Vacation in Athens–“A” Side

Ok, not that Athens, the other Athens, home of UGA (University of Georgia for those unaware of the SEC) and home to my favorite band, R.E.M.

“It’s been pretty simple so far. Vacation in Athens is calling me” Letter Never Sent, R.E.M.

Shop Amazon’s Women’s Shoes!

My older son is a grad student at Georgia, but because of the pandemic, he’s only been at his apartment in Athens a few days since March 2020, either living with either his girlfriend at her school (in Wisconsin) or at our house.

In early January he needed to visit his apartment to retrieve some things. As it’s about a ten hour drive, I didn’t want him to all the driving on his own. I decided to earn some dad points and drive with him to share the driving. Drive down Friday, stay over Saturday, drive home Sunday.

Part of my motivation was being a good dad.

Another (large) part of my motivation was the realization I could take my Dee stuff and get out for the first time since early November, as my son would be busy most of Saturday. Using Google, I found a suitable destination, a mall about an hour away from Athens. I packed an extra bag of Dee stuff, including two tops and two bottoms, along with all my other necessities (shoes, purse, undies, etc).

Friday night after arriving at my hotel, I swapped messages with my GG friend Renee. Of the two tops I brought, she strongly suggested the white top (which I had bought in November at Nordstrom, featured in last Sunday’s post) and my Spanx leggings. I paired them with my ankle boots. 

As a rule of thumb, I generally prefer longer tops with my Spanx leggings, as they cover my “bum” more (a comment also made by my friend Karla when I sent her a picture). However, Renee liked the combination, so I went with it.

Saturday morning I went for a run (in boy mode) and passed the railroad trestle that is featured on R.E.M’s Murmur album.

After breakfast, I got dressed.

To exit the hotel (one complication; valet parking) I put my mom jeans on over the Spanx and wore my Mary Jane’s, plus a sweater for the cool (high 40’s) weather. I wanted to be a bit more “blendy”.

Drove to the mall, hit a discount shoe store first (where I got a comment about strutting today from a GG, which I took as a compliment), and then to Dillard’s. 

At Dillard’s I rounded up about ten dresses to try on. Renee has had some health issues lately–as has her support dog, Keen. She enjoys pictures of me dressed (a long time ago we were FWBs and she helped me dress a few times during those days) and considers them a diversion from some of her troubles.

I tried to find some dresses I thought she would like to see me in. I would try them on, take a picture, and text to her. Sometimes she would comment. I sent a picture in a green velvet dress and Renee texted it back with the 100 sticker. At the same time I was swapping a few texts and pictures with another GG friend Michelle.

While at Dillard’s I saw the promotion for the “Girlfriend Party”. While I would have loved to be the winner, I’m not sure the feelings would have been mutual for Dillard’s, so I passed on entering the contest.

After Dillard’s I went to Macy’s and to a nearby Nordstrom Rack, but nothing at Macy’s appealed and the change rooms at the Rack were closed. I drove back to my hotel, after stopping and eating at McDonald’s, and then did the normal thing–sat in my room and watched the first NFL playoff game of the afternoon. 

More–the “B” side–next Sunday.