This is SPARTAnburg!

[fbhjr]

It was a great weekend, but it had to end.
For me, that was at 4:30 when the alarm went off. I stumbled around some and got down stairs to drive blue_micha and palusbuteo to the airport.
Once back, I started the process of packing the van. I was soon joined by morgan_lafaye, adorabrightmoon, my wife, Jose and Carol.
We got it all packed in. But, had to make a sacrifice.


The magic umbrella is no more.
This umbrella has been with us for years. It hasn’t worked as an umbrella for years. When rain threatened, or started, Tom would take it and do his “no rain” dance with it.
He thinks it worked. (Statistical data gathered on the weather conditions at our performances for the last 8 years do not support this theory. However, it was always fun to watch the big bald guy dance around in the rain trying to get it to go away.)

As fun as it is to watch, I don’t need to tow it around. And, although there were very light sprinkles just before the fire show Sunday, they stopped without the dance.
I just have to figure out how to tell Tom…

We wanted to get on the road as soon as possible to try and avoid the storm we knew was running along the coast. perrin_o_ravnos had told me he was going to set his alarm for 6:15. So, when he wasn’t there by 6:30 I gave him a call.
I’d quote what he said, but the letters of this keyboard only do English.
The upshot was, he was still asleep and I was glad I called. He threw on some clothes and we set off.

The bugs were really bad in Alabama. One hit the windshield and left a trail of green innards along the window as it rolled up it in the wind.


The idea of anything with Sparta in the name being near “Boiling Springs” seemed very funny to us. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, I don’t know. Do you think it’s funny?


Anyhow, along route 85 in SC is one of the biggest landmarks of our trips to the south, The Peach!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peachoid
We drive by it 4 times a year, and always tell people who haven’t been with us before to “Look for the Peach!” They never know what we mean until the 4 story tall peach comes over the horizon. They all say the same thing.
“That’s a BIG peach! I know you said it was big, but that is really big.”

Of course, if you are coming from the north and can’t see the leaf on the south side, it doesn’t always look like a peach. And, I’ve always wondered if SC is mooning the north with this peach. But, peach or crack, it is something we always look for on the trips.


Under the peach (don’t think about that if you don’t think it’s a peach) is a restaurant named Fatz. Usually we go by headed south at 2 in the morning. Northbound we’ve usually stopped somewhere in GA for food.
But, because of the early start this year, we got to the Peach just about dinner time.
So, we got out at the restaurant with a giant peach in its parking lot and had dinner.
Everyone was happy to stop and eat.


The service was VERY good. They had great rolls, and brought us 3 baskets of them. The food was good, and got to the table before the third basket of rolls had disappeared.
morgan_lafaye was happy because they cooked her steak the way she likes it.


We’ve never stopped there before. But, I’m pretty sure we’re going to stop there from now on as everyone enjoyed it.


Of course, we had to get a good look at the peach.



Jose seemed really happy we stopped to look at it.


perrin_o_ravnos took over driving there and stayed in the drivers seat until Richmond VA.

The timing of the drive was great. We hit DC at about 10 PM, Baltimore less than an hour later and NYC about 4. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen less traffic on the George Washington bridge then this trip.

We did get back to Worcester just about rush hour. While not NYC traffic, I still had to dodge around some to get through the city.


Florida was in the 70’s and warm our whole time there.
It was still winter at home.


We unloaded the van and then brought it back to the rental place.
The guy checking it in told me that the trim on the bumper was loose and wasn’t when we got it. There had been a crack in the light just above the trim and he admitted that. So, we suspect the bumper might have been loose before. He was going to “research” it and let me know.
I have to say, I’m not happy with that rental place. I know they were the only people who had the kind of van I wanted. And, it drove well, got good mileage, and didn’t cause any trouble.
But, I paid through the nose for it. And, it they try and get me to pay for the bumper trim it will be even worse.
We’ll see. Next time I’ll try for a better solution.

I was glad to be home, and my wife and I promptly took a nap on returning. That evening we went to our usual sushi place down the hill from our apartment. Having the owner great us and say “it’s early, sit where you want” really made me feel like I was back home.
Today at work I’m still dragging. But, it was a good weekend and I’m very happy with how it went.

My great thanks to everyone who went. You made it great, and I really appreciate that!

Comments

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

I agree that "Spartanburg" and "Boiling Springs" is damn histerical!

Glad you were finally able to stop at The Peach and that it was a happy surprise for stopping and for food. When Jose humps/hugs it, it must be good!!

the group picture infront of the peach is great!