Bill and Cathy McArthur on the Road 2004: 20

Monday, April 19 was a travel day. The weather was warm and sunny once again, continuing our good luck with weather in New Orleans. We decided to eat breakfast in PJ’s Coffee Shop to eliminate a source of moisture (boiling water) from the inside of the camper. It didn’t help; we had our “indoor rain” anyway because of the high humidity. After breakfast, we drove to the Nextel service center to see about a new phone and also did some shopping at Wal-Mart. The Nextel technician sent us across the river to Boutte, which took us about 30 minutes. We were able to get a new phone there, but it cost us $35. We headed back to the campground and broke camp. We were on the road by 11:00 AM. When we crossed into Alabama from Mississippi, Sally the navigator came back to life and started showing map details once again. We arrived at a Comfort Inn outside of Birmingham about 5:00 PM. We walked to a nearby shopping center to check out the restaurants. We found a home style restaurant, a smoky sports bar, and a closed café. We walked back to the motel and called out for pizza. We talked with son Bill and Katie on our new cell phone.

On Tuesday, we left the Comfort Inn by 8:00 AM and drove to Bill and Stacey’s new home in Cumming, GA, a northern suburb of Atlanta. They now live in a new construction in a new development in a rapidly growing area. The developers did a great job of leaving trees in place during construction, so there are already some huge trees in the backyard. We arrived around noon and later backed our camper into the driveway to get it off of the street. We helped out where we could with the unpacking and other chores in a new house during the afternoon. We all ate dinner at a Joe’s Crab Shack in nearby Alpharetta. All of us but Cathy had some ice cream at a Cold Stone shop.

Wednesday morning we were still helping with the unpacking and disposition of boxes. Bill popped up the camper and waterproofed the outside of the window canvas on the two bed ends. We ran some errands and got a good tour of the area. We ate a fabulous dinner at a nearby Roasted Garlic restaurant.

Thursday we went out to Wal-Mart to buy and a couple of DVDs, “Kill Bill” and “1941”. We also went to Publix to buy the ingredients for Cathy’s magic marinade for swordfish and the swordfish itself. We ate lunch on the deck. After lunch we took a walk throughout the entire Autumn Hills development and toured a couple of open houses. We concluded that Bill and Stacey chose the best house in the development. When Bill returned from work he had another copy of “Kill Bill” with him in addition to “Master and Commander”. Great minds run together. We cooked a wonderful swordfish dinner and ate it on the deck on a most beautiful evening. We watched “Kill Bill” after dinner; Cathy and Stacey read magazines.

Friday was a work day for Stacey and Bill. We drove to the post office and sent our Proformance insurance payment via express mail. Then we went to a shopping center to get the car washed and its oil changed. We continued on to Wal-Mart to buy some groceries. We ate a light lunch back at the house. Then we drove over to the Buford Dam and hiked on the Laurel Ridge Trail, a 3.8 mile loop with plenty of views of Lake Lanier. Stacey and Bill returned from work shortly after we got back. We grilled chicken and gardenburgers (for Bill) along with corn on the cob and enjoyed a quiet dinner on the deck. After dinner we watched part of “Master and Commander.”

On Saturday morning we all went into Atlanta and took a CNN tour. It was interesting to see the various studios and learn about the way CNN and Headline News put on their broadcasts. We went to lunch at McCormick and Schmick and had some good seafood. After lunch we took a tour of a Coca Cola tourist attraction that offered a pretty lame set of commercials for their products. We also took a look at the sea of kiosks in Atlanta Underground. This is a pretty hip-hop place with nothing worth buying. On the way back to Cumming we stopped at a Barnes and Noble bookstore and a Starbucks for books and drinks. We went to dinner at La Cunzuela restaurant in Cumming and stopped for ice cream at Brewsters afterward.

Sunday was another sunny day. Alex called around 8:00 AM and Bill had to talk with her on the cell phone in the XTerra because the phone battery was low and the other chargers were in the camper. Cathy and Stacey were out at the store; Cathy called Alex when they returned. We hitched the camper to the XTerra and then ate lunch. After lunch we hung a big mirror in the master bedroom. Cathy and Bill walked about 3 miles to highway 369 where the 7^th and final stage of Tour de Georgia was due to go by around 2:45 PM. Bill and Stacey joined us and we were thrilled to see Lance Armstrong and the rest of the riders speed by in one big group. Stacey took a great photo of Lance Armstrong who won the race during the following hour. Afterward we drove to a mall in Alpharetta where Bill and Bill viewed “Kill Bill 2” and Cathy and Stacey shopped. We all went to an early Mother’s Day meal at the Atlantic Seafood House where we enjoyed a fantastic meal. Our stay in the Atlanta area with Bill and Stacey was great!

Bill and Cathy