Atlanta, Georgia

We're currently staying with the two owners of an organic bakery in White, a 'suburb' of Atlanta, Georgia. They're very awesome people. Today we may visit one of the owners' friend's house whose house is supposedly haunted, and then tonight my father and I plan on going dancing with the woman owner's daughter. She's twenty-two, so her and I are of an age, so to speak.

Tomorrow morning we intend on setting off for New Orleans.

I've added pictures to my myspace Road Trip 2010 album, as well as posting two videos to my myspace which are essentially short roadtrip blogs: http://www.myspace.com/raederle.phoenix

North Carolina to Georgia

Written around noon:

We are on the road. We're still in North Carolina. The trees along the side of the road are quite fabulous. They're more diverse than you tend to see in many places. Oh look, a cow farm – about fifteen cows, five of them fairly young. Open fields frequently open up within the trees, golden grasses, green bushes, red leaved trees, white leaved trees, evergreens, a forest floor covered in hues of orange, yellow, and brown. It's bizarre how much it looks like fall here – in February. Very strange indeed.

White barked trees, thin stands of bush-like trees... a yellow field wide open just beyond the line of trees... a deep forest thick with growth... evergreens, evergreens, and then a farm.

It's raining today. The white mist is fairly thick. The rain changes now and again into snow, and then back into rain. The rain is almost more of a mist than actual droplets. We're in a thin and wet cloud. We just pulled out from behind a truck that we've been behind for a while. He was going sixty-miles an hour in a seventy-mile-an-hour zone; seemed a bit unnecessary.

It appears that there actually a vine in the forest that is growing at this time of year, it appears to have little green shoots on it, although it's hard to be sure.

It's just a beginning, but on my myspace, in my photos, there is an Album called "Roadtrip 2010" and it's got a few pictures posted thus far. More to come later, when it's not so late at night. http://www.myspace.com/raederle.phoenix

Deciding Our Next Stop

I posted a message on a forum on couch-surfer for Atlanta, Georgia, hoping to find a place to crash tomorrow night. And with luck, I got the following response:

Hi Phoenix.

I'll text you to let you know I sent this.

I'm right off of I-75, in the woods north of Atlanta. I own Georgia's only certified organic bread bakery and it's right here on my property.

I only recently quit playing World of Warcraft because the raids were taking up too much time, but it's a gamer-friendly house. The other baker is now living in the in-law suite I have listed on my profile, but I still have a guest room.

I'm 57, the other baker, Matt, is 39 and my cat is 18.

I'm about 35 minutes north of Atlanta.

Let me know if you're interested.

Dianne

I wrote back:

Hey, sorry, I'm an idiot for not mentioning that I can't receive texts. So I don't have your phone number.

I'd be very grateful for the place to stay - my father and I both. I also quit World of Warcraft mostly because it was taking too much time, but also because funds were too low to justify the cost of it.

That's awesome that you have an organic bread bakery! I'd be interested to see it, and possibly get some bread. :p

I contacted several people, but I've had three people write back and say they had other obligations. I did try sending out messages to people before the trip started, but gave up when so many people said "well, I don't know what I'll be doing in two weeks." But then I was so busy with packing and other preparations I didn't realize until we got to NC that I didn't have anywhere lined up for us to sleep between here and Arizona. >.<

So yes, yes, much, much appreciated.

We're intending on leaving tomorrow morning, sometime between 4am and 11am; we have not yet decided if we're going to get any sleep or not yet. *laughs*

And we're going to stop in Asheville, NC just to look around and see what we see and be there for a few hours before heading south to Georgia. So that lands us arriving there sometime between 3pm and 10pm. I'll know better tomorrow when we're actually on the road.

If you don't read this and reply this (with your number) before I pack up my laptop, the only way I'll have to be able to contact you is if you call me, so please do. :)

Thanks so much. :)

~Raederle Phoenix
&
Dale

North Carolina

North Carolina. The sun is shining. I don't think there is any snow here, although there was much snow between here and Buffalo. Last night there was a beautiful sunset as we were driving through Virginia. Snow covered the ground on both sides of the highway. The dark ominous trees stood in their bare glory, like dark brown hairs rising from a pale bumpy giant. The sun, a perfect red disc could be seen setting through the trunks of the trees. The clouds were illuminated in shades in pink, orange and red. It was beautiful.

I took pictures. I suppose I ought to post them.

Comparisons: Buffalo vs. Walnut Creek

There are many things to notice about the difference between Walnut Creek, California and Buffalo, New York. For one thing, there are hills here, and lots of houses on the tops of hills. Because this is the wet season, (February) everything here is green, and the trees still have their leaves, and the hills are covered in plants at their fullest. Green spills out of pots, and yards, and twines it's way up houses and across hills. It's completely different to the wash of whites and grays that Buffalo is during February.

Also, I notice there are many more Asians here, and I like that. The features of Asian people are pleasing and different, even on the elderly and not-so-striking Asians, I still like seeing them. Something about how far away they "come from" and how exotic they seem just because I've seen so few of them throughout my life.

Another point of interest is how crowded parking is. Everywhere you go the parking spaces are small and compact, and there are few places available to park. It's clear that the area is much more densely populated. As of yet, I have not personally seen any traffic jams, but I've also never seen the practically empty streets which are quite usual during most hours of the day in Buffalo.

The sun and the clouds here are both amazing. I love the beautiful cloud formations. I could certainly love the winter climate here; although I'm guessing that the Summer climate would be more than my body would be able to handle. I'd likely be found sprawled in front of an air conditioner with wet clothing (to keep extra cool.)

This is the longest I've been away from home in a very long time, and certainly the longest amount of time I've ever spent in California, or nearly so far away from home. It brings to mind how odd it would be for me to call any place but Buffalo my home.