Georgia, oh Georgia...sing it for me Ray...

Now, that I've got you singing about Georgia, let me tell you about it. I can because I as just there. Yup, I did a last minute trip to Georgia for work last week. It was for a meeting with my client out in Alpharetta (in the 'burbs of Atlanta). Then I managed to tack on a extra two days in order to see some family.

I few out on Wednesday, which took all freakin' day. We left at 10am and arrived at 6pm. Such a shame to spend your whole day on the plane (luckily I made up that lost time on the way home. Anyway, my first taste of Georgia was dinner. My co-worker that joined me had been to Alpharetta before, so he suggested the restaurant. We landed at a charming restaurant called Table & Main in Roswell. This place knocked my socks off it was so good. No offense, but it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It was delicious "farm to table" Southern food. Dang!

Thursday I spent the day with my client, and our meeting went well (whew!). Then I joined a few of my clients for dinner at another great restaurant called Miltons. Combined these two restaurants challenged all my preconceived notions of Southern food. Well done, Georgia.

With my client visit behind me, I drove out to Burford to visit my Aunt Pat and Uncle Ron. They have a lovely home and I got a true taste of Southern hospitality. They treated me like a queen (or should I say Southern Belle?).

I lucked out and got to meet their cat, Mr. Ford. He was a rescue cat and I think I made a breakthrough since Mr. Ford came out from behind the boxes and looked at me, which apparently he never does. I guess I am the new cat whisper. Okay, maybe not, but let's pretend. Sorry, no photos since Mr. Ford is camera shy.

Not to bring up food again (heck we do eat at least three times a day, so why not!), but of course we ate at the Cracker Barrel. What good is a trip to the South without it? Cracker Barrel is more than food, it's an experience. As a kid, I loved the jumbo checker board, the wooden peg game (oh man, if only I had this video as a kid), and the candy sticks from the stop after the meal. If you've been there, you know what I'm talking about. Oh, and you can't forget those rocking chairs out front...classic.

I actually have a cute story about Cracker Barrel. When I was a kid, and we visited the East Coast, and I found out I loved Cracker Barrel. I loved them so much I wrote a letter to headquarters and told them to open shop in San Diego. Well, no such luck for little Heather, but it was worth a try.

Saturday we enjoyed some R&R at home, but by noon we headed out to the town. I was introduced to Von Maur, a department store from Iowa, which hasn't made it's way to the West Coast (yet). I also got a tour of Dillards, a Southern department store. My favorite thing in the mall was the fact that Starbucks had sweet tea.

The day ended at my cousin Debbie's house. Another lovely Georgia home. So big! And I met their sweet pooch, Sammy. Sammy was a cutie and cuddled on my lap. It was great to catch up with my cousin and her husband, Dave. No joke, it has been twelve years since I last saw Debbie. Craziness.