Animals Don't Wear Underpants.

Yesterday, on my relatives’ suggestion, I visited Milledgeville, Georgia, where Flannery O’Connor is buried. There’s a large institution named Central State Hospital there, and they thought it would be an interesting photographic opportunity for me.

I spent about two hours walking around, taking pictures of the old brick buildings (posted on my Facebook page soon). Most of the buildings are abandoned now, and in many, almost every single window has been smashed or cracked. I would’ve loved to get inside some of the buildings and take pictures, but there were hundreds of No Trespassing signs which indicated that the buildings were no longer safe. Normally these sings wouldn’t stop me, as evidenced from my Massachusetts institution road trip (photos posted on Flickr and Facebook), but the last thing I need is to get arrested in Georgia for trespassing. I’m not even sure I was allowed to take pictures of the exteriors. At the Monson Developmental Center in Massachusetts we were nearly kicked off for walking through the campus. The security guard on duty told us we couldn’t take any pictures, not even of the “foilage.” But we managed to snap a few when she wasn’t looking.

Satisfied that I’d snapped enough Milledgeville photos, I made my way back to the van and arrived at it just as the sky opened up and started pouring.

I pulled in to the Red Top Mountain campgrounds at about 7:30 p.m. and set up my tent. I’m staying there the entire weekend and plan on doing some hiking when I’m not exploring Georgia’s cities. From the quick look around I took, the area near the camp site looks beautiful. Hopefully the weather clears up a bit. It poured for much of my first night Georgia—it has rained every single night of this road trip except for the nights I’ve spent in the houses and apartments of friends and family.

One good thing about last night, my friend called to give me the play-by-play of the last few minutes of the Celtics game. Her commentating needs some work (At one point in the last 30 seconds or so, she exclaimed, “Oh my God! He’s taking foul things!” And she also went on a short rant about how attractive Rajon Rondo is, something most sportscasters don’t do.), but she conveyed the crucial information and the Celtics won, so I was happy.

My thoughts on the East Coast (kinda)—because I know you’ve been dying to hear them.

First of all, the tiny woman inside my Garmin adopted a very slight southern accent as soon as we crossed into Georgia. She says, “Georgia 22” with a whimsical lilt. And due to the large amount of alone time we spend together, I’ve developed a slight crush on the tiny woman who lives inside my Garmin.

Second of all (and the rest of the alls), I’d like to make a note about my picture taking thus far. Those of you who’ve been checking the photos I’ve posted on Facebook or Flickr (and the Facebook pictures are much more numerous because Flickr imposes a limit on how many photos a person can post at any one time) might be noticing a sort of trend. Although the vast majority of the traveling I’ve done has been through more rural and bucolic settings, the vast majority of my photos are of urban landscapes and the downtowns of big cities. This is intentional. I don’t really feel the need to photograph the woods or the farms. I can’t defend this position well, but I can say that it’s partially due to the fact that woods and farms are harder to photograph. With no man-made structures around, my photographs of woods just look kind of green and boring. I’m not sure if this is due to my camera or my lack of skill with taking pictures (and I have almost no picture taking skill, I know), but either way, I’m not too sad about it. Contrasted with wilderness and farms, cities seem somehow much more ephemeral or mercurial to me.

On my way to the campground, I repeatedly took wrong turns (according to my Garmin) in favor of traveling roads that seemed more scenic. I have to say (and please keep in mind that my experiences in each state are very quick and limited) that Georgia has been the most pleasurable and scenic state to drive through so far. The soil is actually the color of peaches here, and I wonder if this is why peaches grow so well in Georgia. The soil is much browner in South Carolina, and maybe that’s why tobacco grows so well there. Not a day goes by that I don’t put my biology degree to good use.

I do have to mention that I passed by some real photographic gems in the rural parts of Georgia. I passed by a little store with a sign that read “Cuntry Store.” Then there was another sign for Tax Attorney/BBQ. I didn’t stop to photograph them. They’re too funny to be real. They must be traps for liberal arts boys from the North who are either trying to find themselves or rekindle the spirit of the sixties on the open road.

I’d also like to say that the East Coast, despite its population and the misleading night pictures from space, is so covered in trees that one gets a sense of encroaching and almost suffocating wilderness while driving down it.

I believe in global warming, but I just can’t seem to get myself worried about it . . . and I’ve tried. Animals and plants will continue coming up with ways of adapting to catastrophic global events (both those caused by us and the other varieties that’ve been happening forever) long after we’ve run out of fossil fuels. I believe in nature, that’s why I studied it.

And by the way, when did we stop being part of nature? Why is everything we create unnatural? Last time I checked, we do like the mammal do—or at least, those of us who were smart enough to bring a girl along on our road trips do.

Believe you me, if a magnolia had the ability to bite off and swallow your nose when you stuck your ugly face in to smell it, IT WOULD!

I drove past two dead dogs on the side of a Georgia highway yesterday. One of them, a Beagle, might’ve been hit by a car, but the other, a St. Bernard, was obviously dumped. That section of the road was flanked by Jersey barriers.