Retired Drifters: Trip To Athens, Alabama

Coker, Alabama

Weather: low 67 degrees, high 82 degrees, mostly clear skies

We drove up to Athens today to visit my sister Judy and her husband Roger. The roses in the picture are located across the street from their house. Aren't they beautiful? Usually, when we go up there, we take the interstates. Today, we decided to take the back roads up, and found it to be an easy drive with little traffic and beautiful scenery. The drive led us through Bankhead National Forest. As a country, we are fortunate that Congress had the foresight to create the national park and forest system. I hardly ever have anything good to say about those clowns, but they got this one right.

We went into Athens for lunch and a good talk about a variety of subjects, which included what everyone has been doing. It's enjoyable to be able to get with family and catch up. While we were there, Terri called and said that Thomas had been selected for the basketball team for the next school year at his school. He has been working hard to hone his skills, and it paid off. Way to go, Thomas!!

This picture is a close-up of the rose bush above.

We stayed at Judy and Roger's as long as we could and still be able to get home before dark. Our route led us back the same way we went up. The only difference we noticed was that we encountered a mini traffic jam of eight vehicles in Double Springs. That should give you an idea of how big that little town is.

When we arrived back in Northport, it was late enough that we decided to get something quick for supper. We stopped at The Front Porch, a family style restaurant just north of Northport. The only thing I didn't like about the meal was the green beans. Why is it that every menu has these horrible things that are passed off as vegetables? It appears the only thing most restaurants do with them is open a can, dump the beans into a pot, heat it up, and serve them up. I can't count the times those yucky things had too much liquid and contaminated every thing on the plate. Does anybody else dislike green beans? Don't get me wrong. Green beans are good if prepared properly, but most restaurants don't do it.

Yesterday, I spoke about how I like quirky little things. Here's the latest fad on diet aids. Maybe serving more green beans would do just as much good.