Georgia The Beautiful.

I'm lucky to have lived in many places growing up. I wasn't a military brat or anything but my mom was something of a nomad. I was born in Nevada and raised in Michigan, Indiana, California, and Florida. I have always loved the natural beauty of the west. Big sky, beautiful mountains, and deserts have a special place in my heart. It's just...me.

I've been living in Georgia for about four years now and I'm starting to realise why Ray Charles sang a song about it. The natural beauty of this state in incredible and, of all the places I've lived, it's my favorite next to the southwest. If I could just get the extreme rednecks to go away and move the beach a little closer, it would be perfect.

After L and I got back from PA, we drove about fifteen miles from our house to visit a local state park. To say it was beautiful is an understatement.

This little river is about a mile from my house I found this spot when I made a wrong turn.

QOTW.

Trying to get back into the swing of the blog.



This weeks question.



Does anyone else HATE the smell of energy drinks as much as I do?

Milestone.

As of three o'clock today another year has ticked off my marital clock. Today was the day I married L. Ten years ago. It was a beautiful spring day and everything was perfect. (OK the cake was missing a layer but no one noticed but myself and L.) It was the best wedding I've ever attended and I'm not just saying that because it was mine.

At any rate, we've reached the ten year mark and I still love her. We're both working today so there was no celebration. I sent ten roses to her work this afternoon and yesterday we had a fabulous dinner at an Italian restaurant. It's funny. We've been together nearly a third of my entire life and it simply doesn't seem that long to me until I think about it. We're now in the double digits. It doesn't seem like an accomplishment until I realize that there is a word that describes it.

Decade.

Frigging awesome!

It's nice to know.

One benefit of being a man that is spoken for is that you can easily recognise when some women are flirting with you or find you attractive. In my younger single days, I often would try to pick up a woman and, many times, would not be able to tell if she was truly interested in me or just humoring me in an effort to be nice. When you're a single guy, you tend to think of every attractive girl as a potential target (for lack of a better word). Many times I forced myself onto women that weren't initially interested in the effort to make a connection. Sometimes it worked but, more often than not, I was rejected. It was the nature of the game. The mentality of a single man trying to pick up women in a social environment clouds his judgement. Many times men don't pick up on those subtle cues that women make because they're blinded by lust, desperation, loneliness, ego or whatever. Maybe it's because I'm not on the prowl anymore or it could be that I get sex regularly enough that I'm more clear headed than I was in my younger days, but I find it much easier to pick up on a woman's interest level now.

What's the point of this rambling you ask?

I am (or was) an attractive man at one point in my life. Not the chiseled tall dark and handsome type of dude but you could say above average. I've been told that I share a resemblance with a young Jack Nicholson or Christian Slater. Often women would hit on me when I was younger. As I get older and I lose more and more hair and what's left turns gray I can't help but ask myself "Am I still attractive?" I've been out of the game for so long that I wasn't really sure because it's been a long time since a woman hit on me. That was until this last couple weeks.

Through no fault of my own and making no effort whatsoever, three women have come on to me recently. The first was a waitress in Kill Devil Hills. L and I walked into a restaurant and she went to the restroom while I got us a table. The waitress was extremely flirty with me when she sat me at the table. I can't remember what she said but it was an obvious come on. The second was at the casino in Atlantic City. As I went down the escalator a group of women came up the other direction. The lead woman said "Hey sexy! You're going the wrong way. I'll be waiting at the top." OK so she was probably drunk off of the free alcohol but she still came on to me. I had no witty comment to come back with so I just smiled at her and her friends and could feel my cheeks turn red as we passed on opposite moving escalators. The third woman who made a pass at me was playing poker at the same table in a local bar this past Wednesday. She sat right next to me at the table and steadily made comments to me that had double meanings and seemed to ignore everyone else at the table. During a ten minute break, she followed me outside to the deck where I introduced her to my wife who was playing at a different table. After that, she stopped talking to me. I never made any first moves on any of these women and was wearing my ring in all three instances.

I would never cheat on L. It's just nice to know (or at least pretend) that women I've never met still find me attractive. Every once in a while my old ego needs a boost make me feel good again.

Did ya miss me?

I can describe the trip in one word. Fantastic!

The drive was great. I plan on making most of my trips in the future nice and leisurely. All of the other trips we've taken have been about the destination and the road was just a place that you tolerated while you were in transit. This time we weren't on a tight schedule and didn't have to be anywhere (accept the wedding) at any particular time.

Kitty Hawk and the outer banks was incredible! We arrived on the evening of out first day and everything was perfect. We found a beautiful Ramada to stay at and had a fabulous dinner at a crab shack. After dinner we sat on the balcony of our beach front room and drank beer while we looked at the stars and listened to the waves lap upon the beach. After some fantastic nookie, we slept the night away with the door to the balcony open. The next morning we were awakened by seagulls and warm morning light filtering into the room. We walked down to the beach and L collected seashells while I chilled in a hotel lounge chair and snapped pictures of her and sea grass and dolphins swimming by. We checked out and found a great breakfast spot where we overindulged in French toast and eggs. Everything went so smooth. It was like it was scripted.

Driving up the eastern coast was great. We saw a bunch of little towns and interesting scenery that you don't get while screaming down the interstate at 80 miles an hour. We crossed huge bays over bridges and tunnels and rode the Cape May/Lewes fairy from Delaware to New Jersey. The weather was perfect.

We arrived in Atlantic City a day ahead of schedule because L was chomping at the bit to plunk some money in some slots and play some roulette. Of all the places I've been to gamble (Las Vegas, Tunica, Biloxi and a few others) Atlantic City was the worst. First of all, for those that have never been, the place is a friggin shit hole. Aside from the Casinos, the town itself is filthy and run down. The locals are really stupid about jay-walking in front of moving automobiles. I had to practically activate the ABS in the rental to keep from hitting no less than three locals. Several times we were approached while at a stop light and begged for money. In the breezeway (inside a casino mind you) there were two homeless people sleeping on the window ledges. The parking garage of the Taj Mahal smelled like a sewer. We lost all our gambling money but despite being disappointed, we still had a great time. It's kinda like pizza or sex. Even when it's bad, it's still pretty good.

The wedding was cool. The ceremony was short and not overly religious which makes L and I feel uncomfortable because we're not really on board with that sort of thing. We were invited to the rehearsal dinner and enjoyed the company of her cousin's new in laws. It was a buffet style dinner and we, unwittingly, sat with the brides parents. I made it half way through my meal, trying to be charming, before I realized who I was bantering with. I hope I didn't offend anyone because I have no idea what I was small talking about between bites of delicious ham. The wedding itself was not a formal engagement. The groom and his posse wore Dockers with button down knit shirts. The bride wore a wedding dress with no shoes and her maids were in natural looking mint green dresses. It was kind of cute being that the two getting together are serious nature buffs. They're the kind of people that enjoy campfires and hiking in the mountains more than TV and Starbucks.

Trip home was cool. Once again, we took our time and stopped where and when we wanted. L is a yard sale freak and loves to stop and see what's available. Since we drove through PA there were a bunch of Amish stores and other things to investigate. Our route took us through several cool places like Gettysburg. We stopped in Virginia and attended an Apple Blossom festival where we ate crab cakes and took in the sites. We slept in a hotel that evening and drove the rest of the way home the next day with detours to an Indian casino (she begged me and I couldn't refuse) and a state park in Georgia.

One of the best things about the trip was that we got home on Monday and neither of us had to be back to work until Thursday. There was plenty of time to decompress, pet our kitties and do laundry. It was a great week.