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The importance of galavanting

Drove with Renee up to Rome, GA last Sunday. We're always doing something active on Sundays so it was nice to do something different and relaxing.  Hadn't been to Rome in almost 3 years.  It was surreal to stop by my old apartment. It looked the same but appeared to be under new management. We then went to Broad Street and found that a lot remained the same, (Partridge Restaurant, Schroeder's) but some things had changed. No more River's Edge bar, a place we used to frequent.  We had a pleasant walk down Broad Street. Opera Alley is still creepy! We then climbed up Myrtle Hill cemetery.  No one was on Myrtle Hill besides us, that was alive.  Still a breath-taking hike up the cemetery.  Nice views as always from up there.   It was also neat to see that South Rome was renovated.  It used to be really run down. Rome was eerily deserted that day, maybe because everyone was out of town for Labor Day.  One thing that struck me was just how many times and experiences we both had in Rome and just how much character Rome has.  That being said, I wouldn't want to live there. It's a bit too insular for my tastes.  There's a lot of history and culture there, which is a stark contrast to where we currently live.  Just about everywhere we looked on Broad Street, we had a memory of that place from 15 years ago.  What was really striking was how different we both are now. People change, usually for the better.  We walked by Pullen Bicycles and I thought about how I wished I had discovered bicycles back then.
Next on to Cave Spring where we stopped for some ice cream in downtown.  It's such a charming, quaint place that I think I could spend a few days there just to decompress.   Then went over to the Rolater Park and the cave. We climbed the mountain over the cave which was really steep!  (We just can't resist a trail.)  I had been up there before but had forgotten about the water aquifer which was a huge concrete structure on top of the mountain. It was quite a workout to get up there but this only made the 60 degree cave feel even nicer once we climbed back down.  Cave was slick and foggy inside plus I don't remember a little side room off to the left being there before. Caves are cool!
Then drove down one of my favorite roads to Cedartown. I learned to drive on this road.  It is one of the most pleasant drives with pastoral views. We ate at Zorba's for lunch (spaghetti and meatballs) Delish and very filling.  Drove home through Rockmart and Cartersville. We had made one huge circle!
It was a nice, relaxing time and a great change from the norm.




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