North Carolina Day Three

There's a county courthouse that we passed on our way to North Carolina. I will tell you this- the south does love its county courthouses. We passed so many of them of all different styles and designs, but all grand. 

The south is such an interesting place. There is the initial feeling so akin to that whole Gone With the Wind thing about the glory of what the south once was before the Civil War and the way of life that was so civilized and proud but it's all just bullshit because not one bit of it was not based on the fact that enslaved people built the whole civilization with their blood, bones, and babies. 
Do I have white guilt? You better fucking believe I do. 

The first night of our trip we stayed in a hotel in Macon, Georgia that was housed in an old mansion which had been built on a street lined on both sides with mansions. As I told Mr. Moon, architects had more fun in those days and built houses that resembled Greek temples and castles, one right next to the the other, depending on the owner's dreams of elegance and beauty. And by golly, those houses were beautiful and the fact that so many of them still stand is amazing and a tribute to the type of building materials that were available then and of course to the skill of the men who built them, doing unpaid and unrecognized labor. 
When we were staying at the Macon hotel, I wondered where the workers had lived, do live, to support the life styles of those mansions because each and every one of them had and do require a staff to keep them running. I found that neighborhood, one street behind the mansion street, small roads with small houses crowded up next to each other, some of them falling into complete disrepair and boarded up and some of them being restored in jaunty colors and I have a strong feeling that the area is in the process of gentrification and where will the many, many people who live there because it's what they can afford, go then? 

This house was on a pretty piece of land in the littlest town you can imagine. You could have spit across that town. Right across the street from it was a GDDG. I don't think anyone is living there but look how beautiful that house is. Was it a plantation home? I'd love to know the history of it but even without having a clue, I am sure that Black men built it for a white man. Look at how straight and true those lines are. Look at how strong its bones are. 

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And back to North Carolina, Day Three. 

These are rhododendrons growing by the creek. So beautiful. 

More on the creek in a minute. 

But first- Waffle House!

To me, one of the best parts of traveling is breakfast. On our way here, we did not have good ones. One was lovely in that we ate it in the courtyard of the mansion hotel but other than the bacon, the rest of the meal sucked. The next day we ate in the free breakfast room at the hotel we stayed in in another little town. That one really sucked although I sort of loved watching a group of many relatives who were there for a family reunion as they ate and chatted and laughed and even all joined together to sing "The Wheels on the Bus" to the littlest sister. 

But today, we decided to go out to breakfast here and I wanted to go to the Waffle House. This area has plenty of chi-chi breakfast joints where you can get gluten-free French toast and scrambled tofu but I was craving over-medium eggs, raisin toast, and hashbrowns with onions. 
The Waffle House never disappoints. 

 Tim, one of the cooks, the guy you see above at the grill, gave the boys those hats and also gave us a comedy stand-up routine. Plus an extra waffle. And my Lord, we'd already ordered about four of them. SO much food was eaten. And it was every bite was delicious. It was exactly what I wanted. 

And the rest of the day has been very relaxing. Jessie and the kids stayed for awhile. No one was in any hurry to get and out do anything beyond breakfast. Of course laundry was done and all that kind of thing. The boys got in the hot tub, got out of the hot tub, got back in the hot tub, etc. I had another excellent conversation with August, subjects ranging from how his cousins on his dad's side are related to me and also, this one with Levon too, about gender and so forth. This was sparked by Levon asking me if men could have babies and at first I said that no, not out of their own bodies, but then I amended that by saying that trans men could have babies out of their own bodies which led to more discussions about the queer community and how native Americans used the phrase "two spirit" which they really loved. August said, "I'm one-spirit." 
I just love how my grandchildren are all familiar with and know and love so many people in the LBGTQ+ community and regard it all as interesting and normal as being red-haired versus blonde-haired, right-handed versus left-handed. 

They give me hope for the future. 

And then, when they all left for some time back on the mountain, Mr. Moon and I went down to the creek and sat in the sweet little pool the guys had made. It was cold but not too cold, and perfect. I can be completely mesmerized by the sight and sound of that water. I was so content just to sit in the moving water and watch and listen but Mr. Moon, as if he was the same age as Levon, kept picking up rocks and skipping some down the creek and "looking for gold" in the gravel and splashing the water with his walking stick until finally I said, "You just can't sit still, can you?" And we laughed and laughed. He tried. He really did. Finally I said, "I think I'm cold enough now," and we got out of the water and came in the house and I ended up taking a nap and he went out to go fish in some creeks and now the boys and Vergil are here and Jessie's on her way. 

So it's been a very fine day and I've got chicken stew simmering to put some dumplings in. 

Perhaps we'll get in the hot tub tonight. Who knows? Not me. 

Love from North Carolina Where It Is Much Cooler Than Florida...Ms. Moon