Blogs from Athens, Georgia, United States, North America - page 6

Saturday, trip to Tallulah Falls and lunch with Bill, Stephen's sponsor when he was at uni. The falls were dramatic and very scenic. Lunch was very southern: very fine congealed and chicken salad, lovely iced tea. On the way back Stephen bought a very large plasmatic TV. There now never seems to be anything decent on it, apart from the odd Seinfeld repeat. I had taunted him that his former modestly-sized TV was 'un-American'. Evening meal out at a 'Barbeque'. Not what I was expecting. Basically shredded pork, 'slaw and beans. Served on a plastic plate. In a trashy, run-down shed. Never again, although they enjoyed it. Sunbathing on the roof the next day, and the beginning of composing music for the church. ... read more

Arrived in Atlanta after a reasonable flight from Heathrow, having shaving off my beard. My face seems odd without it, but the promised heat will hopefully vindicate my decision. Breezed through immigration - despite my fears of being strip-searched and interrogated. Endured the bizarre double baggage collection system - don't ask, it's really dull. Met by Stephen and Patrick. It was the first time I'd seen Stephen in many years. We had sung together in Wells Cathedral way back in 1993-5. He hasn't changed a bit. Well, maybe a few grey hairs. Burger and fries at 'Varsity', an odd experience. The staff continually yell "Whad'll ya have, whad'll ya have?!" An hour drive east to Athens. Quick tour through the church where Stephen is director of music. Large, typical mock-Georgian building with very generous rehearsal rooms. ... read more

This past weekend, I went farther south into the green world of Athens, Georgia. It was my first time out of North Carolina since I came down here on exchange, and it was such a fun experience. The UNCW softball girls rented a couple SUVs (2007s) and headed on the road on Friday. It took about 7 hours to get from Wilmington, NC to Athens, Georgia but the ride was a lot of fun. The first thing was saw was a place called 'South of the Border' that lies right across the North Carolina/South Carolina line. It's a cute little, Mexican world full of firework stands, some rides (twirling sombreros of all things), and lots of mexi-food. We didn't get to stop in, but it definately looks a fun tourist attraction if you have the ... read more

It is set in stone. Everything is booked. Everything is ready. Milan Cinque Terre Pisa Florence Rome Naples Pompei Amalfi Bomerano Positano Sorrento Siena Padua Venice Munich Fussen Rothenburg Bacharach St. Goar Cologne Frankfurt Prague Dresden Berlin London Oxford... read more

Hello Everyone, Hallo Alle Zusammen, friends and family, Freunde und Familie! The countdown to "lift-off" is ticking and I wanted to start by getting you all to add this website to your "favorites", so that you can follow my trip down-under via the WWW. I hope to make all of you jealous with the great pictures that are about to fill up this site, the stories of adventure travel and fun encounters with Koala’s, Kangaroo’s, Kiwis (the human and flying kind :-) and all sorts of other wild animals. Since this is the first go-around for me to keep a “public” travel journal, I beg our forgiveness for a lack of eloquent writing style (after all I was a business major who ended up a volleyball coach, and English is my second language :-) so if ... read more