Road trip to the Padgett Farm

I got an email from Julia saying that Mr. Ray had had a small stroke and that she was coming home for a week. She was distressed being so far away and not really knowing what the effects were on her father she wanted to come home. I totally understood and would do the exact same thing by immediately booking a flight home!!! So a road trip was being formed. The plan was for Lori and her Zoe to meet Julia at the airport on Sunday early evening then they would drop off Zoe at home and sweep back through the airport again to pick me up. Wahoo...on the road again!

I should let it be known that Lori, Julia, and myself really should never be in a car together. It's like when we are all together we loose all sense of direction and time but maybe it is because we are always talking or laughing. Normally there are exits missed or wrong roads taken BUT this trip there were just bad food choices (except for while at the farm)...just wait, you will see!

When they pick me up we all are starving! Luckily Lori had packed some Pirate's Booty to get us through...and through I mean all the way to Newnan from the airport. I think it is no more than 30 miles apart. We saw the signs for Sprayberry's BBQ and Julia has been craving BBQ since they don't have anything close to BBQ in Italy. We decided Sprayberry's would be our dinner choice. Well, just our luck...it was closed. UGH!!! But looking around Julia sees this place...

I mean with a name like that we had to try it since it was not Italian and an Island Grill had to be good. We go in and look at the drink menu. "Alright" we are thinking...this is going to be great since there is all sorts of fruity drinks...yummy! We should have left when the waitress said that they don't serve on Sundays. Hummm, ahhhhh yeah, there is a Ruby Tuesday's next store that does serve on Sundays but for some reason we decide to stay. I mean how bad could it be??? Stupid question! Next we flip the page of the menu and what is on the whole next page but Italian dishes, I mean Italian plus different fishes too...can you say weird! AGAIN, we should have gotten up at this point but again we still decide to stay. I ordered a grouper sandwich, Lori gets a grilled veggie wrap, and Julia gets a RUBEN?!? Do I really need to go on with this part of the story??? Welllll, my grouper sandwich and Lori's wrap was good at least. Julia may pick out some awesome restaurants in Italy but in Newnan, GA she is a little out of her league. Heehee!!! And then we are on the road again!!!!

We laugh, catch up on each other's lives, and eat candy. That is right, we stopped at a "LOVELY" (read between the lines - scary as hell) gas station and Lori bought Nerds. I have forgotten how much I like Nerds! We had the original grape and strawberry. They really should put a warning label on them with something like attention kiddie/adult sugar crack...very addictive!!! We drive on and surprisingly do not get lost even with a road detour thrown at us. Although it did take us a little extra time we show up at the farm around midnight.

The Padgett farm is "home" to a lot of us. I can't really explain it but as soon as you walk through the doorway you feel welcomed and at peace. Julia went in to see her dad while Mrs. Sandra made us a pitcher of margaritas. Thank you Mrs. Sandra!!! Mr. Ray came out to say hello and give hugs. He is doing great and looks good but was tired so he went back to bed. Of course there was another pitcher and we talked with Mrs. Sandra until 2am.

The next morning I awoke to hear Ms. Lucy and Julia talking. I slept in the bedroom that was once the old kitchen and it has windows surrounding most of the room so there was no going back to sleep. I got up to visit with Mr. Ray, Ms. Lucy, and Julia. Ms. Lucy had picked some honeysuckle and a few roses and created this gorgeous arrangement in honor of Willie Nelson's song "Honeysuckle Rose".

Julia discovers that there is bacon in the refrigerator and insists that we should eat it so her father is not tempted. OK, twist my arm. She makes me some of her famous eggs which I add to my breakfast burrito. Yum. This definitely was not a bad food choice. We sit around the table which is really part of the foundation of the Padgett farm. Most of my time at the farm is spent sitting around this table either watching Mrs. Sandra cook, reading her cook books, laughing at stories being told but mostly playing cards. Did I say how much I love this place and these people? Anywho...we visit a little more then Lori and I have to get back on the road. Here are some great pics of Mr. Ray and his ladies.

My next post will be about the ride home with Lori...so ya'll come back now ya hear!