This is a podcast I recorded as I was traveling northeast on I-85 on my way back to Atlanta from Alabama.  It was a cool trip.  It could have been better, but there’s not much hope for things that don’t feel they need to change.  The gay issue isn’t really an issue anymore.  Many people don’t feel the same about it as they did…say…10 years ago.  That’s always a plus.  I’ll talk more about that later.

Until then!

From Hawk Mountain Shelter, it was a down hill start for us hikers.  We eventually arrived at a dirt road clearing where we saw the father and son team speaking to a guy at his truck.  We walked on over and started to talk to the group.  The guy had moments before walked out from the woods.  He had on a pair of waders and snake protection.  I spoke with him for a while and, once again, I was thrilled.  He was from the town of Elijay in the north GA mountains.  If you look up the town, you will most likely see something about the huge apple festival they have each year.  We’ve wanted to go for the years, but haven’t yet had the chance to go.  He was such a nice guy and I couldn’t help but stand there and talk to him for a while.  Southern accent…I thought I had one!  This guy made mine seem like I had just learned to talk.  He was talking about looking for “jin-sang. You know ’bout tat jin-sang?”  I stood for a moment and then slapped my leg.  “Oh, ginseng! Yes, sir! I know ’bout it.  Does ya good.”  I felt so comfortable talking to this man…even with pistol hanging from a belt around his waist.  We then started talking about the gun.  “Oh, this thing.  I’ve had this for years.  I take it with me in case I see a snake.  Cain’t be too careful, ya know?”  No shit, dude!  I had been looking for snakes ever since we first stepped onto the trail.  He said he needed to “git goin” and so we shook hands and he got into his truck and left.

I sat down with John to get a breather and try to eat a little something.  I had started to feel more light headed while standing there talking.  This group came down from the opposite direction and stopped near us to drink water.  While sitting there, this beige colored truck pulls up and stops on the road.  About six men in army fatigues jump out and walk around.  I had heard there was an Army ranger base in the mountains, but I had not expected to see any of them.  I guess we had picked a service weekend to go hiking.  After a few moments, this man…oh what a man he was…walked down to where the group was gathered.  He said, “Just to let you know that within the next hour, about 100 rangers will be pouring into this spot.  So you have about an hour to rest and head on.”  Oh my! “Yes, SIR!” was all that I could utter.  I was struck down by this guy so badly that he could have picked me off the ground and thrown me where he wanted me.  Even on the nearest bed or hammock!  His shoulders must have been almost 2.5 feet (76.2 cm) wide and his chest was a good foot (30.5 meters) deep.  He was at least 6’2″ (1.88 m), tanned, bluish eyes, and a buzz cut that looked like had had no hair at all.  It was scalped that close!  If nothing else would give me the momentum to carry on, that one site alone would get it done.

View from atop Sassafras Mountain

We stood up from our break and looked ahead.  This is no joke!  It almost looked like a wall in front of us.  This was the foot of Sassafras Mountain.  It turned out to be the hardest climb of the entire trip.  To climb parts of it, you had to lean forward enough to keep your balance.  Remember that I had no trekking poles.  John had found me a stick the night before that I could use for balance.  That stick was like my mountain savior!  I looked like Gandalf with my mystical stick and John was Frodo! LMAO!  Since we were going up a steep mountain, we couldn’t go straight up its side.  The trail reminded me of Lombard Street in San Francisco…go left..no, go right…no left!  I felt like a horse trying to pull a carriage up a hill.  Just a little piece of history…that’s exactly why Lombard Street is made as curvy as it is.  It followed the original road used so that horses could get up the hill with less stress.  But, on with the trip.

I can’t count how many times we stopped for air and water.  Some stops were at large rocks.  Others were just to grab hold of a small tree and breath.  We finally reached the top of the mountain and the guy from Chattanooga stopped for a rest.  He had joined us on the way up.  He said he did not sleep much the night before.  We said good-bye and didn’t see him again.  He may have turned around and went back.  If so, at least he made it to the top of that mountain.  We took a break ourselves and snapped a few pictures.  The photo above is one view from atop Sassafras Mountain.  We were sitting on a large boulder with a spectacular view over some neighboring ridges.  You can see in the distance some showers and possibly thunderstorms.  We could hear thunder in the area and it sounded awesome, echoing off the mountains.  At least it wasn’t raining on us!  LOL.

Taking a break while taking in the sites!

We started down the other side of the mountain and, after reading my data book, found that the trail had been moved.  How long ago this had been accomplished, I don’t know.  The trail did have a bit of gravel on it.  We saw a cave…more a piece of mountain sticking out and lots of room underneath.  There was evidence of either overnight campers or just someone stopping by for something to eat.  Sadly, not everyone understands the “leave no trace” mentality of hiking and camping.  One should never leave behind any trash where they’ve camped.  It’s bad for the environment, for animals in the wild, and takes away the natural beauty for others who come along afterward.

After walking a bit longer, the woods took on a beautiful dark green.  We of course, had been walking downhill for some time, at least a quarter of a mile.  We could hear water close by, becoming louder and louder.  We reached a crafted set of steps down to a beautiful flowing stream.  It was almost too pretty to get into to get water.  The air was cool, much needed, and the water was freezing cold.  We spent a while at the stream to cool down.  We filled up all our water supply and headed to the shelter.

We must have been really tired because it seemed to take forever to arrive at the shelter.  We walked and drank.  Walked and drank.  Finally, we saw the sign pointing us to our camp.  Gooch Mountain Shelter was quite nice.  It was better than Hawk Mountain in the way it felt more thought out and built better.  One reason was because the shelter was in memory of someone by his family.  It had a loft and a table in the front under a nice covering.  The table was elevated as was the shelter itself.  We chose the camp farthest in the back.  The stream nearby was not as great as the one at Hawk Mtn. but it was running.  I was able to wash up a bit.  We filled our water bottles and before long, we turned in for the night.  The tent was the only thing up since we found the hammock to be of no use.  Sleep was easier to obtain on Monday night…until around four in the morning.

I’m taking it that since the rangers were in the mountain, they were having their service weekend.  Well, you know how big, tough boys are when they have guns at their disposal.  Everyone in the camp was woke up when a shot echoed through the mountains, sounding as if fired from a cannon.  I was wide awake and freezing.  Dang, there is something about being in the mountains at night during the summer.  If you’re always hot, you definitely need to try it.  Anyway, just a few minutes later, there was another explosion and again, I was awake. We should have started the day early, but we didn’t.  We went back to sleep to get ready for Tuesday’s journey.

After I went to the REI presentation of the Benton MacKaye Trail (yes, this one actually happened), I came back home and we left for Stone Mountain.  If you haven’t a clue as to what I am talking about, hop on the Google and type in Stone Mountain, GA.  Stone Mountain is the largest exposed granite dome in the world.  It stretches underground into Tennessee and the Carolinas and also into Alabama.  The park is kind of a memorial to the old South in the way of its hospitality and its beauty.  There are many things at the park that I love, including the Antebellum mansion, the railroad, the grist mill, and most importantly, the carving.  The main road around the mountain is rightly known as Robert E. Lee Blvd.  Everything about this place is family friendly and definitely something people here in the area look at as a wonderful asset.  The laser show is spectacular and takes place on the carving side of the mountain.  On the opposite side, there is a trail that leads from the bottom to the top of this gigantic mound.  The views of Atlanta from the top of Stone Mountain are amazing.  You honestly have to be there to get the true feeling of a breathtaking site.

Glad to be at the top!

We reached Stone Mountain around 4:30 pm and decided to climb to the top instead of taking the Skylift.  It gives you an incredible workout.  Since I am going to be doing a strenuous hike in the near future, I decided to go up with my loaded backpack.  Now that it’s all over, I am very happy I did.  I hurt today, but I can now say that with a full pack, I should be able to handle the mountains of North Georgia fairly well.

When we got to the top, we took a few pictures of Atlanta and other crazy things.  You can go into the building on the top and there are posters and stuff that describe life that exists on the top, including tiny shrimp that survive in the water puddles after rain storms.  The puddles are found in craters left from lightening strikes over the centuries.  There are a few small pines that have survived up there over the years.  I couldn’t find it yesterday, but there is a USGS marker located on the top for an elevation comparison.  The mountain is 825 feet tall and covers 583 acres. The top of the mountain is 1,683 feet above sea level.  It’s an amazing sight to behold and bring your hiking boots!

We reached the bottom and went to the car to get the cooler.  We were not aware they were doing work on the green, so when we reached the base of the mountain, the crowd was amazingly large.  We are used to sitting closer to the main building.  This time, however, were were right beside the pond at the base.  Thank God they did not do the “Great Balls of Fire” show.  I believe our hair would have been burned right off our heads.  There are effects that take place throughout the laser show like fireworks, various colored lasers, and blasts of fire.  The fireworks were definitely louder this time around.  We ate a few sandwiches and some fruit and had a fantastic time watching the show.  There were some new additions and some old time classics.  There is a classic segment containing various geometric shapes in sync with the Ray Lynch song “Deep Breakfast.”  The other, of course, would be the segments devoted to Georgia and the songs it is mentioned in and sang by artists from our state, such as Sugarland, Ray Charles, REM, The B52s, and Alan Jackson.

The gang left us around 10:30 pm heading back to that wonderful state of Alabama.  We were worn out from the day and I fell asleep on the couch.  We slept this morning till around 11 am and when my eyes opened, they immediately wanted to close again.  I felt every muscle in my body!  It’s a great feeling, but one that you have to experience between long breaks!  If you want to experience a feeling of the South and see some lovely surroundings, make a plan to come visit Stone Mountain Park located in Stone Mountain, GA.

I can’t wait till we see SW again.  He is truly an amazing guy that the other half has known for years.  I was able to SW after we met.  He isn’t bad on the eyes either, my friends!  He’s a looker! LMAO!  But, looks don’t mean much when there isn’t a great mind to go along with it.  He’s got it all.

I spent some time with my parents on Saturday evening, listening to my dad bitch about things not going right with the country. This, however, only proves my point when I say that people in rural areas are shoved so far up Republican ass that they can’t see daylight. I know we are going through some tough times, but they weren’t started during a Democratic presidential term. But putting that aside, I sat in that living room and listened to my dad say one thing and then my mom, in rebuttal, grumble under her breath. She asked me if I was ready to eat, and I said I could stomach something. Supper consisted of baked pork chops, peas, and potato salad. My mom’s cooking has so gone downhill from when I lived there. Half that shit would have been fried! Oh, I forgot. There were some fried green tomatoes. That saved everything! There was no fried okra. There was no big honking piece of meat thrown into the peas along with half a salt block! LOL! Since my dad has been diagnosed with high blood pressure (read Satan), he has been told to not eat fried foods and lots of salt. Such a hindrance to my mom’s fantastically wonderful southern cooking. I digress. I ate, I listened to more talking, and then I went to my sister’s house so that I could get some quiet sleep!

Labrina's great house in Alabama

I am so excited for my sister. She found her house for around $40,000. I almost shat myself when I heard this. You would never find this kind of deal in the Atlanta area. It is a three bedroom, one bath, with a large living room and a combination kitchen/dining room that is amazingly large. The dining room has a fireplace, but she is in the process of getting rid of it. The hardwood paneling in the house is very special. It is made of planks produced by the mill at Scotch Lumber Company in Fulton, AL. Those are not made anymore. Once those planks are varnished, they shine like diamonds. You have to keep them polished, but that’s a little work for something great. I know of at least 4 houses that have these installed. I only wish they were still processed at that mill. I know they can be purchased elsewhere, but they truly aren’t the same. Even the name of the mill is burned into the end of the board. But enough about the boards. As you can tell by the picture, the yard needs some work. The grass will start growing and spread where there is none. She is in the process of renovating some of the house…some things that are necessary these days are missing. For instance, there is no central heating/cooling. There are window units in the bedrooms, but in that area of south Alabama, it’s crazy to have small AC units. It’s a waste of energy. She will soon be installing a unit and will have to install the vent system as well. Nothing was ever made ready for a cooling unit.

I went to the high school I graduated from and visited a teacher that is like my second mother. She was my Spanish teacher and taught me more than just Spanish while in her class. She was one of the better teachers of our day. Mrs. Davis actually cared about the personal well-being of her students. Of course, she probably had her favorites, but that comes with any teacher. If you showed interest in improving yourself, she would stand beside you and help you make that happen. Not so much for the class clowns who didn’t give a rat’s ass about education. She saw the need in my brother as well and became as close to him as she was to me. She came to church one Sunday and heard me sing “Beulah Land” for Baptist Mens’ Day. I didn’t mean to make most of the women cry that day, but it happened. I had a knot in my throat the whole time as well. But onto my visit, the school is the same name, totally different building. The old one was getting too run down and something modern was needed. Oh well, my fond memories will always be in the old buildings. At least two or three of the outlying buildings are there.

I didn’t get to go fishing like I had wanted. That was a downside of the trip. I forgot my rod and reel over here in GA. Could have used my dad’s, but that was OK. I made it through the trip without going. I did make a trip to Meridian, MS. I spent a bunch of time there while attending West Alabama. Probably more than I should have. I could have been studying…..or drinking with friends…..or studying! Went to Bonita Lakes Mall with my brother and then went back to AL.

That’s sadly the extent of my trip. From Saturday to Wednesday evening, my life was just filled with excitement. Extended talks with my brother and some time visiting friends made up the most enjoyable parts. When I get tired of the life in the city again, I’ll find my way down there for a few days.

Because it has been a while since going to Chicago, I have gotten days mixed up. So for the rest of the trip, here it is:

1) We went to the Museum of Science and Industry. If you have never been, you should go. Airplanes, trains, and yes, automobiles are on display for the interested. There are different exhibits about the solar system, antimatter, coal, and just about anything that can be called industrial. You can have a blast for hours.

A German U-boat captured by the USS Chicago

2) We ate at a great restaurant called Hugo’s Frog Bar. It was very appetizing. Pricy, but great food. Things were definitely big enough for the price. The atmosphere was pretty cool…not too pretentious. I would go back there.

3) We visited Millennium Park. We wanted to go to Grant Park but Lalapaloosa was in town and people filled the park. The “stadium” at the park is one of the most fantastic ideas I have ever seen.  The metal bars expand out over the green grass. The speakers are attached to these bars and angle down. The stage is of a considerable size for an outside audience. It’s not Chastain, but it will work just as wonderfully. I like Chastain in Atlanta because of the concrete levels with the picnic tables and chairs sat up so that a family can have a wonderful meal while listening to returning artists like Hootie and the Blowfish and KC and the Sunshine Band. I saw Hootie there, thanks to a good friend we hardly get to see, who had tickets. YAY! The Bean is located in Millennium Park and I couldn’t wait to see it. I have seen it in so many pictures that people have taken when visiting

The Bean in Millennium Park

the city. I had to go and get my version of the pictures! Travis and I flashed away! Not privates…just pictures. You can walk all around it and through it. The inside is pretty neat since it is concave and you can see yourself in a couple different locations. Of course, there were a ton of people at the bean, lost in it’s shiny beauty! I know, it’s just a sculpture. In the park, there is a water fountain unlike any other. About 1,000 pictures were taken of people’s faces in the city. These pictures were used to broadcast onto these large cubes, shooting water out from the tops so that it will flow down the sides. Every now and then, the picture’s lips will purse up and the eyes will close. At that moment, this whole opens and water is shot out the lips. I’ve been told that the pressure of the water is compared to a fire hose. The water shoots out a good distance from the block. I did not partake in the water fun, but there were quite a few people of various races having fun together. It reminds me, on a larger scale, of Centennial Park in Atlanta. Or better yet, the redneck water fountain at the Mall of Georgia. You always see people bringing their children to the mall water fountain instead of taking them to a water park.

Well, that is the trip to Chicago. Thank God this part of the blog is over! I know it has been dragged out too long. So it was good, nice places to stay, and we’re back!

The elevator ride in itself was something to write home about. A screen advises you how high off the ground you are compared to other large buildings in the world. At story 103, we hear, “DING!” and the doors open up to a large lounge type room that wraps around the building floor. Fantastic! We saw terrific views of the city and its amazing architecture. The amazing thing to me is how you can look down and see the tops of large

View of Chicago from Skydeck

buildings surrounding the base of Sears Tower. Just minutes before, I was looking up at these buildings. It’s just me. I think of things that way. We continued around the building, pointing out things to each other that we just really want the other to see. It was so very cool. We went by a counter that was selling overpriced memorabilia. It’s touristy. We found this amazingly cool Lego set of the Sears Tower. How awesome is that? We put it together as soon as we got home! Did you think it was going to stay in the box as a collector’s piece? No way, babe! LOL. We walked around more and found our way to the new installation, officially known as the Skydeck. These creative glass boxes stick 4 feet out from the building. ALL GLASS! You can walk into the boxes and look straight down to the ground. Over 1,000 feet above ground, watching birds flying underneath you. I was completely psyched. Travis and I took turns going into the box and taking pictures up, down, and all around. You can find the video clip I made of our experience on YouTube. If you have a fear of heights, it would not be something I recommend. But, if you ever want to do something to help that fear, scare the shit out of yourself and walk out onto the platform. It should be an instant cure! My cousin is one of those people and got a little flustered on the second floor of Phipps Plaza in Atlanta. Of course, he would get freaked out.  But I digress. It was a great experience that I will remember for a lifetime. But there are other great things to talk

Me out on the Skydeck

about like our trip to Shedd Aquarium.

I didn’t get that many pictures of the aquarium. It was a nice one, but it wasn’t like Chattanooga. Theirs even overwhelms Atlanta Aquarium. Don’t get me wrong, Atlanta’s has the most water in it. I just think there wasn’t much thought placed into decoration and setup. When you are in the one in Chattanooga, you are in a large darkened room, on different ramps and walkways, looking at the large tank of fish. They didn’t make some overwhelming “TA DAA” kind of thing where you enter this room with bleachers and there’s a whale shark swimming around. It’s calm and collected. I like that.

After we left the aquarium, we headed down the street and entered Adler Planetarium. That I would have to say was really informational. They had a ton of rockets and space travel equipment that blew my mind. But, that’s not a hard thing to do. We saw two presentations that were nothing less than amazing. The first was the constellations and how these can be found. I had no idea the artistry the Romans/Greeks went through to get these names. The lights were turned off and the stars came out. Oooooo! Then the presenter sat the stars to where they would be in the night sky of Chicago…minus all the lights from the city. He said the constellations came from art and then turned the ceiling into all the drawings organized in the layout of the stars. At one point, the presenter made the stars rotate in the opposite way and said, “If you ever see this happen, go seek shelter. This is NOT good!” I just had to giggle. No shit, Sherlock! I also found that the sun will never and can never be in your house, meaning your horoscope, in the month of your birthday. Who knew?! Probably my friend Michael, who knows all about space and weather stuff. I will get more info from him. The next show we saw was about asteroids and comets. The way the ceiling/screen was shaped was something to behold. You could literally sit in the chair and look out and see nothing but elliptical screen. The movie was informative and in a way a bit scary. There is crap all over the universe that could head our way at any moment. Yeah, your welcome for that feeling of complete helplessness! And this isn’t Armageddon, so forget the nuclear bomb. I can’t find the pics of the planetarium.

After a day of tourist activities, we went to have Chicago style pizza. OMG, this was fantastic! If you haven’t had Chicago pizza, you have to try it. So not something you just buy in the store. You have to get the experience in the restaurant. After eating, I believe we went back to the hotel room and stayed there the rest of the evening.

(to be continued)

My partner and I took a trip lately to Chicago. We called it our second anniversary trip! The first trip was to Disney World back in February when our official anniversary took place. They were both fantastic trips and ones that I will never be able to forget. We went along with our friend Nick to Florida, but this time, I….yes I, the boy that hasn’t gone to many places in my life, got on a plane in Atlanta and flew alone to Chicago. to meet Travis who was already there. I found my way from Midway (on the orange line) to Grand (on the red line). Then, I walked a couple of blocks to the hotel to meet Travis outside the Wyndham Hotel on St. Clair Street. It was a cool little walk…going underneath Nordstrom and then getting across the streets. I was relieved when I saw Travis, but I wasn’t the slightest bit nervous. Actually, I put my case in the room and, after grabbing something quick to eat,

$320 Prada Sneakers...will never be mine!

I went out into Chicago and walked around. It was so awesome! I loved being able to walk around and check out stores on The Magnificent Mile. I even found a pair of $320 Prada sneakers at Needless Mark-up, more professionally known as Neiman Marcus. It was worth a look, I guess. The men’s department majorly sucked. The underwear collection was  very sad. I guess men that shop in Neiman Marcus don’t pay attention to what they wear underneath the $400 jeans they buy there.

One thing I got from walking around while Travis was finishing up his conference is I got a taste of what it will feel like when walking around with a huge pack on my back. I took my backpack with me, containing my laptop, so that I could stop at a Starbucks and post to the blog. It didn’t happen, but I worked off what I had for lunch. I did find a Starbucks, about 1/4 the size of the ones we have in Atlanta. It was a very small hole in the wall. I was asked, when ordering my green tea frappuccino, if I wanted the syrup. What the hell? I didn’t know there was another way to make it. So I just answered with, “Make it the normal way?” Obviously, some people in Chicago don’t like the syrup in there because it tends to make it harder to drink….? I didn’t understand that, so I got it and proceeded out the door. I drank it like I do in Atlanta, by sucking….on a straw. I found a Marshalls with a HUGE escalator. Not that I found anything worth buying inside, but the entrance was pretty nice. I kept feeling that some people were looking at me strange since I had this really big bag on my back. “Yes, I just stole a bunch of granny panties from your racks! Thanks!” I scurried out and returned to the rushing on the street. I caught the eye of this businessman as he walked by. I did one of those….step-step-step-turn…moves and caught him looking back at me. I smiled and carried on. Yay for me! I still have it! I walked on to the hotel room and rested my feet till Travis came into the room. We had much to do and there was no time like the present to begin.

The Lighthouse off Navy Pier - Chicago

Our first outing together took us to Navy Pier. This is such an awesome idea. It’s right up there with our experience at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. Lots of seagulls and music and boats. No sea lions , however, to drown out all the noise. We walked down to the end of the pier and saw this beautiful lighthouse. It is the first real lighthouse I have seen. It now holds a special place in my heart! It’s the Guiding Light of my life. LMAO! Some will get that.

There are so many things to do there. We ate at Bubba Gump, having fish and chips and a tasty mixed drink. We rode the world’s slowest farris wheel, giving us a view of the city while at the top. That ride also allowed us to rest our feet. There was a lot of feet-resting during our trip. There was never a reason to drive. We either took the L, a bus, or a taxi to get everywhere we visited. Atlanta could learn a lot from Chicago transportation. Primarily, how to spend money wisely and how to set up their bus routes. The bus routes…..hello Gwinnett County! Send the buses where the people are! Got it?!

While at Navy Pier, we went on an architectural river tour. You get on this boat and it travels up the Chicago River, providing you fantastic views of the buildings lining the river. This really nice lady spoke the entire trip…bless her heart…and told us interesting details about the architects, types of construction styles, and about the Chicago fire. No, it wasn’t Mrs. O’Leary’s cow, kicking over a lantern, that started the fire. They’ve not made a decision on what started the fire. Who knew?!

After the boat ride, we got back to the hotel, stripped to our normal lounge wear…aka NAKED…and nestled into a very comfortable bed so that we could be awake and ready to get out of the first hotel and move over to the second hotel. Travis was in the hotel till Friday for the conference and then we had our room from Friday till Sunday. The move and the rest of the weekend will be shared later.

(to be continued)