7-15-17 a trip to Athens:

A day in Greece!  OK, maybe not, but Athens, Georgia, isn't so bad.  Angie and Josh had talked about heading up to a waterfall, but it was so hot, they decided to go check out Athens instead.  So they invited us along---for our first ride in their new vehicle---their brand new 2017 Ford Explorer.

  The trip started out a bit horrifying!  Shortly after we got on I-85 northbound, we witness an SUV veer left, then over correct to the right, sending it into a spin in the grass along the Interstate, then what seemed like slow motion, it rolled 1 1/2 times landing upside down in a water filled ditch.  We were only about 3 cars behind it, so we pulled over right away.  By the time we got out, there was a young woman and young man smashing the heck out of the windows of the overturned SUV and calling out to the passengers.  By now another couple cars had stopped and we were all on our phones trying to get 911.  After it rang about 30 times, I hung up.  Never having called 911 before, I didn't know the phone would stay in emergency mode.  A few minutes later a dispatcher called me back---about the same time everyone else was called back.  In the mean time, we chatted a bit with the young woman who busted out some of the windows.  I mentioned to her that it looked like she'd done that before.  She said more then she'd like to admit.  Turned out she and the young man were off duty policemen on their way to a pool party!  It was amazing watching them take control of the situation!  They were on the vehicle in less then a minute working on getting the occupants out.     Miraculously all 5 passengers were able to crawl out of the overturned car and even walk around.  At highway speeds, I would have thought there would be more serious injuries then a few bumps and bruises.  After all was under control, even the police woman was shaking.   Not sure what any of us would have done if they weren't there.  I've only been around an accident similar to this once before.  That time the lone passenger was thrown from the car and laying face down in a puddle of cold water.  My Dad and I covered her and called for help.  Fortunately a First Responder happened upon the accident right after we did and took care of the lady.  It's stuff like this you never hear about on the news!  All the media wants to report is how evil police are.

 After hanging around the accident scene for about 20 minutes, the fire department arrived.  Figured the police were soon to follow.  Figured we should get on our way and out of the way.
First thing we did when we got to Athens was get brunch.  We went to a place that is a customer of the company Josh works for.  Angie and I shared an egg biscuit (with Tillimook cheese), oven potatoes, and double chocolate pancakes.  It was excellent!  I wouldn't hesitate to go here again!

 Oh yeah---the name of the place---Heirloom.  Certainly not fancy or very big, but great things sometimes come in small packages.

 From there, we went riding around the town of Athens.  Ken and I had been here once before, but we had just gone to the State Botanical Gardens there.  Apparently Athens is a big university town.  Even the power company uses the University mascot.

 Downtown was quaint with quirky painted fire hydrants---

 corner carts----

 outside restaurants----

 tree lined main streets---

 shops----

 even an old vinyl store.

 and more painted hydrants.

 and painted banners.

 and a huge university----the University of Georgia

 behind the university is this old historic cemetery--- Oconee Hill.  It was established in 1856 and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 And really close to the U of Georgia stadium.

  Not quite Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, but still a pretty neat cemetery.

 It is significant for its landscape architecture, decorative stone markers,

 and interesting fencing,

 It is also nationally recognized as one of the most outstanding examples of Victorian cemeteries in the nation.

 Definitely an interesting cemetery.

 Wonder if they chose this stone because of the name of the town---Athens.

 Before heading out of town, we decided to ride around the university again.   Bet this place is bustling during a football game.

 Then we headed back on what should have been about an hour ride.
The clouds today were really amazing!

 Made our time stuck in construction traffic not seem so bad.

Finally made it back to our area---about 1 1/2 hours later.  With clouds like we had all day, I decided to walk up to the bridge by our apartment complex and check out the sunset.  I wasn't disappointed!

No waterfalls today, but it was still a fun day.  Got to see some place new to me.  Got to enjoy it with Angie, Josh and Ken.  Hopefully we'll have many more such days!