When One Garage Door Closes: Part 4

The weightlessness was a little unnerving at first, but as I looked out the windows at the patchwork landscape of what looked like trees of broccoli scattered across a hillside of green moss I reconciled my equilibrium.  My pilot was kind enough to go easy on me for the first few minutes and then as we settled into our altitude and course it seemed as though we were suspended in the air, floating lightly above the Georgia landscape.  It was, in a word: humbling.  At one point my pilot broke the ambient hum of the airplane and informed me that he would show me a couple of things. He took a few seconds to discuss some basics of what I was looking at in the gauges.  Then he announced that he was going to do a very basic "stall" which would result in the plane essentially falling a few hundred feet or so.  I took a deep breath and felt the Ladybird drop very briefly before leveling out and regaining it's course.  "I'd say we fell about a couple hundred feet or so," he pointed out.  I was surprised since it felt as though the little plane only fell about a foot or two. I remember thinking that wasn't too bad! We buzzed around for a little while longer and I looked out at a few cotton-balls that littered a beautiful blue sky before we finally decided to bring her back into the air strip and rejoin our friends for the festivities.

Aside from my obvious obsession with all things combustion-driven, I am also quite a foodie.  One of the things I was eagerly anticipating the most about my visit to the south was getting some authentic southern barbecue.  We made a few stops before our host escorted us to a rather delightful little joint that served up one hell of a platter full of flavorful goodness.  Aside from being taken aback by how amazingly polite our server was, I was in hog heaven with my platter full of ribs, pulled park, chicken, beef, fried okra, coleslaw, beans and a nice cold glass of local brew to wash it all down.  I won't lie, it was way more than I could handle and I had no idea that I would be presented with such a huge undertaking, but I was certainly not opposed to taking a stroll through the Garden-Of-Eating. 

I have to take this moment to point out that I can't thank my host enough for allowing me to invade some space in his home.  One of the most memorable parts of the trip was how hospitable everyone was and that is something that sticks with a person for a long time. What Georgia might lack in Cali weather, it more than makes up for in hospitality. Shortly after eating ourselves stupid, we returned to the house to meet up with the rest of the gang for one last night of shenanigans before making the trek to North Carolina. It wasn't long before people started arriving from all over the place with bikes and gear and beer in tow.