Forever a Georgia Peach

update: since we are the epitome of a nerdy political married couple, p and I went back to plains in feb 2018...read about that trip and tips we have for anyone interested in attending president carter's church/visiting his hometown here! :-)

 

The weekend of April 21, P and I went on our first road trip without my parents (!!!!) to Georgia. A little background — I lived in Cartersville, Georgia for about 11 years before we moved to Nashville so I have family and friends scattered throughout the northern part of the state. We drove to my brother’s house in Acworth around 10:30 Friday morning to get ready to go see The Maine at The Masquerade in Atlanta, which marked the first time that P got to meet a sibling!! He met my brother, sis-in-law and 7-year-old nephew and my sis-in-law only threatened him once so I’m assuming they liked him. The weekend was filled with family + friends + good music + JIMMY CARTER!!!

THE MAINE: After my sis-in-law threatened to show P her shotgun if he ever hurt me, we headed downtown to see my favorite band. Seeing The Maine with P was extra cool because I introduced him to the band around the time we started dating, and he quickly became a fan, too! While sitting at a stop-light two blocks from the venue, I looked up from my phone to see the band that I love walking right in front of my car (note: P was driving, not me). I screeched a little, but it was so cool to see them just walking around town like it’s no big deal. I also got to see one of my best friends, Bella, while in line to get in. Bella and I have only been friends for about a year but both times I’ve seen The Maine in the past year we’ve been together so it was fun to be able to do part of round 2 with her! One of the things I love about The Maine is that they have the motto “Why would you pay to meet human beings?” so after the show the five guys all come out and meet every single person who stays for FREE. Sad thing is, the nearby $4 parking lot with a gate didn’t get the message that hundreds of people were determined to meet those incredible guys and that it wouldn’t happen before 11:59 p.m. So, at 11:52, P and I realized that we had to leave for fear that my car would be trapped for the night. I asked P (partially joking) to yell hi and bye at John O before we left, but thanks to P’s 6’5” height we got more than a simple hello. My tall tall tall bf yelled, “Hey John, man, we gotta go because parking is about to close but great job tonight!” while talking with his hands. During the middle of his sentence, John O’Callaghan reached over and grabbed P’s hand to shake, before saying, “Thanks so much man. You gotta go right now? Like right NOW? Are you sure? Don’t you have time for a picture? Come on, come over here and let’s take a photo! Let ‘em through let ‘em through!!” Such a stinking cool moment—my two all time favorite dudes. After getting a photo with John O, we ran to the parking lot (with 58 seconds to spare before my car was locked in, might I add) and headed to Steven and Audrey’s place. Steven was in a college class with my mom a few years ago and somehow just kind of ended up in our family, and I am definitely closer with him than probably anyone in my family, so I consider him to be one of my big brothers. We got to spend Saturday with him and his FIANCEE WOO (who is very awesome) drinking mimosas and walking around Restoration Hardware while slightly tipsy—10/10 would recommend.

PLAINS, GEORGIA: After snagging more food with Steven and Audrey at Shake Shack, P and I made our way to Plains, Georgia, where I am 99% sure we heard a murder take place. The next morning, we woke up around 6 am to get ready to see JIMMY CARTER. Yes, every time I mention him I will use all caps because he really is that amazing. If you know me, then you know that both my brother and my sister got to meet Jimmy Carter when I was little and that for some reason I missed both opportunities. Since then, I have been beyond determined to meet him. Despite political beliefs, you can’t deny that he is an outstanding man. From his personality to his extensive philanthropic work, the guy is a real treasure. On the way to the church, we drove on a couple red dirt roads, which was just wild for two city kids. We arrived at Maranatha Baptist Church around 7:15 am for his 10 am Sunday School class. Even though we were nearly 3 hours early, we got the last two seats in the last row. Okay now let me just tell you how stinking cute the former president is. The legend walked around while speaking at full volume for 45 minutes, without ever even sitting down. After seeing how active he is and how youthful he looks, if I didn’t know that he is 92 years old I would have guessed he’s in his 70s. After his lesson about Jesus, the church service began. Once the service ended, a line formed to meet President Carter and First Lady Rosalynn. While our photo with the Carters probably won’t become our Christmas card, it is by far the coolest picture I have ever been in. President Carter has helped pave the way for equality and philanthropy, and I am so proud to have been able to meet him.

DRIVE BACK: After leaving Maranatha Baptist Church, we began the 5 ½ hour drive home that somehow ended up taking close to 7 ½. In between the numerous highways and state roads, I saw a sign for Muckalee Creek Farm. Once P drove past it I involuntarily whipped my head around so fast that I think I may have sprained it a little. P knows how much I love Luke Bryan and that the very Luke Bryan CD we were listening to mentioned the creek no less than a dozen times, so my amazing dude turned the car around and we followed yet another red dirt road until we made it to Muckalee Creek.

While the trip was very hectic, it was by far the best road trip I have ever taken. I got to see my favorite band play, I got to meet a former president, and I got to introduce my dude to key family members and friends (and I’m pretty sure they all approved). I’m so lucky to have a best friend that will drop everything to drive to the dirty dirty south with me!