Un-Mardi Gras! 9:12 p.m. 2004-02-22

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Yesterday morning, after a leisurely Saturday morning sleep-in, my husband and I got up and went to eat at a Cajun Po'Boy place up in Duluth. The occasion? Well, this is the culminating weekend of Mardi Gras. We didn't try to make it this year, since we had been last year - but we miss the experience anyway! So, I had a fried oyster po'boy, and my husband had tilapia marinated in Cajun spices.

While at the restaurant, I suggested that we pile into the car with the dog and head for Madison, GA, a cute little town about an hour away from Atlanta. I used to work at an art gallery there on the weekends while I was teaching farther south in Monticello. I also used to board my pony in nearby Rutledge.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day - finally, the sun was out and the temperatures were in the sixties. I drove us out as far as the exit just beyond the one for Monticello, and took the backroads past the Verner Farms (where I used to purchase hay for my pony), past the Bruce Ranch and their big saloon, Cowboy's, and past Rutledge into Madison. We parked off the square and went into the Madison Coffee House for a pick-me-up (Mocha Cappuccino for my husband, and a slice of coconut cake and a Diet Coke for me!), then tied the dog outside of a shop or two while we explored.

I particularly liked a new shop called "In High Cotton" - it has replaced a rambling antique store that I used to love to visit. This place has all sorts of cool things. I had my eye on something called a valet bench, which was an iron structure with cushions, but with a canopy above with coat hooks and a shelf for hats. I would have to measure it to know for sure if it would go in my entry hall...

We took the dog on a leisurely walk past the ante-bellum homes, and I showed my husband the little Episcopal Church I attended briefly. It was a fabulous day for walking, and although we had originally planned on taking the dog to nearby Hard Labor Creek Park to go running through the creeks, we decided to save that for another time!

It was my husband's idea to wear some Mardi Gras "sugar beads" on our day out - it was a great idea! It's almost as if we were there. He also wanted to wander around, asking where the parade was, but we didn't do that!

I know first-hand that life is not as idyllic as it seems in these small towns, but I often think that I would like to settle in a place like Madison later on. In an antebellum house. Perhaps running a bed and breakfast. Oh, yeah, baby!

I checked out some home prices - the historic homes are at least $399,000 and up! I still want to return - there is a lot of potential for Christmas shopping (I usually start around June!). I may take my mom to the May Parade of Homes or surprise my honey with a romantic weekend at a bed and breakfast! I just did some research, and the Reese-Bourgeois Cottage looks lovely! The Madison Oaks Inn looks lovely, but expensive!

Hey, while we're at it, why not the Ritz-Carlton?

Yep, I'm made of money!

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