After another long boring journey...which involved me sitting next to a bloke with the most horrendous orange cardigan for part of the way...and too many annoying changes...we arrived in Atlanta. Now the greyhound station was interesting...it had nowhere to park the buses for a start...which seems a little dumb as its a bus station..but it also had quite a lot of security, and seemed in a bit of a rough area...but we are used to it cos most greyhound stations are. However, Paul kindly came and picked us up, where we had to jump in within seconds cos he was afraid it would be nicked! I guess it was a bit rougher than we thought? When paul found the way out of 'the ghetto', we arived at Paul and Elizabeths lovely house and were made to feel instantly welcome. We were introduced to beautiful little Jillian, and had fun playing with her for a while. Once Elizabeth got back from work we went for a walk up the mountain, giving us beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. Thats right amy walked all the way and didnt complain once!!!!! Paul then made us tasty chinese beef...and we drank beer and chatted. It was lovely to be in a home again! Being on the road is amazing...but having a 'home' is always good too!

b. Our fabulous hosts who took us to the fair!

Thanks Paul and Elizabeth and little Jillian for making us feel so welcome and being willing to put up with us for several days.

DAY 2

We woke up very late and werent out of bed till gone ten. An extreme rariety at home, let alone these days! the plan for the day was too explore downtown Marietta.... we'd had tonnes of advice how to get there and where to go so we set about doing it. It was quite a walk so we were dying for a drink when we got to Marietta square, time for another fast food chain....'blimpie' and giant sodas. After that a relax in the square, the sun was so hot. it was cool to chill! I'd promised amy we were gonna do nothing but eat and drink all day, she thought i was joking but that was really my intention! So it was time to sample pies at the australian bakery. They were dead yummy, havent had a steak and kidney in ages and it was well worth waitin for. Then it was time for a wander, we were quite content just to rest but the pub didnt open till three so we had little choice. Once McCrakens opened tho we settled down for a couple of beers. Was a really cool bar with loads of beers and great atmosphere despite being empty. After our first beer we called to see what time we needed to be back and timed it just right as Paul was on his way home. He joined us whilst we finished our second then it was back home to get ready for the fair..... we were being taken to the North Georgia State Fair, a chance a taste of the real south!

c. real live merry-go-round at georgia state fair

And what a fair it was...just like they used to be! There were loads of cool rides, and it was all so bright and colourful...i haven't been to a fair in years...neither had Paul and Elizabeth by the sounds of it! There were some amazing exhibits, like roulette with a live white rat, a carousel with real horses, and big red the giant steer! The highlight was seeing the human cannonball being shot over one of the huge rides, the low would have to be the poor monkey on a chain, being paraded like a puppet for money! I was a big kid and have to go on the rides, so Neil treated us to 3 rides...we were whiled and spun and turned upside down, but it was so much fun...and Jillian was treated to her first carousel ride too! That done, we sampled some of the fair food, hotdogs and fries and then it was time for bed...it was a cool experience enjoyed by all.

d. Gillians first merry-go-round ride!!

e. The human cannonball before launch

f. Is this guy mad???

g. The human cannonball made it in 1 piece!