The main event during the trip was a delightful lunch, hosted by Skippy, who had invited us to join her, Aunt Mary, and Aunt Winnie at the Swan Coach House on Friday. I had never been there, though I'd heard much about it. Because it is so well known, I had to try their headline menu items: the chicken salad, the frozen fruit salad, and the French silk swan.
Here's a photo of my French silk swan.Isn't it lovely?
The meal was delicious, and the company was lots of fun. Our only regret was that we had not gotten together for lunch before. After a fantastic meal, we visited the restaurant's gift shop and art gallery before taking some photos:
From left to right:Sabra, Aunt Winnie, Aunt Mary, Skippy, me
Afterward, Sabra and Aunt Mary were kind enough to indulge me in a trip around the block to Atlanta's famous historic landmark, the Swan House. I got some great photos there too:
But the Swan Coach House was not the only place I enjoyed a fancy meal. Sabra and Martin were fabulous hosts, taking me to other metro Atlanta hot spots, including Muss & Turner, Sip Wine, Blue Moon Pizza, and the Canoe riverside bar.While at Canoe, the arrival of a group of lawyers interrupted our conversation with an unusually loud recap of the day's court case. Apparently the attorneys thought everyone in the bar wanted to hear about their exciting day. Sabra and I began to wonder: Would the lawyers be just as interested in our conversation? We decided to try an experiment, which turned into a game whereby we would pepper our bland conversation with interjections of more attention-grabbing lines, such as the following.
Nancy: What kind of wine is that?
Sabra: It's a Chardonnay I usually like to get here. Would you like a taste? And then when his daughter was ten years old, he discovered he'd be sterile since birth!
Sabra: Do you want to order dessert?
Nancy: Maybe. Let's ask for a dessert menu. Sure, she got a huge settlement from the malpractice suit. Then she spent it all on a boob job!
While we had fun trying to interrupt the lawyer-talk, they were to absorbed in their own conversation to take note of ours. But we did notice a man sitting to Sabra's left who seemed intrigued when we talked just a little too loud. After a short while, he moved from his original seat to a stool at the bar--right behind our seats. After we paid our bill, Sabra said in an unusually loud voice, "Come on. Let's go get you the help you need." As we departed, I looked behind me to see that man laughing.
So that was a lot of fun, and I hope Sabra and Martin will come to Savannah soon so we can try out the same game at some of our local spots. Maybe Rocks on the River? The Mansion?
I departed Atlanta on Saturday and drove to Augusta, more specifically, Clark Hill Lake, where the annual Remler family reunion at Laurie's lake house was already underway. I found relatives eating, drinking, relaxing, boating, jet-skiing, tubing, and generally having a good time. The most exciting news was that my younger son, Lawson, has maintained his lucky streak, not only winning the first night's game of Left-Right-Center, but also taking home the pot in Thursday night's craps tournament and Friday night's poker match. Poor Brian Remler, our family poker expert, tried his best to beat Lawson at cards, but when Lawson beat Brian's straight with five kings (he had a wild card), Brian had to tip his hat to the twelve year-old champ. Lawson came home with a red Solo cup full of cash. Way to go, Lawson! When you graduate, I'm taking you to Vegas!
I was not as lucky at Saturday night's game of blackjack, but I had fun anyway. I stayed with it until midnight, but eventually, I had to cash in my chips and go to bed. I left Lawson at the table, chips towering in front of him, and I don't want to know how late he stayed up beating the pants off his Uncle Brett. Based on the droopy eyelids this evening, though, I have a feeling the cows came home well before Lawson declared lights out.
What a way to close out the summer.
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