Neither Here Nor There

The biggest thing we noticed about traveling back to Georgia, South Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York was that we don't fit in any of these places. Nor do we fit here in Montreal. We're sort of rootless at the moment. I got lost in Athens twice, which is saying something given that I used to live there. South Carolina felt alien. MD and PA were never mine to begin with. And New York. Well, upon arrival I had that familiar pang in my stomach. We had lunch at Josie's then sat on a hill in Central Park for awhile. It was beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. We love that place and will likely move back at the first opportunity. It's the only thing in life I feel certain about. We have to get back to the island. We never should have left.

When I first landed in Georgia, I couldn't understand anyone. This just reinforced my sense of alienation. I grew up around those accents, and yet I couldn't make out what a cashier in the airport was saying when she asked me three times, "Yoo needa baaag?" Funny. This is the same sentence that trips me up in Quebec sometimes. Anyway, GA and SC were (mostly) lovely. I ate local strawberries and drank local beer and listened to local music and fried some green tomatoes. I saw lots of friends and family. I had a great time there, even if it doesn't feel so much like home anymore. And it was nice to be away from home on Mother's Day. I felt a little sad, a little quiet, but I didn't have much time to wallow in it with all the running around.

The purpose of my trip to Georgia was to see my mom graduate from the same college I attended back in the day. (We tell her she was a legacy admittee.) Georgia has finally come out of a near decade-long drought, and everything was green green green and blooming. That is if you could see past the SUVs and housing developments and shopping malls and billboards and fast food restaurants.

The road to Athens is paved with tacky billboards.

In the garden





These (over)developments are sucking the life and resources out of the state. They're everywhere, taking over Georgia's beautiful countryside. It's nauseating.


Some things about Georgia haven't changed. They still have pneumatic tubes at some of the banks.


My mom graduated with more honors than any of her kids did. (So did my dad, for that matter.)



Clara shows off her hoop dancing skills in the backyard


Listening to Mad Tea Party and reading graffiti at The Crimson Moon in Dahlonega




Moon rise


Traffic in Atlanta. (Rich white) Folks in Atlanta have been fighting expanded public transportation for ages, convinced it wastes taxpayer money and will bring crime to their fancy neighborhoods. But the ATL is nearing a breaking point. Traffic is bad all day, every day. I hear they're still planning to expand public transportation, but considering they've been "planning" for years, I'm skeptical...


Beer and dinner in Little Five Points


Hiking Raven Cliff Falls in South Carolina




MD, PA, & NY coming up next!