GA Coke & Fried Chicken

Did you know that Atlanta is not only the capital city of Georgia GA and the state's most populated city, but it's also the home of Coca-Cola?

The World of Coke Museum, cousin Kathie and Us (Atlanta, GA)

The company's headquarters are on Pemberton Place which is a few blocks from its museum dedicated to the popular soft drink and called, no surprise, The World of Coca-Cola. On our February road trip we visited it when we spent time in GA to see my cousin. The museum, which showcases the history of the Coca-Cola Company, opened in May 2007 and replaced a previous exhibit space founded in 1990 in the former Underground Atlanta. We went on a very crowded Sunday and admission is charged: adults $18, seniors $16; youth to age 12 $14, toddlers free with paid adult admission; veterans Free. 

Dr. John Pemberton

The location is named in honor of  Dr. John Pemberton, recognized as the inventor of Coca-Cola. Pemberton created the original Coca-Cola formula in 1885 in a large kettle, which is featured in a museum exhibit. His creation contained cocaine—in the form of an extract of the coca leaf. This led to the “Coca” part of the beverage’s name. The “Cola” in the name comes from the kola nut, which contained caffeine, another stimulant. At the time of Pemberton's creation, cocaine was legal and a common ingredient in medicines, considered as not harmful when consumed in small doses.

Pemberton, a doctor and pharmacist, was also a Confederate army veteran who suffered a saber wound in 1865 at the Battle of Columbus (GA) in the final month of the Civil War. After experimenting with pain relief, he became addicted to painkillers, mainly morphine and began seeking a cure for his addiction. In 1866, he began experimenting with painkillers that would be morphine-free alternatives drawing on his study of herbal medicine, he often used plants substances in his formulas.

Pemberton's French Wine Cola Ad

After experimenting with coca and coca wines, he developed a recipe called Pemberton’s French Wine Coca advertised as a nerve tonic cure-all. The product was an alcoholic beverage, mixed with coca, kola nut, and a wild shrub, damiana. It included extracts from coca leaves in a limited amount, not enough to cause cocaine addiction. (The use of coca leaves was later removed from the formula.) In the nineteenth century, patent medicines were unregulated, unlike today. Health benefits could be claimed without proving effectiveness or dangers.

The remedy was sold as a cure for depression and anxiety, especially for women. Because it included alcohol, an issue arose when the city of Atlanta introduced alcohol prohibition in 1886 which also disallowed the sale of wine. 

Early Coca-Cola Ad

Pemberton had to create a non-alcoholic and new version of the popular product. He worked on creating on a formula that would appeal to a wider group of people. The wine was removed as he created a sweetening syrup from the coca leaf and kola nut and dropped any alcohol reference. Pemberton called his formula the ideal temperance drink, both on the label and in advertising.

The product's name was coined by Frank Mason Robinson, Pemberton’s bookkeeper, from the two main ingredients. Robinson, who recognized that the two curly ‘C’s would look great in advertising, hand lettered a banner in the curved flowing script that remains one of the most recognizable and famous logos in the world even now. 

In 1886, Pemberton took the syrup to Jacob's Pharmacy, a popular Atlanta soda fountain, for tasting. In summer months and in hot southern towns, the local pharmacy soda fountain was a time-honored and well-known American institution. 

Jacob's Pharmacy, Atlanta, GA, circa 1886 (now demolished)

At the pharmacy, Pemberton's syrup was added to carbonated water thought to be very good for one's health and often used in popular “cure-all” mixtures. The combination was sampled by customers who praised the drink and called it, excellent. 

Vintage Coca-Cola advertising

As with his previous formula, Pemberton's new product was labelled as a cure-all and was described as a valuable brain tonic to help nervous issues, headaches, hysteria, depression and as a general stimulant and health booster. The new drink was also said to stimulate students and all brain workers and advertised as Delicious and Refreshing, a theme continued in later years. It was initially sold only in pharmacies and a soda fountain glass cost five cents. 

Early Coca-Cola Soda Fountain Ad

Pemberton advertised heavily, using banners, newspaper advertisements and hand-painted oilcloth signs on store front awnings. He added the word, drink, to let people know that the new beverage was a soda fountain refreshment.  On May 29, 1886, the first Coca-Cola newspaper ad appeared in The Atlanta Journal, inviting thirsty citizens to try the new soda fountain drink. Despite initial praise, the new drink was not an immediate hit and averaged less than 10 sales a day the first year. 

This lack of sales is possibly what led Pemberton to sell a majority of his business to various business partners before his death, including fellow pharmacist Asa G. Candler who purchased the recipe for $1,750 in 1887. 

After buying the rights to Coca Cola from Pemberton, Candler launched a new marketing campaign for the beverage. Under Candler’s management, distribution expanded to soda fountains beyond the Atlanta area. In 1892, he established the Coca-Cola Company and began large scale production in 1899 as a soft drink, bottled and canned it for retail sale.

Sadly, Pemberton didn't live to see the widespread success of his formula. He died in 1888 at age 57 in from stomach cancer. A skilled pharmacist and chemist, he was active in medical reform and a respected member of the state’s medical establishment. On the day of his funeral, sales of Coca-Cola were suspended for the day as city pharmacists closed their shops in tribute to one of their own and attended the funeral services. Candler served as one of the gentleman pallbearers. Pemberton's laboratories remain in operation 125 years later as part of the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

Vintage Coca-Cola Advertisements

Three years after Pemberton’s death, Candler bought up all the interests in Coca-Cola for a total investment of $2,300. In 1919, the Candler family sold the company for $25 million to a group of investors who expanded it into a global enterprise. Candler also served as the 41st mayor of Atlanta from 1916 to 1919.

What began as a health tonic in 1886 was being sold in every U.S. state by 1900. The company now sells an estimated 1.9 billion bottles per day in over 200 countries making the Coca-Cola Company among the most widely recognized consumer products worldwide. The secret formula for Pemberton’s invention was kept in a SunTrust bank vault since 1925. In late 2011, it was moved to a vault that's now part of the Coca-Cola museum. 

Coca-Cola Ads from 1940s

The logo that remains one of the most recognizable and famous ones in the world was created using Spencerian script, a standard writing script for American business correspondence from 1850 to 1925. After that, widespread popularity of the typewriter obsoleted it as a prime method of business communication. (Other product name logos recognizable in Spencerian script are those for the Ford Motor Company and Kellog's.)

Coca-Cola Ad from 1942

Coca-Cola preceded the soft drink, Pepsi-Cola, by just a few years. While Pemberton created Coca Cola in 1886, the first Pepsi-Cola was created in 1893, also by a pharmacist, Caleb Bradham, in New Bern, NC. Bradham created a formula to duplicate the success of Coca-Cola and sold it under the name "Brad's Drink." Seeking a better name, Bradham bought the name "Pep Kola" from a local competitor changing it to Pepsi-Cola. Pepsi is taken from pepsin, a digestive enzyme used in Bradham's original formula. Introduced in 1898, its name implied its origin as a health tonic and the drink proved popular. In 1902, Bradham incorporated the Pepsi-Cola Company. And, just as Coca-Cola no longer contains cocaine, Pepsi-Cola no longer has pepsin as an ingredient.

Mary Mac's Tea Room, Atlanta, GA

If Coca-Cola is Atlanta's most iconic drink, fried chicken is one of its best-known foods, and one of the best places to eat it is at Mary Mac’s on Ponce De Leon Ave. It's been named Atlanta's Dining Room and has been recognized as an iconic Atlanta institution.

There’s nothing in Atlanta quite like it. The surroundings are comforting and the food is classic Southern cooking.

Mary Mac’s always draws a crowd of hungry diners. There's usually a waiting line on weekends. My cousin advised we get there early to avoid the surge of diners after Sunday services. She was right. There was no waiting line when we arrived before noon, but a lengthy waiting line by the time we exited.

Mary Mac's was just one of 16 tea rooms that populated Atlanta in the 1940s and has remained in the same location since opened by Mary MacKenzie in 1945. After WW II ended, women established restaurants all over Atlanta. Back then, a woman couldn’t simply up a restaurant, especially in the South, so many female proprietors used the more refined Southern name, “tea room.” Mary Mac’s Tea Room (originally Mrs. Fuller’s Tea Room) seated 75 guests in one dining room. Today, it's the only original tea room still in operation with six dining rooms and is one of the city’s five-largest restaurants.

Mary MacKenzie (L) & Margaret Lupo (R)

Mary MacKenzie ran the tea room from 1945 to 1962 when one of her employees, Margaret
Lupo, became the new owner. Lupo turned heads for making her dining room unsegregated because as she said, You were all equal folk at the table. In 1992, after 30 years, Lupo was ready to quit the business. She reportedly trained its next owner, John Ferrell, for 18 months before feeling OK with him owning it. Ferrell ran the business until March 2020 when, in the wake of COVID-19, he closed the restaurant for the safety of staff and guests.

 

Mary Mac’s remained closed for most of its 75th year in business, then Harold Martin purchased the restaurant and ensured it could re-open with stricter safety and sanitary measures. Martin kept all 100+ employees on staff and didn't change anything about the restaurant or its menu, which has mostly remained original to 1945. Kitchen technology has advanced, but Mary Mac’s Tea Room still does everything in-house – down to shucking bushels of corn and snapping fresh green beans by hand. Every morning, breads and desserts, like old fashioned banana pudding and fresh Georgia peach cobbler are baked in house and Table Wine of the South, otherwise known as sweet tea, is brewed.

Grenville & Mary Mac's Fried Chicken

Of course, we had to order the crispy fried chicken. The menu also includes over 30 fresh vegetables, including fried green tomatoes, which my cousin ordered. Many recipes were documented by former owner Margaret Lupo in the 1960s. Others have been passed down from family members over the years.

Mary Mac's table order forms

Traditions are important here. Some remain for sentimental reasons, others are kept because they continue to work. Food orders are placed with pencils and order forms at each table. A complimentary cup of pot likker and cracklin' cornbread muffin are served to first-time diners, which we enjoyed. (For non-southerners, pot likker is the salty and porky broth left after cooking collard greens. Cracklin’ cornbread is cornbread with crispy pork skins baked in.)

Much like the food, there's no secret special sauce that makes Mary Mac’s Tea Room such an iconic Atlanta institution. This establishment paints a more vivid picture of Atlanta than any museum or historical site ever could. Once again, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

The walls are covered with pictures of famous visitors over the years, including Dalai Lama, Congressman John Lewis, James Brown, Beyonce, Senator Hillary Clinton, country singer Alan Jackson and President Jimmy Carter.

You don't have to be famous to dine at Mary Mac's tea Room, just come hungry, and be prepared to wait if you're not early enough. Trust us, it was worth the wait.

Full disclosure: Grenville and myself are not soda drinkers, except for an occasional Dr. Pepper (whoops, PepsiCo product). Touring the museum was a one-off, been there, done that experience. As for the best fried chicken, while many folks have favorites, our vote would go to the former Tammy & Johnny's in Melfa, VA.

This is the final post on our February road trip to FL and places in between. Next week is a return to posts about places closer to home and random posts of nonsense.

Friday Funnies

Topsy-Turvey, as with similar phrases like upside-down, refers to the top and bottom being interchanged from their usual places. Topsy is an allusion to top, but turvy isn't as easy to interpret. There's no certain definition, but it possible that the term derives from an old expression top-over-terve meaning to topple-over. 

This topsy-turvey image isn't from a disaster destroyed building. While it looks like a mansion that's upside-down in the middle of the block on International Drive, the main tourist drag in Orlando, FL.

How did this happen— Get ready for some make-believe

Professor Wonder was working in a top-secret laboratory in the mysterious Bermuda triangle trying to harness a tornado's power when the wind grew stronger than expected. The tornado's power ripped the building from its foundation carrying the lab miles away where it landed upside down and all exhibits remained intact. The former laboratory is now called WonderWorks, a combination science-focused indoor amusement park and children's museum. There are four floors of exhibits in a 35,000 square feet experience labelled edu-tainment, a combination of education and entertainment with over 100 interactive exhibits.

OK, so that's just a fanciful story spun by marketeers, here's the real behind-the-scenes story.

WonderWorks was created in 1998 by Florida attorney John Morgan, founder of mega-law firm Morgan & Morgan, known as America's Largest Personal Injury Law Firm headquartered (where else?) in Orlando. Morgan who worked in attractions during college claims that this experience provided insight to develop a successful and original theme park. 

It seems he was right as the flagship Orlando location has been going strong for 22 years. Now, WonderWorks is become a national chain with upside-down mansions in Panama City Beach, FL, Myrtle Beach, SC, Syracuse, NY, Pigeon Forge, TN and Branson, MO. 

If you ever plan to visit, know that the experience can be is costly, currently at $34.99 adults, $25.99 kids (under 3) and seniors. There's lots of time to explore, 9 am to midnight, 365 days. 

And, don't be concerned about walking through the upside down building. Everything is upside down at entry, after admission is paid, a walk through the Inversion Tunnel turns everything right side up again.

No, we didn't enter WonderWorks attraction on our February road trip, while many did, others simply took exterior photos like myself. It was a lot less costly too.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

Rainy Saturday forecast and sunshine Sunday

Perils of Periodontitis

Yes, the title is quite a mouthful (no pun intended). That's because periodontitis is neither a pleasant term to hear or to read about. It's even more unpleasant to experience this serious gum infection. 

I speak from first hand experience, which is the reason for this post.

Thanks for the well wishes in your comments after I posted last week about my then upcoming dental procedure. It's over with a couple of follow up visits starting this week. (No surgery details or photos are in this post.) All illustrations are from online sources.

If left untreated, periodontitis is a serious gum infection that can lead to tooth loss and serious health issues. It damages soft tissue and can destroy bone that supports the teeth which then leads to tooth loss.

Gingivitis is a gum disease that's a milder stage of periodontitis. Gingivitis often results in reddened or swollen gums and bleeding when brushing or eating. 

Both infections are the body’s response to bacteria that accumulates on teeth. In the long term, this bacteria forms plaque, which hardens to tartar (or calculus). When tartar build-ups below the gum line, teeth are harder to clean, leading to spaces around the teeth under the gum line. 

It's these spaces, known as pocketing, that have always been a problem for myself. In my case, an underlying cause may be heredity as not only did my late mother have dental issues, but so does my brother.

If your dental visits are like mine, they include periodontal charting, a process that measures the distance between the gums and where they attach to the teeth. The higher the number, the higher the chance of infection and if pockets fill with bacteria, this can lead to periodontitis

That's what happened with myself. Unfortunately, periodontal disease is mostly seen in adults.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost half of U.S. adults have some degree of gum disease and it increases with age. By age 65, 1 in 4 adults have serious gum disease. Estimates from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are that 1 in 7 adults between 35 and 44 years old have some form of gum disease from gingivitis to severe periodontitis. 

Gum disease is has been linked to other conditions including heart disease and stroke in older adults. Researchers have also linked periodontal disease with an increased buildup of beta-amyloid in the brain, which is the neurological hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. 

Factors that increase the risk for periodontal disease include smoking, diabetes, poor oral hygiene, stress, heredity, crooked teeth, and underlying immuno-deficiencies.

Bacteria in the gums can enter the blood supply and move to other parts of the body like the heart and possibly cause inflammation and damage in the cardiovascular system. That said, not everyone with heart disease has had gum disease, and not everyone with gum disease has a diagnosis of heart disease.

The severity of periodontitis disease determines its treatment with the goal being to bring the infection under control and prevent further damage. Options include:

Medications (antibiotics or antimicrobial) to reduce the size of gum pockets in the form of mouthrinse, gel, pills, or particles that a dentist places directly in the infected area.

Scaling and root planning for less severe cases. This deep-cleaning method removes bacteria from around the gum line and tooth root.

Surgery when inflammation persists in sites inaccessible to brushing and flossing. Flap surgery cleans deposits under the gums. Gum or bone graft surgery grafts tissue or bone from another part of the mouth onto the damaged part of the gum.

My procedure was flap surgery done under local anesthesia to numb the gums which are then lifted up and roots of the teeth cleaned. Then, the gums were stitched back into place. I am so grateful not to have seen or felt anything during the procedure, novocaine is a great thing.

My periodontist took time to detail the procedure and the follow-up care needed afterwards. Start to finish, the process took about 1-1/2 hours and I went home afterwards. I received a pain medication prescription, but over the counter pain relievers worked as did an ice pack. Grenville also was most attentive. We did have ice cream, which was one of the soft foods recommended after surgery. Not that we needed any excuse for a treat!

Sutures come out this week. Complete healing will take 2-3 full weeks with procedures to be followed, last checkup in several weeks. Hopefully, there will not be a repeat procedure needed anytime. 

This was a very longish post on a rather different topic compared to what's going on worldwide. For myself, blog posts tend to be more personal with topics selected from personal experience and some may also have a widened scope. In doing online research for this post, it was eye-opening to read the statistics of those also affected and possible health issues if left untreated.

Your turn — Anyone else faced a similar situation in the past (or now)? 

If so, hopefully your outcome was (or will be) a good one as well.

Friday Funnies

Not all lunch fights take place in school cafeterias. On the day we visited, these pelicans were scrabbling over rights to fish scraps tossed from a fishing boat in Destin, FL.

One pelican seemed completely disinterested in the food tug-of-war, and wasn't the only one. 

Perhaps, wanting a closer view, this great blue heron watched from onboard the boat.

Your turn — did you ever have a food fight at school? At my school, we dared not even consider it. The nuns would have reprimanded sternly, knowing that was enough of a deterrent.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

There's a big library book sale here this weekend

Standing By This Week

Glad to read all your comments in my recent blog posts about our visit to Covington, GA, which in recent years has been called The Hollywood of the South™️ and Nashua's unpredictable weather.

The snowfall just a week ago is all gone. The snowy a.m. scenes taken last Thursday were beautiful for the very short time they lasted. Since then, the forecast has been much better.

The forecast since then has been much better. As shown above, the mid-week forecast is for rain over the next week, and with a definite warming trend.

Posting this week is taking a back seat to some other matters that involve house chores (lots of decluttering projects) and my least favorite appointment, a periodontal 🦷 procedure, involving surgery. The upside is that afterwards it was recommended nothing be done the rest of today. Of course, I will be heeding that great medical advice by taking it easy the rest of the day. Grenville is on dinner duty and has insisted that I stay out of his kitchen today — no problem there.

Hope all is good with everyone whatever you have been doing this week, and I will catch up with your recent posts. I'm planning a new Friday Funny to end the week before posting one more next week from our recent GA visit. 

See you later.

Friday Funnies

Mother Nature played the trickster this week.

Spring isn't exactly around the corner despite what the calendar shows. After a week of moderate tempss, including a nearly 65-degree day last Sunday, we had snow this week.

It wasn't a heavy snow, but a very pretty one as trees were snow-covered early Thursday morning. By late morning, the snow was history as temps climbed to near 50 degrees.

This weekend's forecast is rain mixing with ❄️ Saturday with an inch accumulation expected. 

In NH, we'll Spring forward this weekend. Daylight saving time will begin at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 13, no fooling (that comes next month)!

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

Hollywood of the South

The U.S. state of Georgia is well known for peaches, Coca-Cola and as the home of one of the busiest airports worldwide, the base of Delta Air Lines. Interestingly, in recent years, Georgia's film industry has become the third most popular U.S. filming destination right behind New York and California.

Covington, GA, now calls itself The Hollywood of the South™ and has become a go-to site for TV and films. It easily changes to become a Civil War village, a 1950s town or a modern city. Many locations in the town have been used many ways in multiple films. The city's scenic filming locales, moderate weather, and international airport have become a major draw for location scouts, and directors. 

Neither did I until our recent road trip, which included an afternoon in Covington, GA. That's because my cousin, Kathie, who we were visiting in Atlanta, and myself are fans of the popular Netflix show, Sweet Magnolias. The series premiered in May 2020; the second 10-episode second season premiered in February 2022. Kathie and I had binged finished both seasons.

Heather Headley (Helen), Brooke Elliot (Dana Sue),
JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Maddie) - Netflix

For those not in the loop, the series revolves around three South Carolina women (Maddie, Dana Sue, and Helen), best friends since childhood as they deal with personal issues in family, romance, and career in the small town of Serenity, SC. The stories are based on the novels of author Sheryl Woods which are set in the small town of Serenity, a world created by Woods. 

While on the small screen, Serenity may look and feel like a real Southern town, it's not that, but is completely fictional, like in the books. The book and show setting is SC, actual filming is in the small, picturesque town of Covington, GA (pop. 1,400) a 45 minute drive from Atlanta. The town won out over locations like Baton Rouge, LA and Charleston, SC. Interiors are shot on sound stages too.

Shows filmed in Covington, GA

It's not the first time that Covington, GA, has been a filming location, far from it. The town has been the filming location for Dukes of Hazard, The Vampire Diaries, In the Heat of the Night, The Walking Dead, Sweet Home Alabama, Remember the Titans. That’s only a sampling of productions that have featured the town square, neighborhoods, and the iconic downtown courthouse. Covington was known as Mystic Falls, VA, for The Vampire Diaries and the popular teen series was shot there for 9 seasons. 

The day of our visit, we were we met many fans of that show who were also looking some movie magic. 

We recognized many Covington landmarks we had seen in the Sweet Magnolias series. 

The downtown square in Covington is heavily featured in the series. We recognized that we had seen many scenes that had featured characters sitting and talking there. 

The square, which is in the center of town, is a public park with war monuments, benches, and trees near the historic courthouse. The busy downtown has shops, antique stores and restaurants and is very walker-friendly. Other parts of the town feature historic homes with wraparound porches. 

Newton County Courthouse, downtown Covington, GA

The town's most prominent downtown building is the 1884 Newton County Courthouse seen in the show's opening and in the background of scenes. This historic courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The tall brick building features a black dome at the top and a prominent clock. It was built in 1884 in the Second Empire architectural style popular between 1865 and 1900. Its 12-month construction cost was nearly $30,000.

Mystic Grill Restaurant, Covington, GA

In the show, a popular Covington eatery, the Mystic Grill Restaurant, is named Sullivan's, a restaurant owned by chef Dana Sue. This location was also featured in The Vampire Diaries. As shown in the photo above, there was a waiting line the Saturday we visited. The bar area is on the lower left and Grenville's lunch is in the lower right. The interior did not look like the restaurant in the show, not unlike when we visited the Cheers location years ago in Boston.

Lee-Porter Mansion, Covington, GA

We located another show location, The Corner Spa, which is a historic Antebellum home at the corner of College Ave and Oak St (The Lee-Porter House) that is a fitness spa for women (it was formerly Miss Frances's mansion in the show). It now houses law offices and exterior shots were filmed here. It's not open to the public with Private Property signs posted, but we took exterior photos from curbside. The show's interiors are filmed on a soundstage. 

Covington was incorporated in 1821 as the seat of the newly organized Newton County. It's named for Leonard Covington, a hero of the War of 1812, U.S. Army Brigadier General and later Congressman. In 1854, it incorporated as a city. In 1864, General Sherman's troops looted the city, destroying many buildings, however, several antebellum homes were spared including one featured in a now classic film.

Twelve Oaks B&B, Covington, GA

Hollywood has been a part of Covington's fame for decades back to 1939 when Gone with the Wind premiered in movie houses. The Twelve Oaks mansion of Ashley Wilkes was based on a stately 1836 antebellum mansion there. It was a private residence when Margaret Mitchell wrote the novel. Reportedly, after seeing it in the Atlanta Journal newspaper, she sent a clipping to the Hollywood set designers with a note, I like this for Ashley’s home. Since then, other films and shows have used the mansion's exterior and interiors for scenes. It is now the Twelve Oaks Bed & Breakfast, a luxury accommodation with antique furnishings and architecture.

If you're wondering (like me) why although Hollywood is considered the heart of the film industry, Georgia has staked a claim as its Southern campus. It's become one of the busiest filming states — it comes down to business and location(s), a wide range of scenery including mountains, forests, cities and beaches. 

The state has been working to attract Hollywood since 2008, when its former governor signed a lucrative tax incentive for film productions, Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act (HB 1100). It offers a 20 percent incentive on productions of $500,000 or more in GA, plus 10 percent more if a peach logo is put in the credits. The incentives are similar to those in other states but, unlike those states, there's no end date. Since its signing, the incentive has transformed Georgia’s film industry into a multibillion dollar production. All genres and film types are considered by its film commissioners.

Georgia is producer Typer Perrys base whose Atlanta studios are set on 330 acres on the decommissioned Fort McPherson Army base. Pinewood Atlanta Studios built a campus in Fayette County with 18 soundstages on 700 acres making it the largest multi-purpose  studio built outside Hollywood, CA.

One day, it could be fun to visit Hollywood, CA, but on this recent trip, GA was a lot closer and we spent a wonderful day outing with a family member.

Friday Funnies

As always, I was on the lookout for funnies on our recent road trip finding several new ones to add to my collection, like this one.

Surfing is what you might expect to see at the beach, but this guy had a different plan as he cruised along the water's edge in Fernandina, FL, on what looked like a hoverboard. Online checking showed that this device is a battery powered one wheel. It has a top speed of 18 mph and a distance range of 12-18 miles on a charge. Nothing was mentioned about sand cruising..

A small group of Piping Plovers didn't seem to be bothered by this unusual sight. In case, you're curious about the cost too, it was listed at $1,400, making it a pricey beach ride.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

Snow is melting; 60 degrees & rain predicted this weekend