About an hour and a half southeast of Atlanta in Juliette Georgia there is a small unassuming building that played the center of a movie I wish I lived in, The Whistle Stop Cafe. I read the Fannie Flagg book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe' and fell in love with Miss Ruth, Idgie, Big George, Sipsy, and Smokey Lonesome, but after watching the movie I wished I could live in Whistle Stop and spend my days gossiping at the Whistle Stop Cafe while enjoying fried green tomaotes.
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| Whistle Stop Cafe, Juliette Georgia |
Set just feet away from the railroad track is the beautiful covered front porch and store front to the
Whistle Stop Cafe. Although the book and movie take place in Alabama much of the filming took place at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette Georgia.
Fried green tomatoes are on the menu along with many other southern favorites. While there you can stay at the
Jerrell 1920 House Bed and Breakfast. The Jerrell 1920 house was built by lumber felled and milled on the Jerrell property. The house has been completely restored to the original condition and offers a simple stay.
Story has it that in this small town just out beynd the cafe there once was a pond. One fall a flock of ducks flew into town and landed right in that pond. Well, one night the tempurture drop so suddenly that the pond froze and froze the ducks right there in the pond. Well those ducks flew off taking the pond with them. Thats what I hear anyways.
I have watched the movie at least fifty times and I still cry at alomost every scene. I cry when Buddy dies, when Smokey Lonesome is shaking to much to eat his dinner and apologizes to Idgie for it. I continue to cry when Miss Ruth brings a blanket out to Smokey Lonesome on a cold night and I ball my eyes out when Miss Ruth dies just as though I lost my best friend. I love the idea of the simple yet complicated life of those who become our friends in Fired Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.
This lovely little town really likes it's name and names everything in town after it. There is the Moate Castle, the Moatete B&B, the Moate Sports store...and so on.
As the temperature drops and the warm fall breezes begin to blow it only seems natural to think of New England in Autumn. Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut are all states I want to tour during autumn. I love autumn in Washington but the kaleidoscope of colors of New England in fall is something I must experience.
Did I forget to mention the covered bridges? Oh my, how could I forget the covered bridges. Every state along the way would provide the opportunity to walk along kicking up an array of beautiful fall leaves and walk through another amazing covered bridge transporting me back to simpler time.
Not only do I want to go to new places but I want to experience new things. I began researching cool things to do when I found a list of 'Free to See Events' on the National Geographic Travelers web page. Of the 24 events 3 of them are right here in Washington State, including the Pike Place Market, bicycling through the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, and the National Lentil Festival Parade in Pullman. There are other fun events such as the Idiotrod in New York City where people dressed as boy scouts push decorated shopping carts through the streets of New York in a spoof of the Alaskan Iditarod. You may ask why someone would want to watch this, but I say why not.
Since I didn't get to go with the family I guess I should add it to my list and go without them. When I thought about where I would like to go I thought it might be fun to see if they had hotels that were tree houses so I could sleep out in the jungle. I found a very amazing hotel called simply, 'Tree House Lodge'. They have four tree houses and offer a nightly rate or a preplanned adventure. The Lodge is located in Punta Uva in the province of Limon. 
The nice thing about this trip is that it would check off a lot of the places I would like to travel all in one trip. I would get to ride along the beautiful Oregon Coast, meander through the red woods in northern California, swim in the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, pedal across the Golden Gate Bridge and visit multiple lighthouses all while feeling the wind blow through my hair. 
As the girls and I lay in bed watching Mamma Mia I decided I needed to travel to Greece sooner then later. I just need to find a hotel where everyone breaks into song and choreographed dance every five minutes. Greece has always been a place on my list, the beautiful white houses built into the hills over looking the crystal blue water is so alluring. I know right now is probably not the best time to go, which is okay since Danny probably won't let me go anytime soon. Maybe by the time I can travel there the economy will have recovered and there won't be rioting in the streets.
While there the family took me to see downtown Quebec and took me to Niagara Falls and many other beautiful places, unfortunately I was 17 and didn't appreciate the opportunity presented to me. I remember eating savory crepes at an outdoor cafe' and walking through a street fair with artists and live music. I enjoyed my time there but never really took advantage of the beautiful town I was in. So I would love to be able to go back and really enjoy Quebec. 
