Peaches, Peaches, I Eat Peaches

I eat peaches every day.

OK, so that's not entirely, true. But I did eat them while I was in Georgia this past weekend. I had a really great time. I left work around 3:00 friday afternoon and started my trek to Milledgeville. It took about 7-1/2 hours to get there, including stops and rain delays. I drove in and out of several monsoons. There was one point where it was raining so hard that I couldn't see 5 feet in front of me. The highway was flooding and I started hydroplaning (I'm sure my parents are thrilled to hear about this, but no worries, I had everything under control). I pulled over at the next rest stop and sat it out for a while. It let up a little bit, so I got back on the road, drove about a half mile and the rain just completely stopped. I managed to find Uncle Ron & Aunt Diane's house, in the dark, without getting lost. I'm sure the other cars weren't too happy with my slow driving on the pitch black country roads, but oh well. It's exactly 400 miles to their house and the Florida/Georgia state line is the EXACT halfway point. I arrived around 10:30 friday night and Aunt Diane's "southern hospitality" kicked in right away by offering me anything and everything to eat or drink. After getting settled in, we introduced Phyllis (Diane's friend and coworker) to the wonderful game that is "Peaches, Peaches".

We woke up Saturday to cloudy skies and cooler weather (upper 70s/lower 80s). But I didn't complain. It felt pretty good compared to the 90s here in Florida. Now that I could actually see my surroundings, it was very beautiful and peaceful. The lake was calm. It reminded me somewhat of being Up North. Of course to me, just about everywhere is "up north" (but nothing could replace the REAL Up North of northern Michigan. We decided to go for a boat ride, but as we got down to the dock, it started to rain. We tried putting up the canopy, but as we moved forward, the rain just came underneath it. Instead, we decided to go to lunch and then drive around town. We went to lunch at this little hole-in-the-wall BBQ place called Peaches (of course). The food was good, but it was the location and atmosphere that made it really unique. It was located in this itty bitty pull barn way off the road. I love places like that: one of a kind, local treasures. Unfortunately, though, the meal didn't agree to well with Amanda's stomach. By the way, while we were at lunch, the sun decided to peek through the clouds a bit. After lunch, we stopped at a flee market, drove into Downtown Milledgeville, and made a stop at Wal-Mart. When we returned back to the house, we made a second try for a boat ride. The sun had gone away again, but at least it wasn't raining. We took a tour of a small portion of the lake. There are so many "fingers" in the lake, I would totally get lost (and I have a pretty good sense of direction). A dark cloud was looming in the distance, so we headed back and started dinner. We had marinated grilled chicken (very yummy). After dinner, we just sat in the living room and watched tv on the only channel on which we could get any reception.

Sunday was still a bit cloudy, but we went for another boat ride and toured even more of the lake. We didn't even scratch the surface of all that there is to see on Lake Sinclair. We came back and had sloppy joes for lunch and decided to go jet-skiing. By now, the sun was actually starting to come out and I could see small patches of blue sky. I had never been on a jet ski before this weekend, but they are really a lot of fun. They're not quite as easy to maneuver as I thought they would be. It would also been easier if the lake was a bit smoother. After jet-skiing and swimming, I got cleaned up and got ready to head back to O-Town. I was making really good time on the drive home. I only stopped once right before the state line to grab dinner and gas (not that I was on empty, but gas is a lot cheaper in GA). I was just cruising down I-75. I was looking forward to getting in a bit earlier than I had expected (and no, I wasn't speeding). I thought too soon, though. I was about 100 miles from home and 40 miles from my exit to the Florida Turnpike when traffic came to a near standstill. And what made it worse, it was for no apparent reason. No accident, no lane closures due to construction. Well, I ended up getting home around 10, which is what I had originally anticipated (but I could have been home earlier).

Thanks again, Ron & Diane, for letting me stay and for ALL your hospitality. I can't wait to come again and perhaps stay a little longer. You are totally worth the drive and then some.