Wander to the Wayside: This and That

I wasn't really going to do anything for today's Wander to the Wayside, because I haven't been doing much wandering! I looked to see what I had on my camera that I thought had been important enough to warrant a point and shoot to remember it, and there's just not much there. But, since you were so nice to drop in, I'd hate for you to leave with nothing to show for your visit.

My husband, daughter, and I went to lunch today while out running errands, to a little place in Dalton, Georgia called The Filling Station. It's an all you can eat buffet where you pay a decent price for more than you can possibly eat, with the food being good and the atmosphere nice. It looked like it probably really had been a gas station at one time, but we didn't think to stop to read the newspaper clippings in the lobby. You'd think that by now I'd realize that I'm supposed to do that if I'm going to blog about something, wouldn't you? (I could go google them, but am busy watching an excellent documentary about Ted Kennedy. And if I want to get this on while it's still Wednesday, I need to just keep typing.)

The outside isn't much to look at, but it has a nice little court yard with a fountain, which of course I didn't take a picture of, and the inside brick walls are decorated with filling station memorabillia. We were there during the lunch rush, and I didn't think people would want me flashing photos all around them, though I did get a few.

That's a mirror above, right next to our table so that we had to watch ourselves stuffing our faces, and that's a before photo of David's banana pudding that he was too full to finish. I was too full of key lime pie to help him finish it, and Melody was too full to eat more than a bite or two her own strawberry cream pie. Just another case of the eyes being bigger than the stomach, and it's just incredible how much food ends up in the trash at these places.

This was a real gas light, and the pressed tin ceiling was beautiful.

Just a reminder, if you'll click on this photo to enlarge it, you'll be able to see the stuff on the wall better.

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Conner, the almost four year old grandson, spent the night last week. During a torrential downpour, he announced to us that he was no longer afraid of thunder. Which came as a huge surprise to us, because he's been afraid of thunder for three years! He said he wanted to go outside to play, so to reward his delightful to behold pride in himself, I said of course he could go out, and helped him get into his swim trunks and found his Scooby Doo umbrella. I stayed at the door, where my camera and I could stay dry, holding a towel for him.

He joyfully frolicked in the rain and puddle at the end of the driveway, squealing with delight ...

... but in this last photo he's running to the house as fast as his little legs could carry him because of a huge clap of thunder followed by lightening on the horizon. After he was dry and wrapped in his ditty(blanket), he sat in my lap and said "mawmaw, I guess I am still a little afraid of thunder." I told him that that was ok, that I was proud of him for trying to not be afraid, and I was just sure that next time maybe he wouldn't be.

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You know how much I love clouds, so here's the last of what was on my camera.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll have to start doing a little more wandering outside my house ... I need an excuse to get away from reading all those blogs anyway!