Georgia On My Mind

And I'm back! So...we were off to Madison, GA. We got to Madison and checked into our Red Roof Inn (ugh!) and Shelley, Brian, Liz and I promptly headed out for a late lunch. When we stay at crappy hotels, I'm more likely to want to get out and about. Downtown Madison was really nice. Small and quaint, like it was out of another time. We ate at a nice restaurant called The Chophouse and were able to sit outside to eat because it was nearly 70 degrees out. Nice!



The lunch crew at The Chophouse.





After lunch at The Chophouse, they give you a Tootsie Pop. The antique store next door didn't seem to appreciate that.




Brian made a new friend at a local shop.




The Madison Courthouse.



A view of downtown Madison.




Apparently Oliver Hardy was from Madison!



After lunch, we headed back to the hotel...excuse me, motel, to rest. On our way back to our rooms, we were discussing the fact that one of the rooms had a broken out window that was sealed with plastic. Just then, a woman who worked there was walking past and said "Oh, that's from the hostage situation we had in January." OK, first of all, it happened in January and they still haven't fixed the window? Second of all, HOSTAGE SITUATION????? She told us some guy from S.C. had kidnapped his baby and his baby's momma causing an Amber Alert to go out. There was also some 17 or18 year old girl with him but the relationship is unclear. The police saw the car in the parking lot of the Red Roof and moved in. He held them hostage in the room and ended up shooting at the police through his room window. He and the teenage girl ended up getting arrested. For more detail, check out this article: http://www.foxcarolina.com/news/18412407/detail.html



We all ended up spending the evening watching TV and relaxing. We were lucky enough to have microwaves and refrigerators in our rooms so we were able to stock up on frozen food and other things we might not normally be able to store in our rooms.



Sunday, the next day, was a day off for us. Josh, Brian, Liz, Shelley and I used our day off to drive to Athens, GA about 30 minutes away. We had a lovely day starting with lunch at Five Guys Burgers, followed by coffee and laying out on the UGA quad which bordered downtown. It was cool to nap on grass and feel like I was in college again, though I did feel a little old when a group of Frisbee golfers went by.




Brian tried on a cute hat in one of the Athens boutiques.




There were painted bulldogs all over Athens. The bulldog is the mascot of UGA.



The quad at UGA. This view really reminds of the quad at UNC that borders Franklin Street. I'm going to pretend the Davie Poplar is just to the left of the camera. Ahh...that makes me happy!



Our afternoon outdoor nap.



The next day we had two performances at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center which was nice, but smelled of Pledge because there was so much wood in the place. It was an old school that had been converted to a cultural center and the stage looked like it hadn't been changed at all since the place was built. The people there were very nice and the kids seemed to really enjoy the show. We had time between shows to take our lunch break which was nice because downtown Madison was walking distance from the theatre so we were able to walk downtown in the warm spring sunshine and eat lunch at a local cafe. The best part of the day was the fact that we had two shows there the next day so we didn't even have to take down the set. Yeah!!!


The Madison-Morgan Cultural Center.



There was a lot of neat art on the lawn of the theatre. And you can see one of the historic Madison homes in the background of this picture.



More art.

The next day was pretty much a repeat of the day before but with a load out instead of a load in. From there, we drove to Savannah, GA where we stayed at the exact same La Quinta we stayed in the first leg of the tour. It was like coming home:)

In Savannah we had one performance at one of the biggest theatres we've played yet. It was a beautiful space and the kids went crazy for the show. Best of all, the theatre treated us to lunch. We were somehow a part of the Savannah Music Festival and they had a tent set up downtown to feed performers. Also, they provided lots of snacks for us and let us take what we hadn't eaten with us. Score!

From Savannah, we drove to Moultrie, GA, a very small town where we still managed to get lost. Partly because we were told we were staying at a Best Western but it had been converted into an Econolodge and we didn't know. So naturally, we didn't stop when we saw the Econolodge...we were on the hunt for the Best Western. After that, I needed a drink so everyone but Colleen headed to the local Mexican restaurant to stuff our faces. Several of us enjoyed Margaritas. A couple of us, more than one:) We got back to the hotel just in time for our weekly Lost viewing.

This morning, we had two performances in Moultrie at an auditorium at a local high school. The people at the space were very nice although I felt the audiences were on older end of the age range we cater to. After the show, we were changing backstage when two high school age kids appeared backstage and were waving at us. We thought maybe they knew one of us, but it turned out they were two high school drama students who watched the show and were enamored by us. They wanted to meet us and ask us where we went to school to study theatre. It was kind of funny...it was like they were meeting rock stars or something! We don't normally like uninvited guests backstage, particularly those who walk in on us while we're changing, but it was hard to be mad at them because they were so nice and gushing about us. This venue also provided lots of snacks and let us take them with us. We are now loaded up with snacks and bottled water.

This afternoon we drove from Moultrie, GA to Lake City, FL. We are only here in Lake City for the night. Tomorrow is a travel Day when we will drive to Vero Beach, FL.

And now I'm officially caught up on my blogging! Yeah!!!!! Sorry it took me three days to say everything I wanted to. I've been exhausted lately. Speaking of exhausted, I think I'm going to head to bed.

Until next time...