...sing a song about my life."
-George Strait











We left Albany on Monday morning and knew we had the whole day to get over to Blakely because my grandmother had a Doctor's appointment in Dothan, Alabama. I wanted to show Dave some of the places I grew up so he could get a better idea of why I am the way I am. I think he did.

Our first stop was Colquitt, Georgia. This is where both sides of my family would gather and where I spent most of my childhood. The farm as we called it is officially named "The Last Draw Pineceae Tree Farm" and he also owned a plot of land called "Egypt." The land has now been passed down to my father and his sister, Aunt Pam, and it looked very different than I remembered. The state of Georgia widened the Highway from a two lane to a four lane and I couldn't even find where to turn in. There used to be a fence, gate, a tall oak tree and The Rufus House, where my grandfather grew up. Now there are no markers at all except a small fence line. After making several U-Turns we called my father and finally found the fence line after calling my dad. I showed Dave both ponds that once held catfish and bass and The Rufus House which has now been moved to the back of the property. Although it looked much different the spirit of the farm is still alive and well.

After that we moved on to Iron City, Georgia. Don't let the name fool you it's smaller than the town I grew up in. Richardson's BBQ is their only claim to fame and I couldn't believe it still exists. We were the only two there so we received full service with sweet tea, pulled pork, french fries and their amazing "world famous" Brunswick Stew. It was so good Dave just had to take some to go. We ate quickly and kept on truckin’ to Brinson.

Brinson has been preserved over the years and looked exactly how I remembered it. We drove by my old house (the parsonage), and also drove by my home away from home, Brinson Baptist Church. I showed Dave our "General Store" which seemed a lot more run down than I remembered. I guess we all can get a little run down over the years. All in all it was a successful trip down memory lane and one I think (and hope) Dave enjoyed.

After that we decided it was time to make our way to Blakely, Georgia to see the other side of my family. We made it there by 4pm in time to print some pictures for Ammama to keep and then headed over to her house. Aunt Pam and her new Nissan Z were parked in the driveway so we got to visit with her for a little bit before Ammama got back from Dothan with my Aunt Lish and Cousin Ginger. They left shortly after and we decided to eat at Dairy Queen for dinner.

We all filled up on hamburgers, fries and a dipped cone and headed back to Ammama's house to chat the night away. We lost track of time asking her questions, literally until 2AM. We talked about Cary and how they met, about the war and what life was like back in the 1940’s. We enjoyed listening to her talk about her life and learning much more about my grandmother that I ever knew. After sleepy good nights we headed off to bed to get ready for another day of family and friends.

We played the rest of our time in Blakely by ear so there would be no stress. We got up a little later than usual on Tuesday and headed out to eat at The Doghouse Grill, a UGA themed lunch place. They have the most fantastic sandwiches all served on Texas Toast and sweet potato fries (Mom-you will love these!). I think Aunt Lish and Ammama got the best meal of us all, which was country fried steak on toast. We sure did eat well while we were there.

We also did a little shopping at Peebles and Pernickety to work off the huge meal we had just eaten and then headed back to Aunt Lish’s, also known as the Grand Central Station of the south, for more visiting before heading out to dinner. When I was in Rochester, dad mentioned that if I wanted to eat some good raw oysters I should get Ammama take me to Griffin’s. I got a whole dozen served to me on a lunch tray topped with lemon and Griffin’s special house sauce. I also added cheese grits and hush puppies for a sublime southern dining experience. Dave also had a memorable meal with fried catfish, bone and all. I think he was a bit appalled when I asked if was going to eat his fish tails. He's a good sport and I made sure to keep those sweet teas coming!

Blakely was another successful stop on our whirlwind road trip. We got our fill of food, family and laughter.
Who could ask for more?
Emily