Another good night of sleep, except when James went off to the bathroom at 8 a.m. and didn't come back. I called to him, he didn't call back, and I found him on the toilet, asleep. But the hotel toilet had a grab bar next to it, so he had something to lean on and wasn't in danger of falling.
This morning we decided to go to Dottie's for breakfast; this is a breakfast/lunch place right across the street from the hotel. It's a buffet deal; you pick out what you want. I had bacon, ham, a cat's head biscuit, home fried potatoes (that were not oversalted!), and two slices of French toast. The ham was country ham and too salty, so I only ate about half of it. It was good, just really salty. Nothing really I could drink; I had Fanta orange and suffered carbonation bubbles up my nose.
We were going to Nora Mill next, but all the parking spaces were filled, so we went on to the Mt. Yonah bookstore, run by Ellen and her tortoiseshell cat Daisy. James found a book about fighting ships and also a book about U.S. food history. I found a CSI novel and a "Richard Castle" novel, and I bought a gift for someone. Ellen had written "Welcome Atomicon!" on the whiteboard outside, and we always get a discount.
Then we gassed up the truck in Cleveland, just down the street a few miles, because it was only 3.65(9) and everywhere else it's 3.94(9). James said it would be $50, and it was.
It was only around one o'clock, but Nora Mill was almost completely empty now. Just as we got there, a little lizard (what they call a "skink") came running along the fence that keeps you from tumbling down the hill that goes into the millrace. I took a photo of him, but it's blurry because I couldn't get close. At one point he puffed out his throat at me and it was like pink bubble gum.
They were also taking a delivery of freshly harvested corn when we got there. The truck had a funnel at the end of the bed that led into a pipe that crossed to the front of the Nora Mill building and dumped into another hopper that took the corn directly into the mill to be ground. They still use a real mill wheel run by the falls outside on the river.
James found several different kinds of cherry jams inside and bought one of each, so he was happy. He also bought country gravy mix (he loves it, I loathe it) and we got buckwheat pancake mix, and a pickle grabber, too.
Back to the hotel, a whole bunch of people in the common room, so we just sat, noshing on veg and cookies for the rest of the afternoon and chatting. Some folks were out doing things: Alex and Pat had gone to Ellijay for wine tours. Charles usually hikes, but I don't think he did so today as he's had a cold.
We did this all afternoon, until everyone separated for supper. Some went to Bigg Daddy's, the bar/restaurant; some to Bodensee, the German restaurant; others to Spice55 because they weren't here on Thursday. We wanted to go to Rib Country, where we went last year, and finally went on our own. But every parking space was filled, so we decided to get it as take-out. We got the combo platter and forgot we had ordered extra last year, so we really didn't overeat: I had a rack of ribs (except for one which I gave to James) and applesauce, and he had beef brisket, beans, and the Texas toast. For the rest of the night it was the same thing, chat, rinse, repeat, until midnight. Some folks played games, but I was editing a story while talking.
Labels: books, excursions, food, friends, health, shopping
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