Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

Susan was the first to arise the next morning and prepared herself for the day.  It can be safely assumed that she needed less beauty sleep than did Natalie.  She texted Natalie to ask where she was and to say that she didn't feel comfortable knocking on random doors throughout the house to find her.  Shortly thereafter, they were united in the dining room, left the peacefully-sleeping M. family and set out on their journey around 8:00.  (They later learned that cousin Cindy awakened, prepared breakfast for her "sleeping" guests and waited for them to join her.  When a lengthy period of time had passed, she initially assumed that the cousins must have been really tired and were sleeping.  She didn't realize until later that they had left much earlier.)

It was a beautiful day, perfect for traveling.  Natalie had never been to that part of the country, so she scanned the landscape while conversing with Susan.  They shared many stories (most of them true) about their lives as they had much catching up to do. 

A road sign caught Susan’s eye, and she pointed it out to Natalie:  John Deere Museum.  An arrow indicated the way.  Although a tractor museum was not part of their itinerary, the ladies decided to take a detour.  (It was the first of many times during the trip that the ladies heard the word "recalculating.")  What daughters of former farmers and John Deere enthusiasts wouldn’t do that?  After a couple of wrong turns, they located the museum and went inside.  The place was unstaffed, but open.  An entrance fee was posted next to a large jar that contained a bit of cash.  Apparently the proprietors trusted the honor system.  After depositing their entrance fee, the ladies set about their self-guided tour.  They wished their fathers had been with them—at least on that part of the trip.  Yellow and green tractors were everywhere in addition to every kind of John Deere memorabilia known to man. 

It may have been at this point in the trip that they first mentioned their uncle David C.  It would not be the last.  Drawing on his courage and chutzpah, they took turns climbing on a specific tractor and taking each other’s photos.  Uncle David would have tested the seat on each one and would have probably remained in the museum the rest of the day. 

After seeing their fill of tractors and such, taking photos and buying souvenirs (again on the honor system) for their fathers, the two were back on the road bound for Atlanta.  It seemed appropriate that they stop for lunch at a Cracker Barrel restaurant where vintage farm equipment was nailed to the walls.  There they encountered their first delightful waiter.  He would have been a fun passenger on their trip, but they decided to leave him at the restaurant to earn his living. 

Natalie snapped a photo of a giant peach (where was James?) on some sort of tower as they entered South Carolina.  Or was it Georgia?  (Fifty-three year-olds are sometimes prone to forget minor details.)  They motored through the Palmetto State uneventfully and arrived in the Atlanta area in the late afternoon.  After checking into the Hampton Inn in Morrow, they changed into appropriate theater attire and headed back into the city. 

The Georgian Terrace Hotel, where the GWTW actors stayed for the movie premiere, was the cousins’ next stop.  They looked around the hotel and ate a delicious dinner at the Livingston Restaurant. 

No GWTW tour would be complete without seeing a musical or play at the Fox Theater.  Susan had purchased tickets for Mary Poppins not knowing that the movie version was Natalie’s favorite Disney film.  What a genius!  The musical was practically perfect in every way!  Susan even bought her own parrot umbrella, and the ladies managed to snap a photo of the stage before they were chastised for doing so.