Georgia On My Mind

            After buying a house recently and going through the process of moving out of the apartment, again, I was feeling very drawn back to Georgia. I had been waiting for this trip for what felt like forever. Each day it felt like it was creeping closer, but that no real progress was being made. I did not make a trip last year, so it felt like it had been a long time since I had been back, and there were so many things that I was starting to really miss. Was Georgia really calling me back?

            So on a Thursday night, after work, Mya and I flew into Atlanta. We got our rental car and drove to Rome. I wanted to run at Berry in the morning. My initial plan was to do a long run from the cage center, to mountain campus, up Goat, then to the House of Dreams, and then back to Cage, like I had done last time I visited, but of course, I got hurt like two weeks before and was no longer running much, but I was not going to miss out on Goat. So after a short night of sleep, I got up and headed to the cinders track parking lot just like I had for cross country practice.

            The one thing that I did not miss about Georgia was the humidity, and it was present from the first step outside of the airport, and it was present now on this gloomy gray morning. The temperature was not even that bad, low seventies, but I was dripping in sweat almost immediately. Despite the hurt leg, I was pushing the pace at the beginning out of excitement. I was so ready for the hills. Those trails felt like home. I still cannot explain it, but there is something about the sight of that little tower in the Res that resonates deeply in my soul. It is like one of the places I want to be most on this planet. It puts a smile on my face just seeing it.

            The same can be said for the Goat climb itself. It just creates a certain sense of peace within me that other mountainous hills do not. Even the air on the climb feels different. I cannot explain it, but when I was running up it, the thought passed through my mind that if you blind folded and teleported me to that hill and made me start running up it that I would be able to identify it just by the way the air felt in my lungs.

            While I was in this state of euphoric bliss climbing this hill, I also saw a coyote! This was also exhilarating, although, I do not think coyotes are supposed to be out wandering in the daytime, but just as soon as I saw him, he vanished. Like magically vanished. He went around a corner, and then I went around that corner seconds later, and poof. There was not even the sound of him going up the hill or anything. Weird. It was probably my spirit animal…

            Then later on, I saw a deer, which is not unusual for Berry, but this one was out in the woods alone, not in the main field where there are always deer. The deer started to run up the hill off the trail, and after going part of the way up, he stopped and stared at me. I think he started off too strong and got tired, and so he just stood there watching me making sure I was not going to chase him up the hill because he was too gassed.

            Once I was done, I went back to the hotel, and after a shower, Mya and I headed to Waffle House. It was the perfect post-run breakfast. I do not know what it is about those waffles, but they are delicious. If I were to guess as to what makes the waffles so great, I would say it is the butter and syrup. If I were to make a pancake at home, or have a waffle at a hotel, I would not load it up with butter or syrup, so that is probably the missing ingredient, but their butter hits different. Also, their hashbrowns are unparalleled. They have a crispiness blended into their greasiness plus they were smothered covered and chunked, adding the delicate flavors of onions, American cheese, and diced ham. This delicacy is so cheap too! Our lunch, at Zaxby’s was more expensive than our sit-down breakfast. (Zaxby’s was also tasty too. I do not know the last time I had it, but their tenders and sauce are top tier.)

            Then after picking up the tux rental, we went to the hotel, which was graciously taken care of for us by the Kopecs. This worked out well, because we got the chance to be their drivers for the weekend. I was worried that I would not get the chance to spend a ton of time with Matt, because he was the one that was getting married.

            Normally when I come down for a wedding, Ethan and then Arslan’s, it was basically Matt and I hanging out. We both got to be a part of Ethan’s wedding in some way, and so we got to hang out then, and then neither of us were in Arslan’s wedding, so we had a ton of time to hang out then over the course of two days, and it was great! I feel like we got closer from those two experiences, plus there were some group trips we went on together since college. So I was worried that I would not really get a chance to hang out with him for his wedding, but thankfully, this was not the case, and it also gave Mya and I time to really meet Rissa and talk to her as well.

            After the wedding rehearsal, we had dinner at Maggiano’s, and it was delicious. I had been thinking about Bruschetta for a couple of weeks, and thankfully, it was on the appetizer menu, and no one else at the table really wanted it, so I basically got to eat it all! The menu was family style, so there was a salad course, appetizers, and entrees, and for each section, so much food was brought out, and it was all so good. Personally, my favorite course was the appetizers, maybe because I am less likely to order an appetizer when I go out, but the fried zucchini was excellent. After dinner, the boys went out to Wild Wing Café for a couple of beers, and it was just great to hang and talk about whatever, because we have all known each other for so long.

            The next morning, I got up for my run, and I just headed to the left, because it seemed like the sidewalk would go farther that way, and after a mile, I came across the Alpharetta Greenway. It was awesome! A fully paved path that spans over 8 miles, so there was plenty of space to run, and it went under roads, so traffic was never an issue either. It did feel like much of it was built on swamps. There was a ton of water everywhere, some of it creeks, but other parts standing, and it was almost all covered by trees, so if it were sunny, it would be nice and shady. A good find that I went back to the next morning as well.

            We did not have to be at the wedding venue until two o’clock, so Mya and I had time to run around. We went to a mall, so that she could get some last-minute accessories to wear to the wedding, and more importantly, we went to Publix, so I could get some lunch. I got an Italian sub, my favorite, and I got a fried chicken drumstick as well. The sub was of course good, but the chicken leg was even better than I remembered. Like it is top tier fried chicken. Honestly, it might be the best fried chicken I have had. (Publix in general, not just this one piece.) The drumstick is perfectly breaded, it is not too crispy, and the flavor is exquisite. It tastes like grease and salt in the best way possible blended with some slightly fatty dark chicken meat. A sub and fried chicken, the lunch of champions.

            Once at the venue, there was a bunch of hanging out until the wedding. We took some pictures before all the guests got there, and that was about it. It was great to see the full swath of people there, parents that I have known since I was a child, and a couple more good friends that I have basically known my whole life, Luke and Austin, and it was so good to catch up.

            The forecast had been predicting rain for the outdoor wedding all week, even the day before, it was predicting rain, but the day of, the weather was perfectly sunny, a little too hot, but that is better than rain. The wedding service itself went quickly, and then the party started.

            My personal favorite part of the wedding was their signature cocktail, The Puddy, which was named after their dog, and it consisted of tequila, blue curaçao, lime juice, and simple syrup. After being out in the sun and sweating, I almost drank the first one in one gulp because it was that refreshing. It was even accented by napkins with Puddy’s face on them. It was adorable.

            Then came dinner and all the dancing. It was nice to be at a wedding with a plus one and have someone to dance with because I hate dancing by myself. That is the worst. Also, towards the end of the party, there was something I had never seen at a wedding before, a French fry bar. They wheeled out this cart that had fries and tots on it with different toppings, and it was a good way to send people off into the night. Mya and I gave the newly weds a ride to their Airbnb, where they would leave for their honeymoon the next morning, and then we headed out.

            Apparently, more people were going out after the wedding. This was my least favorite part. I do not like going out late, and the first place we went was way too loud and way too hot. So we left, and we went to another place, which was better, we got to sit outside, which was nice, and it was a Buffalo Bills bar, and on top of that, they had giant slices of pizza for $2! So we ate those and called it a night.

            The next morning after my run that I somehow got poison ivy on that is still bothering me over a week later, we headed out to where I grew up. I showed Mya the house I grew up in and where my friends lived, and all the good stuff about the area I grew up in. Then we went to Johnny’s Pizza, a place that I still call the best pizza place, despite living in New York. Sadly, this time, it did not live up to my standards. Something about the crust was off and too smooth, whereas it usually has some texture and crispiness, but the cheese, sauce, and toppings were still on point. The cheese and sauce are what really give it the flavor that sets it above the rest.

            Finally, we hit the airport and headed home. It was great to see all of my friends that I have known forever, and I also loved getting to hit some of my favorite places to eat, Johnny’s and Publix, and running at Berry is a religious experience for me, but between the humidity, traffic, and constant traffic lights, I was glad to head back home. There are things to love about Georgia for sure, but ultimately, I was happy to be back in New York.