Wednesday afternoon in West Central Georgia

Yesterday I had to go meet with some people in Fortson, Georgia. Fortson is about ten miles from the Columbus/Muscogee County line and probably about the same distance from the Alabama stateline. Not knowing the distance between the two, I suggested to Cindy and Kate that we could drive to Callaway Gardens for a couple hours and then I would leave them at the Country Store and meet the borrowers at their house. Cindy and Kate agreed to go.

At around 2:00, we set off for Callaway. The weather was sunny and hot. Kate was not feeling very up the trip but she slept on the trip over. Cindy read a book. We got to Callaway around 3:00. I dropped Cindy and Kate off at the main entrance and parked the car. There were very few cars parked in the lot. Of course, it was only a Wednesday afternoon. Still, I expected a few more people at the gardens.

I went inside and negotiated the purchase of an annual membership. Cindy and Kate went outside and sat in some chairs and gazed over the inlet for the lake at the entrance area. I joined them and we tried to identify the sweet smell wafting over the water.

We didn't have a whole lot of time to enjoy the different amenities available at Callaway. We finally ended up looking over the Butterfly center and the Sibley Center before we had to leave and go drop Kate and Cindy at the General Store. We couldn't take much time in the gardens because of my time and the fact that Kate didn't have much energy from her mononucleosis.

I drove down the mountain into Hamilton and turned West on a county road toward Alabama. After driving interminably through the hilly country covered with pine trees and nothing else, I came upon an overpass for I-185. As I passed under the overpass, I stopped at a stopsign for an intersection to discover a rough looking one story cinderblock building with about thirty or so cars and trucks parked around it. There were people standing around waiting to enter the building. Despite the cares, there were no signs or indicia of what was inside the building. At the last minute, as I drove past the building, I saw some lettering written in two inch tall characters along the soffit of the end of the building: HUNTERS PUB & STEAKHOUSE.

I continued on to the home of the borrowers and met with them for the cloing. In making small talk at the closing, I found out that the little building contained the eating favorite spot in Harris County. The special for Wednesday was two for one steak dinners for $21.00.

As I returned to the General Store at Callaway, I stopped at a gas station where I bought gas for $2.759. That was about twenty cents cheaper than I could buy it in Griffin or anywhere around. As I drove on, I noticed several other places selling gas for the same amount. I still don't understand how some people can sell gas for twenty cents a gallon cheaper than others, particularly since they are all in the same area. On the way back home, I saw gas for $3.09. Where is the connection?

I got to the General Store to pay the check for Cindy and Kate. They both told me that their meals were terrible. I told them about Hunter's Pub and both decided that it would have been better to drop them off at the Pub on my way to my closing. I stopped at the Purple Cow to get Kate ice cream and get Cindy some cake. Kate was so tired from the trip that she could barely make up her mind about what kind of ice cream she wanted.

I stopped at a little Italian restaurant in Pine Mountain. The food was ok. Not great. Nevertheless, we finally got back home and everyone could relax a bit before going to bed. What an afternoon.