Loganville to Franklin.

The drive from Loganville, GA to Franklin, NC is about 2.5 hours or so. There was snow all along the way, but not on the roads so it was smooth sailing. Much of the countryside that we passed was covered in snow and sparkling in the sunshine. It was so lovely, but we were following Will's folks so there was no stopping to take photos.

Along the way, we stopped to have lunch at The Dillard House. As we walked through the restaurant to our table, I noticed that each table we passed was packed with food. And the moment we sat down, waitpeople started bringing us dishes of food.

My father-in-law, Bill, said, "You don't order here, they just keep bringing out food."

I kind of thought he was pulling my leg. "Really?"

Yes. Really.



It was crazy and a bit overwhelming. But super good too. I can't recall everything at this point, but I do remember fried chicken, country ham, pork chops, roasted turkey, cole slaw, gravies, green beans, potatoes, stuffing...and so much more. And they had perfectly sweet sweet tea. (Some places make it way too sweet.)

If you can believe it, we actually had dessert too. Bill had lemon meringue pie which he gave a thumbs down. I think Sally had pumpkin pie. Will had blackberry cobbler with ice cream which was pretty awesome. And I had red velvet cake which was certainly not Cakeman red velvet, but it was good.

Onward we went to Franklin, bellies full.

Will grew up in Franklin although not in the house that his parents live in now.



They live a ways out of the little town, in the woods. It is beautiful and quiet and a wonderful place to visit. The house is cozy and comfortable and Sally is an impeccable decorator and an amazing cook.

It had snowed quite a bit out there so we couldn't make it all the way up the little dirt road. And the long, steep driveway? No way.

So Bill and Will had to do quite a bit of shoveling before we could get the cars up.



It was freezing cold, but the afternoon light was beautiful and I was itching to take some photographs so I went out for a walk with a few cameras while the men shoveled.



Of course, once again, I screwed up my camera settings and so nothing was exposed correctly. Plus the cold affects the instant film chemicals a bit and the Fuji film I was using in one of my cameras came out much bluer than usual.

And all those shrubby looking things in the above photos, in other words, the things that aren't trees, are rhododendrons. Covered in snow. And one of my favorite flowering bushes that I don't really see out here in Santa Fe. It's one more thing that I really miss about Pittsburgh. I don't think we've ever been in Franklin when they are in bloom. That would be pretty incredible to see considering how many surround the house.







After the shoveling was done, Will got the car up the driveway and we settled in. I can't even remember if we had dinner that night since we had such a huge lunch. We did have some wine and the neighbors and long-time family friends came over and we played some dominoes game. Good times, just as vacations should be.