Per Leland’s suggestion, we left Athens by way of Madison, just a little south. It has so many beautiful homes. Some have been there since before the Civil War. There aren’t enough “oooohs” and “ahhhhs” once again to go around in a darling town like Madison. We took Melbee for a walk and enjoyed every step. We hope you do, too 😉

Leaving Madison behind, we headed to Atlanta. While passing through Loganville on the way to the interstate, the boys spotted a barber shop. One thing they were looking forward to was getting a barber shop haircut in a small town. This fit the bill. The owner, Jim, is a Vietnam Vet. He’s a quiet man, not much for conversation. But the others in the barber shop sure did give the boys an authentic experience by just being themselves. There was teasing, friendly banter and town gossip, country music in the background, and air hoses to blow the hair off after the cut. Very manly. Very much what the boys had been looking for. Very cool.

Now as I said, Jim is a man of few words. But he sure has a sense of humor! He had this up on the wall. It’s hysterical!!

Is this not hilarious?! Don’t let your mind start wandering, thinking about who you might know that could use this…that’s dangerous. You might laugh next time you see them!

After Loganville, GA, it was time to leave the small town behind and head for the big city – Atlanta. You can see the state capitol dome below. But after being in such cute towns earlier in the day, Atlanta didn’t hold a candle to the charm and personality we’d experienced back up the road. But we managed to find a couple of interesting things.

The NFL’s Atlanta Falcons play here.

The Atlanta Hawks arena.

We finished up in Atlanta with a walk through Centennial Park, a site for the ’96 Olympics, then headed to the Marietta SDA Church to spend the night.

Albert and Brodee enjoyed a game of one-on-one.

Dayne and Ean took their wooden spears and imaginations into this field and had so much fun playing before dinner. Melbee also enjoyed some Rupert Runs.

As the day came to a close, we all had heavy hearts. We’d received news from home that my sister’s dog, Denali was doing poorly, and would most likely be making a final visit to the vet.