A Rainbow over Athens.

I've heard horror stories about driving in the pouring rain, but I never had the opportunity to personally experience this (as if it were an honor) until my drive to Athens on Friday. WOW it was literally hailing on my car. Luckily, Herb is not easily worn down, but I did pull out the Catholicism & hold the rosary hanging from my rearview mirror for a couple of seconds. Obviously, I lived to tell the tale, but it did scare the living daylights out of me. What's worse is that people were driving at normal speeds next to me! Crazies. I was going at max 25 mph, while the bozo next to me was going 55 in a hail storm with broken traffic lights.

Anyway, I got to Athens, and the storm subsided. And as I was pulling in...there was a rainbow! I took a pic on my camera phone. Haha. Luckily, I had my Chaco's in the backseat, so I made a shoe swap, and it looked as if I'd properly prepared for the weather. Luck.

We ate at the Grit, an Athens classic. Everything vegan, everything delicious. The waitors and waitresses are hipsters or hippies and the music is perfect. I think there was some Otis Redding, Neil Young, Talking Heads. You know, the greats.
I ordered a spinach quesadilla...that I left in Mal's fridge. Just remembered that. I hope she eats it! After eating, we spent an hour at AthFest with the rain and the crowds. Dave Dondero was fantastic - bluegrass/folk. Apparently, he's on the "greatest songwriters of our time" list with some little stars like Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan. No big deal. After Dave, we watched Modern Skirts, a local Athens band who've I've heard about, but knew nothing of their music. I personally am not a fan. Kind of cacophonous and incohesive. I felt like I was listening to a bunch of shwasted people playing their instruments. Come to think of it, I probably was.

Ah, but it was so nice to be back in Athens. I really missed it. Someone told me the perfect description for Athens was "fun" and nothing more. I couldn't disagree more. I think it's famous for its bars, the nightlife, those nights people can't remember, but Athens has such a big personality aside from that. It's the cool kid that doesn't try. It's organic, artsy, and quaint. It's this secret that only some people are clued into. Clearly, I'm kind of in love with it.

So, Athens was Friday night into Saturday morning. I left around 8:30 AM after hitting up the Five Points WaHo and getting a caramel capp at Jittery Joe's. Then, MICKEY MOUSE! The day was a blur, and the party was a big success. I have that picture I promised, but it's on my dad's camera, so I'll post it when he emails it to me. The aftermath was Christmas in June. I have never seen so many birthday presents. We had some very happy 4-year-old's.