Tickled and pickled in Georgia

  Kennesaw, Georgia, United States
Sunday, August 23, 2009

When I first started orgnanising my America trip, the one place I KNEW I was coming to was Georgia, therefore it was the only place I (remotely) researched.

When Googled 'Things to do in Georgia' this is what came up.

Civil War and Revolutionary War battlefields
Georgia cemetery listing (OOO)
Historic Churches of Georgia
Covered Bridges of Georgia (HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A FAN OF A COVERED BRIDGE! UNCOVERED ONES ARE SOO SAN FRANCISO !?)
Georgia Forts
Art galleries
Georgia Homes (WHAT, PEOPLE HERE HAVE HOMES?!)
Georgia's lighthouses
Georgia museums
Historic Rail Depots of Georgia (NOT A RRRRAAAAIL DEPOT! OH THIS IS TOO MUCH!)
Roadside stops (AAAND ROADSIDE STOPS?!?!)
Sports related attractions in Georgia (WHAT THE DEVIL IS A SPORTS 'RELATED' ATTRACTION? A PAIR OF ROADSIDE RUNNING SHOES??)
Georgia State Parks
Georgia Statues
Venues (VENUES? HOW VAGUE FOR SUCH A DETAILED LIST DONT YOU THINK?)
Georgia Welcome Centers (AND THEY HAVE SPECIAL CENTRES JUST TO WELCOME YOU!HOW NICE)
(AND FINALLY) Georgia Zoos

 YUP.. I too thought based on that list I was gonna be in for a ROCKIN' time..?!

So,after an abundance of painful long waits at different bus stations (One and a half hours of desperately trying to save my place in the queue in Nashville- they are ruthless there), and then two and a half hours in Atlanta waiting for a 15 minute journey to Marietta) I arrived at 6.15 in the morning(having last been alseep at 7pm the NIGHT BEFORE). I was met and whisked off by Jessica to the 'Waffle House' for an introduction to a Southern American breakfast of cheese eggs (ooooh soooo goood). Half an hour later was dropped at my hosts house who was every bit as fried as me. Nick showed me to my room and we agreed to meet in the lounge at some more reasonable time! I woke at 4!

As Nick got ready for work, Jessica and I went back to Atlanta to do the touristy thing. I was suprised how bustly the city was and how many high risers there are here (I didnt know at this stage that Georgia is the capital of the South)..
Once the Coca-Cola building (John Pemberton who founded it was from here.. as was Martin Luther King.. no idea why I grouped them together!?) and after going up Americas [second] tallest building were done, so were we.

mr coco cola

  A speedy lunch and we were heading back to Kennesaw (I do like it when you can do all the touristy things in one go.. Who would have thought that 1 hour was all you needed in Georgia.. even if we did miss all the 'covered bridges' ?!).

the tallest building in georgia

We went out that evening with friends of Jessicas and it was the start of the funniest few days. I just laughed my entire way through Georgia!

the best fun in the world

I broke up a fight, saving a Scotsman from getting his arse kicked by a former war veteran (personally I thought he deserved it just for wearing a floor length black woolen overcoat in the middle of Summer but I couldnt let my loathing of a bouncer coat be a the reason for the walls to be painted in 'Scot'.. not his fault that dressing like a flasher backfired - some chicks might have loved that dirty perv look?

me, nick and some naughty locals

I was also offered to go shooting (its America, everyone [scarily] has a gun.. and when in Rome...) but it didnt end up happening in the end. Maybe they forgot or maybe cos my jokes of how someone might end up dead from the hands of a joker were actually heeded (probably a good thing I reckon!)

jessica-ca-ca

I discovered that there are few things in life better than cheese eggs, that if I stayed out here I would be majorly into baseball and learnt the all encompassing joys of winning 'flip-cup' (and we DID win :).

preparing for 'flip-cup'

  I witnessed naked pool jumping (it sounds far crazier than it was- some dude (well- Brian!!) just fancied getting naked and ..instead of diving, just FELL OFF the diving board. It was very very funny!

it was getting fuzzy round the edges too

.
After 3 days of no sleep and too much to smile about, I carefully packed my liver and once again made my way to back to 'ma bus' this time heading to Alabama.

me and ma host

I felt special here in Georgia, It was superb to touch base with the Kennesaw students again and find ourselves still laughing about the time we had in Brazil,

caiprinhias all the way from brazil

  and meeting their friends too who completly took me in, and watered and fed me in many ways.

the brazil tour reunited.. with some extras

They dont get many Brits down here so I was a bit of a novelty. People were intruiged with the accent and I found myself heightening it at any given opportunity(sorry to burst that bubble!). I had one woman who was so taken with my accent ask me if I could just recite the alphabet to her.. I gave her 2 letters.. N and O..  I'm English damn it, not some kind of performing monkey ..(having said that I am now off to Alabama .. the home of the film 'Deliverance' and 'Forrest Gump'..If I can only get ONE person to say
'.. Life is like a box o' chocolates..' I promise now that I will recite the alphabet everyday for the rest of my trip..while riding a unicycle and playing the banjo!)

Hope you gorgeous lot are well!
Lovelovelove from the Laughing Londoner xxxxx